Chapter 6
The hallway fell silent as the air froze. Jacob’s grip tightened around the phone, his voice low and furious. “Are you tired of living? How dare you curse my wife like that?“M
Hearing the voice on the phone, a flash of quick delight flickered in Kimberly’s eyes. Then, she feigned concern and spoke to comfort him. “Jacob, don’t worry. My sister is probably just angry that you locked her up and is teaming up with the butler to trick you. You know how much she lies and how she loves using these dirty tricks to get your attention.““Honestly, if you ask me, you should just send her off to some faraway country to cool her heels. Once she’s had a taste of hardship, she’ll realize how good you’ve been to her. Someone as twisted as her? You can’t just keep coddling them.”
Kimberly’s nagging voice kept going like a broken record. For the first time, Jacob completely lost his patience. “Shut up. My relationship with my wife is none of your business.“}
He shook off the hand she had on his arm and stepped aside, lowering his voice. “Tell her I’m letting this go. Go release her right now. I’ll bring her favourite Basque cheesecake from her favourite Gazelle when I get back.”
Basque cheesecake cakes from Gazelle were our unspoken signal for making up for over a decade. Every time I was in a bad mood, all it took was one of those cakes and he could easily coax me into feeling better. It’s been two years since I last had one. It wasn’t like he hadn’t bought them; it’s just that the ones he did buy all went to coax Kimmy.
He always said she was the adopted daughter of our family, that she was fragile and depressed and that I owed it to her to be more understanding. Still, I never knew what exactly I owed her. Her parents died while fleeing from justice after committing a crime and my father sacrificed himself because of her, the daughter of a criminal. I gave up my mother and my husband, the dream I’d worked my whole life for. Now, I’ve even given up my life.”
This time, she suddenly remembered to use a Basque cheesecake to coax me back. How utterly ridiculous. The butler on the other end of the phone frantically explained, “Sir, I swear I’m not lying to you! Madam’s room caught fire. By the time we realized something was wrong and went to open the door, it was already too late. The fire at the house is out of control and the firefighters are doing everything they can… “8
“Enough!” Jacob pressed his fingers to his throbbing temple, voice still cold and sharp. “I know she’s mad at me for locking her in. I already agreed to let her out. What more does she want? She started that fire herself. Why the hell would she be stupid enough to burn herself alive?”
But what if I wasn’t the one who started the fire? The thought hit him like a truck and his breathing suddenly quickened. His face lost colour. “I’m coming back right now.“>
He was about to hang up when my mother snatched the phone from him. Unlike Jacob, she didn’t even try to hide her panic: “You’re lying, right? She’s just mad at me for saying those awful things. Tell Lily, tell her didn’t mean what I said in the room earlier. Tell her that her mom was wrong. I’ll go back and apologize right now.“}]
The housekeeper stayed quiet for a long moment. Realizing these two refused to accept the truth, he could only sigh in frustration. “Okay, I’ll let her know.“%
My mother clung to that like a lifeline, forcing a dry smile. “See? I told you it had to be a joke. A fire? In a house full of people? How could it get out of control? Lily, that girl is always such a handful.“}
Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried to comfort herself, the tremble in her voice gave her away. “Jacob, let’s go back right now. Today’s your wedding day. Go make things right with Lily. She’s my only daughter; I can’t let her get hurt again.“}
Jacob nodded, uneasy. “Yeah. I will.”
Kimmy followed behind, wanting to go with them, but Jacob stopped her. “You go home. Lily doesn’t like you in the first place. I don’t want to make her unhappy on our wedding day.“}
My mother also chimed in, “That’s right, Kimmy. You go home first. You’ve already taken Lily’s model championship; you should show up in front of her less in the future.“W
