Chapter 3

3

I leaned over and grabbed the suitcase handle. The sound of the wheels rolling on the floor was deafening in the silent room.

"Where is Mrs. Ford going?" Lyra asked, feigning shock.

She braced herself against the sofa arm and stood up slowly, stumbling a bit as if she might fall. "Is it because I'm here? Am I bothering you?"

"If that's the case, I should leave. Silas, let's go back, okay? I don't want her to misunderstand."

She said she wanted to leave, but her feet didn't move an inch. The mockery in her eyes only deepened.

I ignored her and walked straight for the door.

The driver, Old Joe, saw this and rushed forward to stop me.

"Ma'am, don't be impulsive. Let's talk this through. The boss is just confused for a moment. Don't take it to heart."

Silas raised a hand to stop him, a cold, mocking smirk touching his lips.

"Let her go. She's just throwing a fit, thinking this will make me cave."

"Once she's had enough, she'll come back. I have all the patience in the world to wait for her to beg."

The maids in the living room bowed their heads, unable to hide the snickers on their faces.

Mrs. Higgins was an old servant of the Ford family. When I first married in, she looked down on me because my family had lost its fortune.

Now, she spoke up with a voice full of venom.

"Exactly. When the Sullivan family went bankrupt, she would've been on the streets if the Boss hadn't taken her in."

"Now she thinks she has wings? She's so ungrateful."

"I'll bet five million that she'll be back tonight, crying for forgiveness."

"I'll bet ten million! She's nothing without the Boss. She can't even survive out there!"

The insults stung like needles, but I didn't look back. I kept walking toward the door.

Just as I passed Silas and Lyra, Lyra suddenly let out a sharp scream and collapsed to the floor, clutching her belly.

"Ah! My stomach! It hurts! Silas, it hurts so much!"

Silas's face turned pale. He dropped to his knees to hold her, shouting in panic, "Lyra! What's wrong? Talk to me!"

Lyra curled up in his arms, tears streaming down her face as she pointed a finger at me.

"Silas… did Mrs. Ford… did she push me because she didn't want me to stay? I… I think I'm bleeding…"