Chapter 3


    “I know Grandma Gloria asked you to help the Williamses, but…”


    Joe raised his brows, wondering if Skr thought the Williamses deserved a higher status.


    Though Jeffrey simply wasn’t fit for it, Joe would still agree to her terms if that was her condition for


    the


    marriage arrangement.


    “I hope you’ll stop helping them.” Skr dropped her gaze, fearing the malice in her eyes would


    throw him


    off.


    “Oh?” Joe was slightly taken aback. Nevertheless, he didn’t question any further.


    Seeing that Skr had signed the documents, he nced at his watch. “Let’s go.”


    “Alright.”


    The courthouse wasn’t busy, so they managed to obtain their marriage certificate quickly.


    Everything still felt unreal to Skr as she strode out of the courthouse and stared at the


    certificate.


    Joe’s voice rang from beside her. “Let’s exchange our numbers. I’ll send you my address; you


    should


    move in with me in two days.”


    Before Skr could refuse, he left promptly. She had nned to move in with Gloria. Not once had


    she ever considered living with Joe.


    However, she wasn’t against this particr arrangement. A harmonious facade of their loving


    marriage life would put Gloria at ease, after all.


    Skr checked the time. It was 3:30 pm, and she could still head back to Williams Residence to


    retrieve her belongings. She wouldn’t even step into their house again if it weren’t for the valuable


    items Vi had


    given her.


    Her phone rang on her way to Williams Residence. Without checking the caller ID, she answered


    the call


    swiftly.


    “Hello?”


    “Babe, Maisy called me earlier. She said you got into a fight with Jeffrey and Sadie at the hospital


    over her


    blood transfusion.


    “I feel like it’s quite inappropriate of you to do so. You’ll upset them, and Maisy needs your blood as


    well. Your rtionship with them will be strained if you leave them right away.


    “Where are you? I’lle find you, and you have to apologize properly to Jeffrey and Sadieter!


    We’ll head to the hospital tomorrow early in the morning.


    “Also, do you want to go watch a movie together after you’ve donated your blood?” Christopher


    coaxed her from the other end of the phone.


    Skr clenched her phone. She had loved Christopher with all her heart back then, and her


    feelings


    toward him had been unwavering from high school to college.


    The day he’d graduated, he’d imed that she was the love of his life and said he wanted to marry


    her.


    At this point, Skr hade to the conclusion that men’s promises were nothing but bullshit.


    Everything she had experienced in the year she had been paralyzed felt just like yesterday to her.


    Christopher was slightly enraged by Skr’sck of response. “Babe, are you there? Is the signal


    bad on your end? Should I text you on WhatsApp instead?”


    “I’m breaking up with you, dumbass.” Skr could no longer bear being acquainted with


    Christopher. She hung up swiftly.


    Her phone began buzzing with notifications, yet shepletely ignored them. She hadn’t blocked


    Christopher yet because it wasn’t the right time to do so.


    Soon, Skr arrived at Williams Residence. Jeffrey and the others hadn’t returned because of the


    rush hour traffic. They probably wouldn’t be back for another 30 minutes.


    Since Skr had only moved in there about six months ago, she didn’t have a lot of things. One


    suitcase. was enough for her to pack her things


    When she descended the stairs, she saw an antique painting hung in a corner of the living room.


    The painting was hung in an extremely inconspicuous spot. Skr had spent three long months


    restoring it so she could give it to Sadie as her birthday present, but Sadie hadn’t been impressed.


    She had told the maid to hang in the least conspicuous ce in the living room.


    Skr had felt glum back then. Sadie had even looked impatient when Skr had offered to exin


    the origin and significance of the painting. In contrast, she had gleefully epted the designer bag


    Maisy had


    given her.


    Sadie certainly


    didn’t deserve the painting, nor did she deserve Skr’s sincerity.


    Skr strode toward the painting and took it off the wall carefully. After rolling it up meticulously,


    she stowed it away in her suitcase.


    Jeffrey, Sadie, and Maisy returned after 40 minutes. ncing around and realizing that Skr was


    nowhere to be seen, Sadie frowned. “Lucy, has Skre back?”


    The maid, Lucy Sanders, set her work aside in a haste and replied, “Ms. Skr returned half an


    hour ago, then she left again with a suitcase.”


    “Left with a suitcase?” Sadie screeched.


    “Yes, Mrs. Williams.” Lucy nodded.


    Maisy was taken aback. She had assumed she would be greeted with a sheepish–looking Skr


    and her apologies. Hadn’t Christopher said that he would deal with her?


    “Did she run away from home?” Maisy inquired.


    Jeffrey was outraged. “If she has the guts to run away, then she shouldn’t bothering back!


    Such


    30


    insolence! I’m terminating her credit card now!” Skr had really brought shame upon him.


    “I’ll go check her room now. Maybe she’s just trying to scare us by running away. I bet she wants a


    car as well. She’s hopeless!” Furrowing her brows, Sadie dashed upstairs into Skr’s room.


    She rarely went into Skr’s room. When she opened the door, she was momentarily startled by


    the empty and in room. A sense of uneasiness prickled at her.


    “Mom, I think I’ll leave. I don’t think Skr wants to see me at home. She’lle back once I’m


    gone.” Maisy said, approaching Sadie. She noticed that Sadie was lost in her thoughts.


    Maisy


    sensed that things were spiraling out of her control. She should be the only one pampered in this


    family! Skr was always meant to be inferior to her.


    Snapping back to her senses, Sadie turned toward Maisy and said warmly, “Just imagine what it


    would be like if she were as sensible as you are. Just ignore her. She can go whenever she wants.”


    “Skr grew up in the countryside, after all. It’s normal that shecks basic courtesy since her


    adoptive mom only graduated from middle school.


    “Mom, she’ll be more sensible after we teach her. She’lle to respect you and Dad just like


    I do,” Maisy chirped.


    Sadie grew annoyed whenever she heard about Skr’s past.


    “Skr’s been studying in college for a few years now, hasn’t she? By right, she should be sensible


    and mature. The truth is, she’s just a narrow–minded and ungrateful whelp!


    “Don’t bother about her. Let’s go down and eat,” she said.


    In the cab, Skr took in the view of the bustling streets outside the window. Everything felt like a


    dream- she had really been reborn.


    “Miss, your phone has been ringing.” The driver chanced a nce at her through the rearview


    mirror. He thought she looked pretty. She appeared to be only in her 20s, but the sullen look in her


    eyes said otherwise. Had something happened to her? Her phone had been ringing incessantly.


    “It’s fine. It’s the scammers,” Skr replied, looking down at her phone. Christopher had been


    spamming her on WhatsApp.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    She could imagine how agitated he was right now, but that image in her mind soon ovepped with


    the image of him devouring Maisy. Her grip on her phone tightened, and the ringing stopped.


    Another call came in instantly.


    Skr’sshes fluttered slightly when she saw that it was from Joe.