Chapter 3

Even on every birthday, every Valentine's Day, every romantic holiday, on such important occasions, Gentry would fly thousands of miles just to catch a glimpse of her.

But to me, he always said:

"Vivienne, these holidays are just tricks to fool young people. We're an old married couple, we don't need them."

It wasn't until today that I finally understood.

It turns out,

It wasn't that he didn't want to celebrate.

It's just that,

He didn't want to celebrate with me.

And the final straw that broke me was a voice message from five years ago.

Gentry's cold voice commanded through the intercom,

"Gouge out her eyes and preserve them well."

"Such beautiful eyes should be on Vivienne's face."

Hearing this, I almost instinctively raised my hand to touch my now sunken eye sockets, as fragments of memories flashed through my mind.

Five years ago, I was about to walk down the aisle in my wedding dress when I was knocked unconscious in the second-floor dressing room and had my eyes gouged out.

My fiancé, seeing me with blood streaming down my face, showed no sympathy.

Instead, he turned around and announced the cancellation of our engagement, then proceeded to exchange vows with my best friend Vivienne on stage.

In my moment of despair, it was Gentry who approached me, took me to the hospital, and kept vigil night after night. Over the years, I naively believed I had found the right person.

Who would have thought he would turn out to be the real executioner!

Tears continuously seeped through my fingers,

As I sat alone in the bathroom, sleepless through the night.

The next morning, Gentry brought me a lavish breakfast as usual.

I used to be touched by his thoughtfulness, the unchanging 99 dishes every day.

Now I realize he was treating me like a supply station,

With the purpose of feeding milk to Vivienne's child!

Seeing that I hadn't touched the food, Gentry asked caringly,

"Why aren't you eating? Is it not to your liking?"

"It's nothing. I want to go home. Where's the baby?"

"The baby is in the incubator. I'll bring him to you tonight."

Gentry's tone was sincere, without a trace of deception.

And I couldn't be bothered to expose him.

After the meal, as soon as Gentry left, my phone rang.

"Briar, my word is always good. As long as you join us, name your terms."

"Alright. In three days, fake my death and get me out of here."

Just as I finished speaking, Gentry pushed open the door.

"Who's leaving?I rushed to lock my phone screen, and said nonchalantly, "It's nothing. I was just thinking about whether we should let one of our housekeepers go and hire a postpartum nanny instead."

Gentry's tone immediately became much more cheerful.

"I was just about to tell you about that. Vivienne just called me. She hires a top-notch postpartum nanny."

"She just finished her postpartum confinement, and Vivienne offered to lend her to us. She also wants to come over to see you and our sweetheart. Is that okay?"

I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Was it really just to take care of us?

Besides, my daughter had already become a cold corpse.

But in order to leave smoothly, I maintained a straight face and said, "Sure."

Upon hearing this, Gentry immediately gave me a kiss. "Then I'll go pick her up. You and the driver head home first. I'll swing by later to pick up our sweetheart."

With that, he turned and left.

I carefully picked up the suitcase by the bed.

After getting home, I placed my daughter's body in the mini-fridge in the bedroom.

Just as I closed the lid, I heard the door opening behind me.

"Briar, long time no see."

Vivienne came forward and hugged me, but whispered very softly in my ear,

"You useless thing!" With a laugh, she pushed me away and immediately began surveying the room.

When her eyes fell on the wedding photo hanging on the wall, Vivienne complained, "Gentry, you knew I was coming alone. Did you really have to flaunt your love right in front of me?"

Upon hearing this, Gentry quickly stepped forward to take down the photo. He then handed it to the housekeeper:

"Throw it in the trash."

The housekeeper glanced at me awkwardly, which made Gentry realize I was standing nearby. He explained: