Chapter 9
I posed for a group photo with the club’s young members at the foot of Jade Dragon Mountain, savoring the moment. In just a couple of weeks, id finally have my divorce papers in hand.II.
Ever since I left the Lambert family that day, I bought a ticket and flew straight to the west–Wyoming, to be precise
Baillie and I used to dream about settling out here for a while, but work always kept him on the run, and we never found the time.
I’d been in Wyoming for a week before I signed up for a local hiking club online.
Most of the club were guys and girls in their early twenties. At first, they seemed womed I wouldn’t be able to keep up, but after I’d climbed two mountains with them, they stopped treating me like I was old.
Now, I was part of their circle, no questions asked.
Sometimes, it felt like I’d gone back to being twenty again.
I never expected to run into Baillie at the base of the mountain.
Actually, ‘run into wasn’t quite right–he’d come looking for me.
After saying goodbye to my friends, I led Baillie to a small café nearby for a drink.
Fresh off the mountain, I was burning up and ordered an ice cream.
Baillie watched me eat, frowning at every spoonful I took.
“Eating ice cream in this weather isn’t good for you. You’re not in your twenties anymore…
He trailed off, and I paused too.
Then I just smiled and let it go.
“I saw a doctor, you know. They said I’m as healthy as someone half my age.”
After a quiet moment, I finished my ice cream at my own pace, then turned and looked at him.
“So, Baillie, what brings you all the way out here to find me?”
Baillie pressed his lips together, his gaze heavy.
About what happened with Aster’s stomach issues I’m sorry
I gave a careless laugh.
“It’s fine That’s all water under the bridge.”
He seemed to catch his breath, and when he spoke again, his voice trembled.
“And that other thing I said. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.“8
I stared at him, confused for a second, and then remembered what he was talking about.”
Thinking it over, I pulled out my phone and made a call!!
About fifteen minutes later, the club leader arrived, holding the hand of a little girl with pigtails
She ran up hugged me, and kissed my check. Her voice was clear and sweet: “Mommy Veronical“}
Baillie looked at me in disbelief.
I pulled out an old photo of her–she’d been thin and pale then, nothing like the bright, adorable girl standing beside me now.
“Her name’s Nina
I held her close and explumed where she’d come from.
I adopted Nina from an orphanage on my first day after leaving the Lambert family. Back then, she was frail, malnounshed, and honestly. not much to look at
Now she was soft and chubby, glowing with health
It had only been twenty days
“So you see, Baillie, I don’t agree with what you said ”
“It’s true, I’ve never had a child of my own–but you know perfectly well why that is, don’t you? |
The truth was, Id wanted to have a child with him. He’s the one wh
And his reason was simple–Jenifer was pregnant.
Baillie staggered, his voice faltering
who refused
“You you know?
I nodded
I knew all about Baillie and Jenifer
I was the driving force behind the company’s success. Most of the staff looked to me as their anchor, even more than Baillie
He was wary of me but couldn’t let me go–he still loved me, back then.
He was tom and awkward, and that’s when Jenifer appeared.
She wasn’t ambitious, just the sort of woman who clung to a man for support–a wallflower if there ever w
And her gentle, placid nature was exactly like mine used to be…
ever was one.
