I Hated Him, Now I Cherish Him

Chapter 3

The villa's dining room was so quiet it was terrifying.

That single sentence struck like a thunderclap, instantly turning the whole atmosphere to ice.

Delilah stood rooted to the spot, her face draining of all color.

She knew her first attempt at cooking looked pretty pathetic, but to hear him say it was like something you'd feed a dog...

The assistant standing nearby, full of righteous indignation, couldn't hold back.

"Madame Delilah made this herself! She put her heart into it!"

Gavin's body gave a violent jolt. He stared at Delilah in disbelief, his voice unconsciously dropping. "Sorry, that was too harsh."

A heavy weight of humiliation pressed on her chest, and Delilah couldn't force out a single syllable.

After a long pause, she finally dragged a bitter, self-mocking smile onto her lips. "It's fine. My cooking is awful. I can't blame you."

Hearing that, Gavin felt an inexplicable discomfort twist in his heart.

He gave her a long, deep look before speaking, "In that case, I still have a mountain of work piling up in the office. I'll head back to the study."

With that, he turned on his heel and strode away without a backward glance.

That night, he didn't return to the master bedroom either.

Delilah lay alone in the huge bed, and for the first time, a nagging doubt crept into her heart: Could she really win him back?

The next morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Gavin was already heading to the family's private indoor training facility.

Years ago, the old patriarch had forcibly stripped him of his position as head of the group's core project to pave the way for this marriage alliance, reducing him to a shareholder with a fancy title and zero real power. But Gavin had never once slacked off on his physical conditioning.

By the time he trudged back, soaked in sweat, the sun was already high in the sky, bright and clear.

The moment he stepped into the living room, Delilah rushed up to him. "You're back."

Gavin instinctively took half a step backward.

He was drenched in sweat, and in the past, Delilah had always wrinkled her nose in disgust at the smell.

But today, not a trace of disgust showed on her face. Instead, she pulled out a wet wipe and reached up to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Gavin's entire body went rigid, and his hand shot up to block her. "I can do it myself."

"You must be exhausted after training so hard. I asked about your favorite cream cakes and learned to make them especially for you. Want to try one?"

Delilah deftly picked up a piece of cream cake with her fork and held it up to him.

Gavin lowered his gaze to look at her.

The soft morning sunlight fell on Delilah's fair, delicate face, her skin glowing with a faint pink, looking unbelievably tender.

His Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

Meeting her eyes, brimming with earnest anticipation, he finally relented and sat down.

"Thank you."

They finished breakfast with a quiet hush.

Not long after Delilah saw Gavin off, her cousin Selena pulled up in her car and came looking for her.

"Sis! Come on, let's go! I'm taking you somewhere fun to see some action!"

Selena didn't give Delilah a chance to refuse; she just grabbed her and dragged her out the door.

Half an hour later, the luxury car pulled up in front of the city's most extravagant high-end entertainment club, the Starlight Club.

Inside, the Starlight Club offered everything: fine dining, drinks, top-tier card games, high-stakes gambling, the works. The only people who could afford to step through its doors were rich kids from families with deep pockets.

Selena, clearly a regular, tugged Delilah inside.

"Mrs. Vance, Miss Selena, your VIP suite upstairs is ready!"

The so-called VIP suite was on the top floor, overlooking the entire club with a crystal-clear view of every entertainment area below.

Selena squeezed her hand in excitement as she pointed down to the high-stakes table.

"Sis, let me place a bet on the high table right now! Drop a million dollars on it!"

A million dollars, enough to keep an ordinary working-class family comfortable for decades.

In her past life, Gavin had fought tooth and nail and still couldn't scrape together that kind of money, yet here it was, just pocket change for Selena to gamble with. The rich kids spend money like water. That was exactly the picture.

Delilah gazed down at the crowd below, lost in reckless pleasure and extravagant waste, her heart weighed down with a dazed, surreal ache.

Who could imagine that this glittering illusion of prosperity would shatter completely in just three short years, leaving everyone scattered and destitute?

The upper crust indulged in decadence while the common folk scraped by, fighting for survival. The seeds of decay already lurked just beneath the glittering surface...

"I'm not playing," Delilah sighed softly, glancing down. "Selena, let's go back."

"Why are you wearing such a wet blanket today?" Selena's face was a picture of confusion, and she refused to budge.

Seeing that Selena was determined to stay, Delilah had no choice but to head out alone.

But no sooner had she stepped out of the club's entrance than a bunch of idle rich kids came charging in, causing a ruckus.

Delilah was dressed down today, and they didn't recognize her at all. One of them slammed right into her.

A searing, bone-deep pain shot through her ankle.

Delilah lurched sideways, pitching forward helplessly.

Just as she was about to crash to the ground, a pair of hands caught her and steadied her.

It was Simon Scott, the newly minted top student from a prestigious academy.

His gentle eyes brimmed with concern, and his voice was soft with worry. "Are you alright?"

Delilah froze. In this life and the last, she had only crossed paths with Simon once.

She had only ever compared him to Gavin out of sheer pettiness and spite.

Now, running into him so unexpectedly, a hot wave of embarrassment washed over her.

She instinctively tried to jerk away, but the stabbing pain in her ankle made her legs buckle.

Simon reached out again, his hands a steady anchor. "Careful."

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead from the pain. She parted her lips to thank him when a cold, mocking voice sliced through the air from nearby.

"Well, well, Mrs. Vance. Having a great time, I see, brazenly cavorting with a top student at a club."

Her heart clenched painfully.

She whipped her head around and locked eyes with Gavin, his gaze so cold it could freeze blood.