Chapter 396 Oliver, How You Treat Me, I Will Treat You!
Sarah walked over to the couch.
She leaned down to pick up the jewelry box and opened it. Inside was a set of exquisite ruby jewelry, sparkling under the light. She thought, no woman would dislike this.
Sarah stared at it for a long time.
Oliver assumed she liked it, he said casually, "If you want it, take it. It's meant for you anyway."
However, Sarah smirked mockingly. She raised her hand and dumped the expensive jewelry onto the floor, scattering it everywhere. She didn't care at all. She even took off the pink diamond ring from her finger and threw it along with the rest.
She treated it like trash!
Oliver's eyelid twitched.
He stared at her intensely, his voice rough and strained, "arah, how can you just throw away my feelings like they're worthless? You push away everything I offer! Do our past together mean nothing to you now?"
Sarah's smile was faint. "What past do we have? Besides hurt and deceit, what else? Oliver, the way you treat me is the way I treat you. Is there a problem with that?"
Her words were resolute, and she walked away with determination.
Oliver sat on the couch, the morning light from the floor-to-ceiling window casting half his face in sunlight and half in shadow. He stared at her back, watching his Sarah leave.
She carried a small leather suitcase and walked out of the living room door.
Behind her, Oliver suddenly swung his hand, and a porcelain vase shattered on the floor.
The porcelain was beautiful,
The scattered fragments on the floor were proof of the broken relationship between them.
Oliver's chest heaved violently, "Sarah, you won't get far."
Sarah didn't look back. She walked faster and faster, wanting to escape Oliver, wanting to escape this lie called love.
In the courtyard, a shiny black car was already waiting, the luggage was packed, and Claire and the two children were already in the car, just waiting for Sarah to come down.
Sarah hurried.
As soon as she got in the car, she instructed the driver to start driving, but the driver hesitated and called out, "Mr. Windsor."
Oliver walked over.
He opened the back door of the car. Without speaking to Sarah, he reached in and picked up Jacob from his child seat. Sarah's heart raced, fearing he might change his mind and do something crazy.
Fortunately, Oliver was rational. He just held Jacob, pressing his face against Jacob's small cheek, his voice hoarse, "Listen to your mom! Jacob is a good boy now!"
Claire interjected, "Mr. Oliver Windsor, don't worry! Mrs. Windsor will teach Mr. Jacob Windsor well, definitely not like you!"
Jacob was too young to understand what separation meant.
He only remembered that Oliver hadn't held him for a long time, and now Jacob wasn't sad but happy, hugging Oliver's neck and calling him daddy, kissing Oliver's face.
Oliver patted his head.
His heart was bitter, but he smiled indulgently, "Silly boy, like a little puppy! Be good to Nicole!"
Oliver didn't care for Lester,
But Nicole was a lively child. He had taken care of her for a week, and sometimes Nicole would lie in his arms, absorbing his warmth. At night, her tiny hands would rest on his chest, pressing on the softest part of his heart.
He held Nicole and kissed her soft cheek.
Claire clicked her tongue, she spoke sarcastically, "Anyone who didn't know would think you're a loving father! Never around, just come home to sleep, and now you know how to take care of the kids! Let Ellie give you one!"
Oliver froze.
But Sarah's tone was indifferent, "Ms. Johnson had a hysterectomy! Claire, did you forget?"
Claire felt uneasy.
She had taken care of Sarah for many years. She had been there since Sarah was a native girl, who couldn't even watch a fish being killed, who would be scared for half a day at the sight of blood. But last time, she did something so drastic that even thinking about it now was shocking!
But Claire applauded her, thinking she did well.
Sarah finished speaking and turned to Oliver, "We should get going! I have some things to do at noon! Since we're leaving, let's not waste time!"
Oliver's blue eyes narrowed.
The car was darker inside than outside, and he tried hard to find any trace of reluctance on her face but found none.
It seemed she was eager to leave him. Ellie was just an excuse; she had known all along but waited for this day.
Oliver closed the car door.
The black car slowly drove away, its wheels crunching over the winter frost, making a faint sound. Though faint, it felt like sandpaper scraping Oliver's heart, unbearably painful.
He stood there until the car was out of sight.
After a while, a servant gently reminded him, "It's cold outside, Mr. Windsor. Please go back inside."
Oliver didn't speak. He walked back inside, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it, and taking a long drag. Only when his lungs were filled with nicotine did he feel alive.
The villa was quiet.
The servants moved around doing their tasks quietly, afraid of disturbing him.
Oliver went upstairs.
He opened the master bedroom door. The room was still a mess, with broken porcelain pieces and the jewelry he had given her scattered on the floor, tangled together.
