Emptiness is all that remains 7

The next morning, Candace got in touch with a realtor to arrange tours for potential buyers. An elderly couple exchanged glances with each other. They wore solemn looks when they asked, “Mrs. Hamilton, you’re still recovering from postpartum, so why are you in a rush to sell such a wonderful home? There’s nothing wrong with this house, is there? Where will you live once you sell the house?” “I intend to go back to my old home to rest,” Candace answered calmly. “There aren’t any disputes for this property. If you’re serious about buying the house, I can give you a 500,000 dollar discount, but you have to pay the full price upfront.” “That’s fine!” The elderly couple agreed easily as they penned their signatures on the contract. Candace followed them to the Real Estate Bureau to process the transfer procedures. She then requested the realtor to purchase a fully-furnished home that was ready for move-in in Fohzan. After the sale was completed, she canceled all of her cards. She rushed to the Government Affairs Agency to pick up her new passport before purchasing a flight ticket that would take her out of Bloomingville the next day. When night fell, Candace dragged her exhausted body back home. She was surprised to see a pair of red high heels that didn’t belong to her on the shoe rack. A man’s white shirt was thrown haphazardly on the floor while a black bra was discarded a short distance away from it. Candace felt as if an explosion had been set off in her brain. She stumbled up the staircase and saw a man and woman entangled with each other through the open master bedroom door. Condoms were scattered all over the floor. Hearing movement from beyond the door, panic flickered across Yelena’s face. She was half-kneeling on the floor and tried to push Shawn, who was positioned behind her. “Shawn, stop fooling around. Candace is back! It’s inappropriate for us to do this in front of her—” Shawn scoffed. “This is my home. What can she do to stop me when she’s only ‘Mrs. Hamilton’ in name and nothing else?” He gripped Yelena’s waist with his large hands and continued rocking into her. Candace covered her mouth with one hand as she bolted for the downstairs bathroom. She kneeled next to the toilet and vomited violently into it. She threw up so hard that she was spitting out bile by the end of it. Drained of strength, she leaned against the wall and swallowed large gulps of breath, letting the tears stream endlessly down her face. Shawn was truly a cruel man. It was one thing for him to parade Yelena around the city; it was another thing altogether to have sex with her in Candace’s room. It was utterly humiliating! Candace dug her nails into her palms and forced the tears to stop. She accepted the glass of water that Lisa offered her and said weakly, “Tidy up the guest room on the first floor for me. I’ll be staying there with Jamie tonight. “Remember to move the pot of aloe vera Lucia left for me from the master bedroom to the guest room. It has to grow in a clean environment. It doesn’t do well when it’s in a filthy place.” “Understood, Mrs. Hamilton.” Lisa paused for a moment before speaking again. “Mr. Hamilton said that Ms. Chapman wants to have your lamb stew. He ordered you to deliver a bowl to them after you’re done preparing it. He also said that if you don’t do as he says, he’ll never come back again.” Candace’s gaze turned glacial. “It’s perfectly fine with me if he never comes back. At least I’ll have some peace in my own home!” She then went to the guest room and crawled into bed. She covered herself with a blanket and fell into a deep sleep. However, the blanket was suddenly ripped off her body. Shawn roared from above her, “Have you gone deaf? I told you to prepare the stew for Yelena, didn’t I?” “Why should I prepare the stew for her when I’m still in my postpartum recovery period?” Candace countered heatedly. “Just because you brought her back today to disgust me? Just because you hoped that Jamie and I would die during childbirth so she could usurp my position?” Shawn stared at her in shock. He stayed mute for a few seconds before finally saying, “So you finally grew a spine, did you? You have the nerve to talk back to me now. I’m going to count to three. If you don’t prepare the stew, I’ll—” Powering through the pain in her abdomen, Candace grabbed a glass of water and threw it at Shawn. “Get out! Your mother gave this house to me. You have no right to raise your voice at me here!”