Chapter 444
Cecelia''s mind went nk when she saw Hans Wickford.
After years apart, running into her ex there was thest thing she expected.
Despite having given everything for him, he was at that moment standing beside that plump woman
with an ingratiating look on his face.
Cecelia felt a mixture of hurt and amusement.
We had been together for five years.
It was a tumultuous period when they only had each other. Although both of their families were poor,
Hans'' fared worse. Apart from her education, she had taken on several odd jobs to support them.
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Then, they became graduate students. To fund Hans'' further study, Cecelia had even given up her
opportunity for a postgraduate program to continue earning for his expenditure.
She had supported him for three years, including his expenses throughout his education. He had been
so moved that he had sworn to marry Cecelia, yet he had led another woman over by the hand during
their graduation and announced that he was breaking up with her.
That woman, Phoebe Sandsby, was the daughter of one of the cadres of the city''s Legal Affairs
Committee, who could pave the way for Hans'' future and spare him a decade of toil.
Cecelia even remembered Hans'' jeering face back then and that woman''s contemptible smugness.
She was surprised by the weight Phoebe had gained over the years. The flesh on her face was so
dense that her eyes could no longer be seen. Her stomach was worse. It was impossible to tell if she
was obese or pregnant.
Phoebe also caught sight of Cecelia. Holding her head high, she permitted her gaze to grace thetter.
“Is that you, Ms. Zuckerberg? And I see that you''re pregnant! I can''t believe another man would want
you after Hans dumped you. This is a branded store, and I wonder if you can afford anything here. I
can buy you some if you like.”
“That''s not necessary. I can afford several items of clothing. If you''re feeling generous, Ms. Sandsby,
you could donate some money to orphanages or the impoverished mountainous regions. Those
children need your help more,” Cecelia said calmly after collecting herself just in time.
On the other hand, Hans was gaping at Cecelia, unable to believe how different she lookedpared
to the girl with the bob cut from his memories.
Back then, her out-of-style getup was nauseating to look at.
Now, however, she had transformed into a white-cor city dweller who was elegant, confident, and
ahead of the trend in hairstyle and dressing. Her temperament, too, was extraordinary. Hans could not
tear his eyes off her.
Phoebe was a far cry from Cecelia, who looked like a goddess.
Phoebe noticed Hans'' reaction. When she saw how her husband was staring unblinkingly at his ex, the
mes of her jealousy red.
She twisted his ear violently. “What are you looking at? I''m standing right here! Do you still have
feelings for her?”
Hans yelped in pain. “Ouch! Easy, Honey. Don''t get worked up. You''re carrying our son in your belly.”
Hans did not dare raise a finger in retaliation.
He waited until she finished venting, and when his ears had swelled to twice their normal size, he held
Phoebe''s meaty body.
As Phoebe was too fat, Hans could only wrap his arms halfway around her body. It was aical sight.
He did not care about the strange looks he was attracting. With a sickening noise, he nted a kiss on
Phoebe''s greasy cheek.
“You are the moon of my light, Honey, and the most beautiful woman in my eyes. I will spare no other
woman another nce.”
Phoebe was inconsble. “That''s not what I saw earlier. You were staring at your ex.”
At that, Phoebe turned to re at Cecelia.
She could not believe how that woman, who came from the vige, had transformed into a mature
beauty in a few short years. That made Phoebe nervous and afraid of losing her man back to her.
To appease his wife, Hans deliberately belittled Cecelia. “Why would I look at her? She''s just a stranger
to me now. No, not even a stranger, but some bumpkin. She cannot bepared to a sophisticated
woman like you.”
Despite her running into Hans, the wound on Cecelia''s heart had been just a scab, but it was reopened
anew at that moment.
My sacrifices for three years meant nothing to him. He even calls me a bumpkin.
Cecelia lost her temper. “I have been good to you, Hans. I provided for all your expenses when you
were a research student, including your tuition, living expenses, your extravagant daily expenditure,
and even your parents'' medical fees.
“Though I have never onceined over the years, it pained me to discover that I''d been
supporting an ingrate all this time. You broke up with me after graduation and chose to be with this
woman only because her father was in a position to find you a good job. Hah!
“It''s one thing not to appreciate me, but how dare you insult me? Me, a bumpkin? What does that make
you? Something worse than that, I suppose! I must have been blind to have seen good in an ungrateful
b*stard like you! I don''t owe you a damn thing, Hans. Let''s make one thing clear. You owe me. Is your
conscience clear? Otherwise, you''d better look both ways before you cross the street!”
Hans turned crimson from Cecelia''s public admonishment.
It was bad enough to be seen living off a woman.
On top of that, the scornful res from the retail assistants were too much. “I... I...” he stuttered.
At the recollection of Cecelia''s kindness toward him, Hans bowed his head, too ashamed to meet her
gaze.
Phoebe was furious. She pointed a finger at Cecelia and shouted, “How dare you speak to my husband
this way? Whose fault is it for failing to keep him? Look at you, pregnant and shopping alone without a
man. The child in your belly must be the spawn of some good-for-nothing who knocked you up. Look at
how pathetic you''ve be!”
Livid at Phoebe''s words, Cecelia was seized by an impulse to take a swipe at her. Just as she was
about to, an attractive male voice butted in, “The child in her belly belongs to me.”
Suddenly, Cecelia found herself enveloped in his vast, warm embrace.