Chapter 2
906 Words
The moment Shawna got a clear look at the man's face, her heart skipped several traitorous beats.
'He's way too handsome!
'He looks even better than that popular actor Cynthia is obsessed with!'
Seeing the dazed, infatuated look in Shawna's eyes, undisguised disgust surfaced on Zane's face.
"When threatening me with the child didn't work, you decided to set the house on fire?"
"Shawna, you really are insane if you think this will make me move back in."
Zane's icy words instantly crushed the tiny flutter in Shawna's chest.
She remembered now.
The system had told her that the intruder had only managed to marry Zane by drugging him, then using the child to force him into marriage.
After the wedding, Zane had treated her as if she didn't exist. So the intruder had resorted to every cheap, shameless trick she could think of to harass him.
And last night, the intruder had gone completely mad and set the house on fire.
Fortunately, Shawna had regained consciousness just as the fire started, and she had managed to put it out in time.
Clearly, none of this had been her doing.
Yet now, she was the one who had to suffer the consequences.
Under the weight of Zane's presence, Shawna stammered helplessly, "I'm sorry... I promise this will never happen again."
"I've heard that promise from you countless times. You don't seriously expect me to believe it, do you?"
Zane's merciless sarcasm left Shawna completely speechless.
A wave of frustration rose in her chest.
Just then, Liam suddenly spoke from beside her.
"Dad, are you going to come back and live here?"
There was a rare hint of expectation in Liam's voice.
It wasn't that he was truly looking forward to having Zane back as his father. He only thought that if Zane moved back in, then maybe Shawna would stop hitting him for a while.
Unexpectedly, after hearing that, Zane's expression grew even colder.
"You two really are cut from the same cloth."
After throwing out those words, he strode upstairs.
Shawna stared at his retreating back in speechless disbelief for a moment. When she turned around, she saw Liam's pale face.
She paused.
For some reason, her chest ached.
She suddenly felt sorry for the child.
'He must really be longing for his father's love...'
But the very next second, Liam looked at her with a blank expression and asked, "Dad is already back. Can I go back to my room now?"
The sadness in Shawna's heart abruptly stuck in her throat.
She looked at the blank-faced little boy in front of her.
A four-year-old child should have been in preschool by now.
But in order to make Liam act pitiful and attract Zane's attention, that intruder had never sent him to preschool. As a result, even the child's understanding of the world had become warped.
After a long moment, Shawna sighed.
"Liam, I'm taking you to the hospital."
The moment the word "hospital" came out, Liam's body stiffened.
After a long pause, he still followed her.
*****
After they arrived at the hospital and the examination was over, Shawna looked at the report and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, aside from some external injuries, there was nothing else wrong.
"All right, let's go! Shawna—no, wait, Mom..."
She couldn't bring herself to say "Mom," so she settled for something in between.
"I'll take you to get something good to eat!"
A trace of surprise appeared in Liam's eyes.
"I don't have to stay in the hospital today? No shots?"
"The doctor said we only need to apply some ointment. Why would you need to stay in the hospital or get shots?"
Shawna was confused.
"Every time you brought me here before, you made me stay in the hospital and get shots. Then you made me cry so you could take pictures and videos to send to Dad."
Looking at the child's calm, matter-of-fact expression, Shawna froze on the spot.
Her heart suddenly ached, and the words caught in her throat.
"I..."
She crouched down and looked into Liam's dark eyes, her voice sincere.
"Liam, I'm sorry."
'If you really are destined to be my child, then I'm sorry. I failed to protect you from that horrible woman.'
Liam was stunned.
He pressed his lips tightly together and said nothing.
Shawna was so strange today.
She had actually apologized to him...
On the way home, they passed an ice cream shop, and Shawna suddenly stopped.
Looking at the ice cream behind the display window, the self-proclaimed ice cream fanatic swallowed.
She gently poked Liam beside her leg.
"Liam, do you want some ice cream?"
Liam looked confused.
"What's ice cream? I've never had it."
Shawna froze.
The next second, she scooped the thin, frail little boy into her arms and pointed at the dessert counter.
"Look!"
Liam's body went rigid.
A flicker of shock flashed through his eyes.
In his memory, this was the first time Shawna had ever picked him up.
Liam stayed stiff all over and awkwardly turned his head toward the dessert counter.
"Pick any flavor you want!" Shawna said generously, pointing at the dazzling array of ice cream flavors.
Just as he was about to choose, a news alert suddenly appeared on the TV wall inside the shop.
"Rising star Lucy Lowe caught in scandalous affair? Suspected of spending the night at Quinn Group CEO Zane Quinn's residence!"
- Writer
