Chapter 85 A Terrible Dream


    Gtea was furiousst night when she said that even if he wanted to throw the gift box away, he shouldn''t do it in front of her. Upon his return to thepany, he promptly discarded it.


    For some inexplicable reason, seeing the gift box in the trash can filled Gtea with a sense of dread.


    From her own perspective, Gtea knew she couldn''t ept such a valuable gift. However, when considering ric''s point of view, his annoyance at his thoughtful present being rejected was understandable.


    At that moment, Gtea couldn''t help but regret her actions-if she had happily epted the gift the night before, maybe things would have turned out joyfully for both of them. She chastised herself for being so overly sentimental. Just as she was mulling over her dilemma, another knock on the door distracted her. Without thinking, Gtea hastily retrieved the gift box from the trash bin and stuffed it into her pocket.


    As she came back to her senses, intending to tell whoever was at the door to wait, ric spoke without dy. "Come in."


    Thepany''s vice president entered, and upon seeing Gtea, he greeted them with respect, "Mr. ric, Mrs. Knight."


    Mrs. Knight? Did thepany staff address her as Mrs. Knight?


    Before Gtea could respond, the vice president''s eyesnded on the stomach-soothing chicken soup she had ced on the coffee table, and he asked with noticeable nervousness, "Am I interrupting something?"


    "No, not at all," Gtea muttered, feeling another wave of social embarrassment wash over her. She shouldn''t have listened to Mia''s advice to bring ric the chicken soup during work hours. What was she thinking?


    "I''m fine. You all carry on with your work. I should go." She hoped that ric would say something to ease the awkwardness, but he simply kept his eyes on his documents, leaving her to deal with the difort on her own. "You guys are busy. I''ll leave first."


    With that, Gtea quickly exited ric''s office, but the embarrassment didn''t fade away.


    That man really could hold a grudge; if she ever upset him, he would go out of his way to make her feel ufortable.


    She sped out of Nexus Innovations, and once outside, she pulled out the gift box from her pocket.


    Why had she picked it out of the trash? She couldn''t tell.


    It was almost as if the knock on the door had triggered her impulse to leave. Leaving would mean no second chance to retrieve it, so...


    "Gtea, are you out of your mind?" she scolded herself. "You rejected his gift when he offered it, and now you''re picking it up after he threw it away?"


    Now, even she couldn''t make sense of her own actions. After a moment of contemtion, she tossed it into a nearby trash bin and walked away briskly. But just a few stepster, she found herself turning back again.


    "Gtea, you just have no self-respect! You''ve really outdone yourself!" Gtea steeled herself to pick up the gift box again, recognizing that it was an item of considerable value and it would be a shame to simply discard it.


    Last night, ric had merely opened the gift box, and Gtea had just nced at the watch inside. It wasn''t until she got home and took the watch out of its box that she saw something on the back-her own name. Was it a custom order? ric had said, "I have never bothered to celebrate someone''s birthday!"


    The memory of his words suddenly resurfaced as she looked at the watch, and she found herself quite annoyed with herself. If the roles had been reversed, she knew she would have been extremely upset.


    "Gtea, oh Gtea, why do you have such a disgraceful past?" she berated herself.


    It was her troublesome past that made her feel so constrained and ashamed to discuss with a man.


    She once married a man, essentially a stranger, in an attempt to ward off bad luck, without even knowing his full name or appearance. After bearing three children, who wereter proven not to be his, she endured severe humiliation from her mother-inw, lost one child, and ultimately had to stage her own death to flee desperately.


    Six years had gone by, and she had returned solely to find her lost son. Who would believe such a story if she told it?


    If only she couldpletely sever ties with her past, but she knew she had to find Mrs. Marigold. What if her husband was still alive? That wouldplicate things even further.


    Any normal guy would have trouble epting her past, wouldn''t he? And ric was no ordinary man.


    It was so frustrating!


    Bombarded by these recollections, Gtea felt a headacheing on; she decided to abandon everything and just go to sleep.


    But fate wouldn''t have it, as her thoughts infiltrated her dreams. In her dream, she wore a wedding dress and veil, clutching a bouquet as she glided over rose petals toward him.


    Under the sunlight, ric, dressed as a groom, was strikingly handsome, his smile captivating. As she drew nearer, he reached for her hand, pulling her gently closer, nting a sweet kiss on her lips. Oh, how sweet it was!


    Then, on bended knee, he slid a ring onto her finger and spoke earnestly, "Gtea, with me, you won''t face any difficulties in the days toe. I promise to make you the happiest woman in the world." Gtea burst into a joyousugh upon hearing those words, but her happiness shattered abruptly when-


    "Sten Storm, you vile woman!" Mrs. Marigold bellowed as she rushed forward and viciously pped Gtea''s face.


    "Everyone,e and see! This wretch isn''t Gtea Hartley! Her real name is Sten Storm! She married into my family to ward off bad luck, yet she dishonored herself, cheated on my son, and cuckolded him. I thought she died in childbirth, but she faked her death instead!


    And now, without a shred of remorse, she dares to deceive here in yet another marriage scheme. Don''t be fooled by her lies and shamelessness. She deserves to die!"


    In a sh, the guests began hurling objects at her, pointing fingers and cursing with indignation:


    "A married woman trying to trap someone in a fake marriage, she''s a con artist who deserves punishment!"


    "Isn''t she the daughter of a felon who took his own life in fear of punishment? Like father, like daughter-a rotten bunch, all of them!"


    "Right, a woman like her should be nailed to a pir of shame, beat her to death!"


    Suddenly, everyone was throwing punches at her while she desperately reached out for ric''s hand, urgently trying to exin, "ric, believe me, I''m no scam artist! I''ve never meant to deceive you—" "Get away from me!" ric didn''t wait for her to finish and kicked her away, "Gtea, I never thought you''d be this kind of woman. You disgust me, you make me feel dirty!"


    "No, it''s not true, ric. Listen to me, let me exin..."


    "What''s there to exin, you vile woman?" ric thundered.


    The police arrived, and he told them, "Take this con woman away. I don''t ever want to see her again."


    "Sten Storm, you are suspected of bigamy and fraud. You need toe with us."


    "No, I haven''t..." Gtea struggled to reach for ric, but he walked away without looking back.


    Then she was forcibly dragged away by two police officers, one on each side, as she struggled and resisted with all her might.


    "No, don''t! Ah, don''t take me... I''m not, don''t!"


    Gtea cried out, waking from the nightmare, and then she heard Elisa''s voice.


    "What''s wrong, Mommy? Did you have a bad dream?"


    Elisa? Wasn''t she supposed to be living the country life?


    For a moment, the confusion made her wonder if she was still dreaming.