Chapter 3
839 Words
Inside the ice cream shop, Liam sat quietly at the table, eating his ice cream.
Shawna, meanwhile, was eagerly scrolling through her phone. Displayed on the screen was a trending Twitter topic about Zane allegedly cheating on her with Lucy.
"Zane's private life is pretty exciting, huh?"
She clicked her tongue in amazement, as if she were nothing more than an ordinary bystander enjoying the gossip.
The comments under the topic were heated.
A: [So disappointed in Lucy! She's gorgeous and popular. Why isn't she focusing on her career instead of trying to be a homewrecker?]
B: [Please. As if Shawna deserves to be called Mrs. Quinn? Who doesn't know Zane hates her so much he once told the media she disgusts him?]
C: [I'm betting Lucy gets upgraded to Mrs. Quinn!]
D: [Same here. Waiting to see Shawna get kicked out of the Quinn family!]
Now that the gossip had circled back to herself, Shawna suddenly felt a lot less amused.
The online reaction alone was enough to show just how terrible her reputation had become.
She set down her phone and let out a heavy sigh.
When she looked up, she saw that Liam had already finished an entire ice cream.
Seeing the lingering look of satisfaction on his face, Shawna couldn't help smiling.
'Even though he's always so cold and serious, he really is still just a child...'
She gently rubbed Liam's head.
"Liam, I'll take you out for a big dinner tonight."
*****
After leaving the ice cream shop, Shawna temporarily pushed all thoughts of Zane to the back of her mind.
But fate really did have a twisted sense of humor.
That evening, just as they arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, they ran straight into Zane and Lucy.
Lucy was holding Zane's arm.
Shawna was holding Liam's hand.
The four of them came face-to-face.
Liam was the first to speak.
"Dad."
Zane lowered his eyes and gave Liam a faint glance. Then his cold gaze shifted to Shawna.
"How did you know I was here?"
'Isn't he being a little too full of himself? I haven't even forgotten how angry he made me last time.'
So Shawna copied Zane's cold tone and said, "Coincidence."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted unconsciously toward Lucy.
'As expected of a big star. She really is beautiful. Standing next to Zane, they actually look like a perfect match.'
Noticing Shawna's gaze, Lucy deliberately pressed closer to Zane. Her voice was so gentle it almost dripped with sweetness.
"Zane, maybe I should leave. Next time, I'll cook for you myself."
Shawna paused.
Instinctively, she felt that something about those words sounded off.
But before she could figure it out, she heard Zane say, "You don't need to leave. She does."
The moment he said that, Shawna bristled.
She took Liam's hand and started walking inside.
"This is a restaurant. I'm a customer too. Why should I leave just because you say so?"
But before she could step through the door, a staff member stopped her.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Chase. Mr. Quinn has placed you on this restaurant's blacklist."
"What?"
"Three months ago, when Mr. Quinn was dining here with his business partners, you caused a major scene in our restaurant..."
Shawna stood at the entrance, utterly embarrassed.
Zane did not even spare her a glance before walking inside with Lucy.
Shawna's face turned red, then pale. In the end, she could only leave with Liam in humiliation.
After that unpleasant encounter at the restaurant, Shawna had no desire to say a single word to Zane when she ran into him at home that night.
*****
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, Liam suddenly complained that his stomach hurt.
He was curled up on the bed, sweating from the pain, his lips pale.
"Mom, am I going to die?"
For the first time in front of her, Liam sounded like a real four-year-old child.
Shawna's heart clenched fiercely.
"No. You won't. I won't let anything happen to you!"
In a panic, she hurried to knock on Zane's bedroom door.
"Zane! Zane, hurry! Something's wrong with Liam! We need to get him to the hospital!"
Zane's door opened very quickly.
He strode into the room. When he saw Liam in pain, his expression darkened, and he immediately picked the child up and left.
*****
An hour later.
In the pediatric ward of the hospital, Liam was on an IV. After the pain eased, he fell asleep.
"It's a stomach cramp from eating too much ice cream," the doctor said. "Parents need to be more careful in the future. Don't let him eat too much at once."
Thinking of the ice cream she had taken Liam to eat earlier that day, Shawna lowered her head in guilt.
"I'm sorry, Liam. I shouldn't have let you eat so much ice cream."
Hearing this, Zane's eyes suddenly turned cold.
After the doctor left, the hospital room fell silent.
Then Zane's low voice abruptly cut through the quiet.
"Shawna, let's get divorced."
- Writer
