When there is only love left

Chapter 2

My heart sank when I heard Viki’s voice and I hung up the call immediately.

I tossed and turned in bed the entire night, knowing what they were doing as I lay in bed alone. It was agonizing to know that my husband was spending the night with another woman.

Daybreak came eventually and I received a message from my college friend Annie, asking me to accompany her for shopping. It was a welcomed distraction as I wanted to take my mind off Lucian and Viki.

I met Annie at an upscale mall.

“Elena, what’s with the eyebags?” Annie asked with concern when she saw the dark rings beneath my eyes.

I shook my head and said with a heavy heart, “Nothing, I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

We went to a fashion boutique and Annie excitedly picked out some clothes to try them on as I sat on the sofa and waited for her. I was both tired and in no mood for shopping.

“Ms. Chance, you have such a good figure and look good in everything you wear. This dress suits you very well,” the sales lady eagerly said.

“Oh? Really? I’ll take this then along with all those.”

The voice seemed familiar to me and I turned around to look in that direction.

It was Viki!

Seemingly sensing my gaze, Viki turned her head to look over. When she saw me, she sashayed toward me in her stilettos.

“Hey, Mrs. Vega,” Viki said smugly. “Oh no, I should say former Mrs. Vega.”

I replied nonchalantly, “Are mistresses so shameless now?” What I said triggered her immediately and she snarled, “You’re the one who came between us. If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t have broken up with me! You don’t think that Lucian married you out of love, do you?”

Viki said something I always never wanted to admit to.

If Lucian’s father had not insisted that he married me, would he even have noticed me?

When Viki saw my reaction, she continued her attack and said, “Do you think that Lucian really loves you? If it weren’t for his father’s insistence and his desire to take over the Vega Group, he wouldn’t have married you! Don’t you know that it’s all a ploy?”

I knew that Viki was just trying to provoke me so I decided to ignore her and go toward where Annie was. As soon as I got up from the sofa, Viki grabbed my arm and that triggered me to fling her arm away as I was disgusted by her touch. Unexpectedly, I flung out my handbag in the process and its contents were scattered all over the floor.

I immediately bent down to pick up the things on the ground. Viki also squatted down to help me collect my scattered belongings. I ignored her and stood up after stuffing everything into my bag.

Viki did not say anything. She took a card out of her bag, waved it in front of me, and then went to the cashier to pay for her clothes. Although Viki did not say a word, I knew that it was Lucian’s credit card.

I held back my emotions and pretended to be fine. I walked over to Annie who had changed into a beautiful long white gown. She spun around in front of me and asked, “How is it?”

“Exquisite,” I said and smiled reluctantly. She noticed my odd behavior and looked at Viki who was at the cashier. She then asked, “Who’s that?”

I shook my head and Annie knew not to ask any more questions.

After Annie paid for her gown, we walked out of the boutique and saw Viki sitting on a bench just outside.

When she saw me walk out, she smiled sweetly at me.

I immediately frowned, not knowing what to expect.

The next moment, I saw Viki stand up and said sweetly to someone behind me, “Lucian, you’re here.”

I immediately froze and tense up.

It turned out that Lucian had received my text messages and knew that I called. He just ignored me and did not answer my calls and messages. However, he could set aside his work and come to shop with his former girlfriend.

My heart sank yet again.

Annie had attended my wedding and recognized Lucian. She was obviously baffled, did not know what was going on, and began to tug my hand.

I took a deep breath, composed myself, and turned around. “Lucian, yesterday...”

Lucian, dressed in a well-tailored business suit, walked quickly to Viki’s side. He asked with concern, “What’s wrong honey? Are you not feeling well?”

Viki fell into Lucian’s arms, reached for her temples, and said delicately, “I feel a little dizzy.”

“I’ll take you to the hospital for a checkup immediately.” Lucian did not even look at me before he led Viki away in his embrace.

How could he ignore me, who was legally his wife, and care for someone else right in my presence?

“Lucian!” I could not help but yell out. The cold look in his eyes, as he stopped and glared at me, made me feel the urge to cry again.

