Emptiness is all that remains 8

Shawn was caught off-guard by Candace’s sudden attack, his white shirt becoming thoroughly drenched. His temper exploded as he bellowed, “Bitch! You have some nerve to attack me! “You almost ruined Yelena’s face that day at the shopping mall when you made her fall. Preparing the stew for her is light punishment as is, yet you still want to argue with me? I guess it’s true that a person who grows up without a mother’s guidance will turn out to be barbaric and unreasonable!” Candace had assumed that she couldn’t be any more disappointed in Shawn. She never imagined that he would use the pain she kept buried in the deepest part of her heart to attack her. He had forgotten all about how he had taken her hand in the past and said, “Don’t cry, Candy. My mother will be your mother too in the future! I’ll ask her to make whatever you want to eat, and I won’t let you suffer any hardships! I won’t forgive anyone who dares to bully you because you don’t have a mother!” Candace could still recall his promise to her as if he had made it just yesterday. How could he bear to hurt her so deeply just because he wanted to protect Yelena? The immeasurable pain that she felt traveled from her feet to the top of her head. Tears poured from her eyes as if a dam had been broken. Her burning rage set her entire body aflame, making her feel as if she were a bomb that was about to explode at any second. Candace no longer wanted to be a doormat that Shawn could trample on whenever he pleased. She yelled, “If you think that I’m so useless, go ahead and look for Yelena. Why did you even come back? I never begged you to come back to humiliate me!” “Candace, I only came back with Shawn because he wanted to pack some of his clothes. We had no intention to humiliate you.” Yelena clutched her red nightdress tightly. Her voice was small when she murmured, “It’s just that he suddenly got in the mood and couldn’t control himself, so I also…” She groveled at Candace’s feet. “I’m sorry, Candace. It’s all my fault that the two of you are arguing like this. I’ve already asked Lisa to change the bedsheets in your room, so you can use the bed as usual—” “Drop the innocent act!” Candace glared daggers at Yelena. “I’m going to count to three. If you don’t get out of my sight, I’ll have Lucia drop by and personally teach you the rules of this household!” Shawn’s face twisted upon hearing Candace’s words. Lucia had always doted on Candace. If she found out about what was happening, he would have a difficult time handling her. Incensed, Shawn wrapped an arm around Yelena to take her away. “Just you wait. This isn’t over yet!” The door shut with a resounding click as Candace closed it in their faces. Shawn seemed rather troubled as he guided Yelena back to his car, looking extremely upset. A short distance away, the maids pointed at them as they whispered amongst themselves, wearing matching expressions of surprise. “Mrs. Hamilton finally stood up for herself. I feel relieved, though I’m just an onlooker. Good on her!” “Mr. Hamilton was way out of line this time. How could he ask a woman who’s recovering from her postpartum to prepare food for his lover? If I were in her shoes, I would have wanted to kill him. That son of a bitch got what was coming for him.” “You’re right. Even the most timid person has a temper, let alone Mrs. Hamilton. No matter how much she loves Mr. Hamilton, no one should have to endure such torment!” “Mr. Hamilton only has the guts to act this way because he knows Mrs. Hamilton loves him. Her love for him is going to wither away sooner or later. He’ll regret treating her this way when the time comes!” Shawn scoffed. His biggest regret in life was conceding to Lucia’s wish for him to marry Candace. Candace’s malice ran deep. When he had awoken from his coma all those years ago, Yelena had been the one who stayed by his side and cared for him. Candace had been beside herself with jealousy, to the point that she got the same tattoo as Yelena on her chest. She even claimed that the person he saved from the fire was her. What was even more ridiculous was how Candace had shown him a box of love letters and insisted that he was the one who wrote them. Shawn wasn’t blind. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize his own handwriting. He had written those love letters for Yelena! Yelena studied Shawn’s cloudy expression from the corner of her eye. She could almost feel the rage rolling off his body in endless waves. She pretended to stand up for Candace. “Shawn, Candace loves you a lot, so she probably couldn’t immediately accept what we were doing in her room earlier… “She’s still in her postpartum recovery period, so she’s not supposed to be stressed. You should be the bigger person and let it slide this time.” “You’re too kind, Lena. Candace tormented you so much today, but you’re still willing to speak up for her.” Shawn’s heart squeezed as he drew Yelena into his arms. He exclaimed angrily, “I’ll make sure she understands the consequences of angering me! I’ll have someone prepare a divorce agreement right now. I’m going to evict Candace from the house by force!” Yelena leaned against Shawn’s chest, her eyes flickering with animosity. Candace would be so disappointed in Shawn for serving her divorce papers when she was still in her postpartum recovery period, so she would most likely agree without putting up a fight. Once Candace was out of the picture, the position of “Mrs. Hamilton” was as good as hers!