Marriage First, Love Later: Run，Mommy

Chapter 3: Daylight Robbery

As Sabrina left the building, she felt lost and exhausted.

The strong and calm expression she had while confronting them vanished in an instant. Her disguise had been broken and all that was left was her endless pain and hatred.

At that moment, she did not know where to go.

Home… Such a dreamy place that she once dreamed of having. A loving and complete family which she never had. It was such a childish dream but it was what she had wished for.

It was Ethan who promised to give her a home. A complete home… But all of it was only honey talk and look where it got her, she got betrayed.

She did not know how long she had walked, but her steps led her to the small playground near a kindergarten.

There, she had seen kids, of different ages and gender, playing happily. She could not help but reach out to her womb and felt even more distressed.

Sabrina wanted to become a mother. She even made plans for the future of her child. She would be a very doting mother and would become a hands-on mother. When her child reaches the right age to attend school, she would send her child to school and pick him up when school ended.

But that seems to be an impossible dream as well. If what Ethan said was true, she had been taking that medicine for a long time and it would be a miracle if she became pregnant.

She did not know how long she was standing there just looking at the kids playing around. With no worries, pain, stress, or anxiety in their own little world.

Suddenly, Sabrina’s phone vibrated inside her bag. She reached out and when she saw who it was, her mood turned even more somber.

Before answering, she wiped the slight tears at the corner of her eyes, stabilized her emotions, then later took a deep breath.

“Hello, Dad.”

“Sabrina, where were you last night?” Antonio Patterson sounded angry on the phone.

Her father seldom called her unless something was up. For many years, he was dispensable as a father, but Sabrina could not treat him as a completely non-existent person. After all, she was his daughter.

She knew that if not for the shares her grandfather had left for her, her father would not make her the heiress of the Patterson Group.

Sabrina thought about what had happened last night. Feeling guilty, she said, “I-I had something to do last night… so I went out.”

“I don’t care what you are busy with. Your sister, Vivian, wants to discuss her engagement with the family today. How dare you stay out all night?” Mr. Patterson reprimanded fiercely.

‘Engagement? What was he saying? Vivian is getting engaged? To whom?’

Sabrina was quite baffled by this sudden news. It was early this morning when she blamed her for what had happened to her boyfriend years ago and now, she was getting engaged. What is she up to?

Sabrina listened calmly to her father’s angry scolding without a sliver of sadness in her heart. After so many years, she had already become accustomed to his scolding.

“I don’t care what you have been doing. You must come back now! If I discover that you are not back, I will dig out your mother’s ashes from her grave and throw them in the sea so you will never see any part of your mother for the rest of your life! I’m sure you don’t want that to happen, right?”

When he finished speaking, Mr. Patterson hung up the phone.

On the screen was the photo of her and Ethan. This was the photo they had taken when he proposed to her.

Looking at her smile, she was so innocent and it was clear in her eyes the happiness she felt during that day. In the past, she had loved this photo so much that she made it her phone’s wallpaper. But looking at it right now, it has become an eyesore.

She swiped her phone and deleted that photo immediately. Sabrina wanted to erase all the memories she had with him, and it should start by deleting their photos together. There’s no point in keeping them anyway.

Sabrina walked away from the playground and hailed a cab to go back to the Patterson Residence…

***

Patterson Residence…

Marian Patterson, Sabrina’s stepmother, watched as Mr. Patterson put down the phone. She eagerly asked, “Is she coming back?”

Mr. Patterson replied, “She’s coming back.”

Mrs. Patterson stretched out a hand to caress Mr. Patterson’s chest in an attempt to appease him. “Dear, you must have a talk with her so that she agrees to hand over her shares to Vivian after she marries. Vivian needed to be the heiress of the Patterson Group so that she could join the Vinson Family.”

Mrs. Patterson’s expression was filled with motherly as she looked at her husband, “I was really shocked when the son of the Vinson Family showed interest in our Vivian. Vivian becoming the heiress would bring great benefits to the Patterson Group. After all, that’s the Vinson Family we are talking about. They are one of the 4 most influential families in the Capital City.”

“Don’t worry,” Mr. Patterson said, “Of course, Vivian is my daughter, so I will not let her suffer. And besides, Sabrina is about to be married off and her focus should be on her family, so what’s the use of the shares in her hands? Might as well give it to Vivian as she will bring our company to greater heights.”

Then, the housekeeper called outside, “Master, Madam, Ms. Sabrina is back.”

The housekeeper said to Sabrina, “Ms. Sabrina, Master, and Madam are waiting for you inside. Ms. Vivian is also here to discuss her engagement and also discuss your upcoming wedding, so your fiancee is here too.”

Sabrina looked at the housekeeper in astonishment, “Ethan is here?”

Pleasantly surprised, Sabrina could not believe that he had such a thick face to even come to her house after what he had done! The nerve of that guy!

Once she got inside the main hall, she saw her father, her stepmother, Vivian, and Ethan there.

Sensing her arrival, everyone’s eyes darted at her but Sabrina ignored Ethan’s gazes and sat at the farthest seat from him.

She then looked at her father and said, “So, what are we going to discuss?”

Mr. Patterson cleared his throat before answering, “Your sister had a lucky encounter with the youngest son of the Vinson Family and wanted to marry her… You know how influential that family is and your sister marrying into that family is a great blessing to our family.”

Then, his gaze landed on Sabrina as he continued, “But knowing how rich they are, I’m afraid there would be other ladies who would be envious of her and would cause her harm. So, to avoid that, your sister must have a high status, so I wanted to name her as the heiress to the Patterson Group.”

Sabrina’s gaze wavered. Of course, she knew who the Vinson Family were. So, for Vivian to marry to them, she must have schemed to reach that point.

“Father, it’s fine with me if you name her as the heiress of the company, but would the board of directors allow it?…” Her cold eyes swept toward her step-sister before she continued, “After all, she has no shares under her name.”

“That’s why we wanted you to transfer your shares to her.” Mr. Patterson boldly asked.

“What?! You want me to give my shares to her?!” Sabrina let out a shout of protest.

“What? You don’t want to?” Mr. Patterson’s eyes turned sharp in an instant. “Those shares won’t be of use to you after you get married. What? Do you still want to work for the company instead of taking care of your family? Since you will become a housewife, those shares will be useless in your hands. Might as well give it to your sister as she will bring our family to greater success!”

Sabrina let out a laugh, “How shameless! So, this is what they call daylight robbery! Dad, whether I marry or not, I will never give up my shares.”

“Sabrina… let’s talk it out.” Ethan stood up and tried to hold her but she slapped his hand away.

“Don’t you dare touch me! I think I have made it clear that we are done, Mr. Ross. The wedding is off so both you and I had no relations with one another.”