Lillian had been weakened by childbirth and needed rest, so she wasn’t able to have sex after her confinement period ended.
Frank was feeling a little restless. After making sure she was well taken care of, he left to attend to his own business.
Lillian sat there every day, her physical pain unable to mask the hurt in her heart.
She had once asked Frank, and he had confirmed that the child had already died.
He even showed her his phone and made her search for it in front of him.
If Conrad had had a daughter, there would have been a grand celebration for the child’s full moon, with the whole city knowing about it.
But there was no news about the child anywhere.
This proved that the child had died long ago.
The sudden change came when a woman barged into the villa.
The villa had always been very quiet.
In the remote mountains, who would come?
The woman kicked open the door, and when she saw Lillian, her brows furrowed.
She couldn’t believe that this disheveled, unkempt, ghostly woman was the one Frank had been hiding.
“You’re Frank’s mistress?”
Lillian looked at her with indifferent eyes. “Who are you?”
“Who am I? You worthless woman still dare to ask who I am! Let me tell you, I’m Frank’s wife. We’ve been married for six months! You think he’s rich? If it weren’t for my father, how could he have so much cash to use? I suggest you get the hell out of here while you still can!”
“Sarah!” Frank’s voice came.
Soon, Frank caught up, grabbing her and pulling her out.
Lillian numbly listened to the shouting downstairs.
Her eyes flickered.
She wasn’t sure how long the commotion had lasted, but eventually, Frank came upstairs looking disheveled.
“Aren’t you going to ask me anything?”
“Someone like you, using women to climb to the top and cutting off their chances-what’s so strange about that?”
Frank’s expression went blank. “I don’t like it when you talk about me like that.”
“If I don’t say it, would you stop being that kind of person? What a strange logic-you do all these bad things and yet don’t let anyone talk about it.”
“Lillian, even if I’ve done bad things, it’s your own fault. Who told you to be so beautiful, so cute, and make me fall for you?” After saying this, Frank, with a blank expression, had someone start packing her things.
“What are you going to do?”
“It’s no longer safe here. Of course, I’m taking you somewhere else.”
She didn’t have much, just a suitcase was enough. Frank grabbed her hand and dragged her into the car.
He drove himself to take her away.
Since the roads were winding mountain paths, when Lillian suddenly tried to grab the steering wheel, Frank instinctively slapped her hard.
“Stay in your place.”
But Lillian wouldn’t listen. “Are you scared to die? Are you scared to die too? But I’m not!”
Lillian fiercely fought him for the wheel, even grabbing everything she could and throwing it at him.
“You killed my daughter. You harmed my father! I’ll make you go down and accompany them! Go to hell, Frank!”
Lillian watched the sharp turn ahead and, as she saw Frank’s car veering uncontrollably toward it, she smiled wickedly and recklessly.
Frank grabbed her hand, “Fine, let’s die together! I don’t care, my life’s already a mess. Your death will only be with me.”
But Lillian suddenly shoved his hand away. In the split second before the airbags deployed, she remembered Conrad’s lessons on how to protect herself and shielded herself.
Because she had grabbed the wheel, Frank’s side of the car crashed into a tree on the side of the road.
The driver’s side was almost unrecognizable, but Lillian’s side stayed on the road.
If she could crawl out, the car would plummet off the cliff.
This was the place Frank had chosen, hoping no one would find Lillian.
His leg was crushed, completely unable to reach for her.
With all her strength, Lillian pried his fingers one by one, then used a blunt object to break the car lock, slowly and carefully crawling out of the vehicle.
She wasn’t in much better shape herself.
A cut on her forehead from the glass was bleeding.
As she staggered out of the car, Frank was still shouting. “Come back! You get back here! You can’t leave me!”
Lillian glared at him. “Go to hell.”
“Go to hell!”
At that moment, Frank mustered some strength and struggled, as though trying to grab her and take her down with him.
As he struggled, the car lost all balance. His movements worsened the situation, causing the tree trunk blocking him to snap.
Frank’s hand reached halfway out, and then it disappeared from Lillian’s sight.
A loud crash echoed from the cliff below.
The sound was deafening.
Lillian watched and listened, her expression numb.
She struggled to get up, wearing only a thin dress, and made her way toward the main road.
She didn’t know where she was going.
She didn’t know what to do with her future.
She just felt so tired.
So, when she collapsed by the roadside, all she saw was this desolate place, and yet, there was a car.
The person who got out of the car moved quickly.
When he flipped her over and lifted her up, his tone was urgent and gentle. “Hey, are you alright? Miss, are you okay?”
Her vision was blurry and unfocused.
She opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything.
“Boss?”
“There’s someone fainted here, come help.”
“But the only clinic nearby is in the village.”
“Then we’ll take her there first.”
When Lillian regained consciousness, she realized she was in a clean, well-lit house.
The man who had come in had rolled up his sleeves to his forearms, and his clean, fair arms flashed in front of her eyes.
“You’re awake?” He sat down beside her. “Do you remember your name? I’m not familiar with this place, and the villagers said they hadn’t seen you before. I didn’t dare leave; I was just waiting for you to wake up.”
Lillian’s first reaction was to cry.
“Hey, don’t cry. What happened? The doctor said you probably just had a baby. Did something bad happen to you?”
In this remote mountain village, such a beautiful woman made the man easily think of trafficking issues.
“Can you take me out of here? I’ll repay you.”
The man’s heart tightened. “Okay.”
******
Conrad suddenly woke up.
He didn’t know what had happened tonight, but he hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time.
He glanced at his daughter, who was sound asleep on his chest, gently patting her.
It seemed like he had been overthinking things.
How could he even think about…
Such a terrifying image.
Lillian shouted his name in a desolate place.
His chin brushed against his daughter’s soft head.
If you miss me, why don’t you come back?
Please come back, Lillian.
He wasn’t sure if his emotions had affected little Jasmine in his arms.
The little girl, with a hint of a sob in her voice, was about to wake up.
Conrad immediately held her up and comforted her, humming a lullaby.
Through the long night, father and daughter nestled together…
On the bedside table, a photo of Lillian with a bright smile seemed to quietly watch over them.