I managed to hold back my tears and just as I was about to speak, Lucian noticed Annie’s shopping bag. It was obvious that we had met in the boutique.

Lucian suddenly said crudely, “Did you say something to upset Viki?” The sudden accusation drove another dagger hard into my heart again.

“Lucian, don’t say that about Elena. She didn’t say anything to me.” Viki’s skillful rebuttal instantly became an accusation against me.

“Elena! If you have anything to say, just say them to me. Don’t you dare hurt Viki!”

His words pushed back all the words that I wanted to say. It was as if there was no longer anything that I could say that could change his mind.

I stood dumbfounded and in tears as I watched the two of them walk away and finally disappear into the crowd. Tears flowed from my eyes as I could no longer hold them back any further.

“Elena, how can he blatantly have an affair right in front of you?” Annie asked in exasperation.

I did not want to explain or recount what had happened. I just hugged her and cried. After a while, I composed myself and said goodbye to Annie. I could no longer accompany her for the rest of the day.

I walked out of the mall and tried to take a taxi home. However, I suddenly felt dizzy, so I took a taxi to the hospital, just to be safe.

After the doctor examined me, he said that I had been under too much stress and had not slept well. As I was pregnant, he hesitated to give me anything to help me sleep and instructed me to rest more.

I was drowsy due to the lack of sleep and slowly walked out of the examination room.

When I rounded a corner and immediately bumped into someone.

“Ouch.” I gasped as my foot was stepped on.

The person in front of me stepped back and instead of hearing an apology, the person said, “Elena, did you follow me here?”

I looked up and it was Lucian, who appeared upset with me for following him to the hospital.

“I didn’t.”

“Then are you trying to say that you came here because you don’t feel well? Don’t play the victim card!” Lucian snarled through gritted teeth.

I remembered that I needed to talk to him, so I followed him into a hospital room.

“Lucian.”

Viki was lying on the hospital bed wearing the patient’s gown.

Lucian realized that I had followed him into the room and asked, “Why did you follow me in here?”

“I need to talk to you alone, do you have time this afternoon?” I asked.

“Say what you have to say now.”

I did not want to give up on our marriage and wanted to tell him about the pregnancy. Perhaps the child will change his mind about the divorce. However, it was inconvenient for me to tell him about this in Viki’s presence.

“Can you come home at five o’clock this afternoon? I want to talk to you alone. Then we’ll go back to the Vega residence for dinner with your father.”

Every Friday, I would go back with Lucian to the Vega residence for dinner.

He grimaced at the thought of going back for dinner but did not refuse.

Lucian’s cell phone rang. He answered the call and walked out of the room, leaving Viki and me staring at each other.

“Why don’t you just give up? Lucian doesn’t love you,” Viki said confidently. She knew that it was the most direct way for her to get me to give up.

I knew it was futile to argue but I could not help and said, “You want to be Mrs. Vega? Not until I agree to a divorce, or until you can get into Mr. Vega’s favor.”

My words struck home. Viki knew that she was never accepted by Lucian’s father. Her expression darkened and knew that this was her biggest obstacle.

“So what? It’s enough that Lucian loves me.” Viki’s eyes twinkled and suddenly she grinned. “Don’t you think that Lucian will stay here to accompany me?”

I was calm and did not reveal any emotions but, in my heart, I knew that I was in no position to compete.

What Viki did next was at a whole different level. She took the teapot that was filled with hot tea and poured it over her hand and screamed in agony.

Everything happened so fast that I froze in place, not knowing how I should react.

It was only when Lucian heard the screams, rushed in, and slapped me on the shoulder that I realized what had happened.

The hot tea immediately scalded Viki’s hand and her pale skin immediately turned red and swollen.

“Ouch! Lucian! It’s so painful!” Viki cried in pain and then said, “I...I wanted to drink some tea and accidentally...”

Lucian took her hand gently and began to blow over the wound while pressing the button to call the nurses. He then turned his head to look at me and shouted angrily, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you even help her pour some tea?”

His expression was so fearsome that I thought that he was a beast who was ready to rip me from limb to limb.