He looked at it for a long time, then crouched down to pick up each piece.
Finally, he held the diamond ring, staring at it quietly.
He remembered the effort he put into buying it and the feeling when he placed it on Sarah's finger. But when she took it off, there was no trace of reluctance. She truly didn't love him anymore.
"Mr. Windsor, do you need me to clean up?" At the door, a servant asked cautiously.
Oliver stood up and sat on the couch. His face was haggard, painfully clear in the morning light, even the slight tremor of his muscles was visible.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he said softly, "No."
His voice even trembled slightly.
The servant was stunned.
All day, Oliver didn't go anywhere.
He didn't even bother to shower, just sat there on that couch chain-smoking... Waiting for Sarah's call. Maybe, just maybe, she'd believe that even if they couldn't be lovers, they could at least be decent human beings — that she'd call to say she's safe, maybe even tell him where she was staying. But the call never came.
In the evening, he took a quick shower, changed into clean clothes, and went downstairs.
The servant had prepared dinner.
While Oliver was eating, the servant hesitated, "Yesterday was your birthday. Mrs. Windsor specifically instructed the cooker, saying Mr. Windsor would drink at the company party and to prepare hangover medicine and a bowl of pasta! Mrs. Windsor also said to cook the pasta after Mr. Windsor took the hangover medicine, as Mr. Windsor doesn't like soggy pasta."
Oliver's Adam's apple moved.
He looked at the servant, his voice hoarse, "She really said that? She remembered my birthday?"
The servant was certain.
Oliver murmured softly, "I thought she had forgotten!" If he had known Sarah remembered his birthday, he would never have gone to Ellie's apartment. But there was no turning back now.
After a while, he instructed the servant, "Make a bowl of pasta."
The servant nodded.
Late at night, Oliver drove out.
Half an hour later, he arrived at Brookside Apartments, where Ellie lived. As he rang the doorbell, he thought about how he used to look forward to visiting, but now he had no desire to be there.
Ellie opened the door, surprised and delighted, throwing herself into his arms. "Oliver, I thought you wouldn't come anymore."
Her voice was filled with longing, something any man would find hard to resist.
But Oliver pushed her away.
Ellie was stunned.
He walked past her into the apartment. As usual, there was a pot of freshly made soup on the dining table. Ellie asked cautiously, "Oliver, are you hungry? Do you want…"
She hadn't finished speaking,
Oliver interrupted her, "I ate at home."
At home...
Ellie was taken aback, then smiled self-deprecatingly, "Yeah, that's your home! This place is just a whim for you. Now that I'm not a complete woman, you won't care about me."
Oliver didn't deny it.
After all, it was over. There was no point in arguing.
He sat on the couch.
Ellie brought over slippers, wanting to help him change, but he stopped her, "I'm just here to say a few words. No need to change shoes."
Ellie didn't react for a while. She understood his meaning—he wanted to finish their relation.
She spoke with a choked voice, "Did I do something wrong? I don't ask for much, just for you to come and see me occasionally. I promised I wouldn't interfere with your marriage."
Oliver lit a cigarette.
The pale blue smoke rose slowly. He looked at her through the smoke.
After a while, he spoke softly, "Sarah knows. I don't want her to be hurt. I won't come here anymore. You can still live here. I'll give you some money. Find a good man and get married. Ellie, the past is over. We need to get back on track."
He took out his checkbook and wrote down a large sum.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
He tore off the check and handed it to her, "Take the money and forget about me."
Ellie looked at him pleadingly.
She begged him to stay, "You don't want her to be sad, but I'll be sad too! Oliver, we can be more careful. I'll try not to let her find out, okay? You don't have to come every day, just once or twice a week… Oliver, please don't leave me! I have no one else but you. I don't want to live alone like I did in Marigoldia, where everyone bullied me. And now, without my legs and my uterus, what decent man would want me?"
But Oliver was determined to cut ties.
He walked to the door and grabbed the handle.
Behind him, Ellie spoke softly, "You always talk about being faithful to your marriage when she's angry. But Oliver, don't you think it's too late? You pushed a naive girl to this point, and now you hope she loves you."
"Oh, when she was sad, you were with me."Ellie sneered, "And other women. Countless women, circling around you. I was jealous, so how do you think a naive girl like Sarah felt… What do you think she thought of you?"
Oliver's jaw tightened, and he left.
He went downstairs and got into his car.
The car was dark, with only a bit of light from the streetlamp outside. He leaned into that bit of light, smoking to stay awake. About half an hour later, he couldn't resist calling Sarah. He told himself he just wanted to ask about Jacob. She should answer.
But Sarah didn't answer...