Chapter 3: Her Mother Died on the Day of Your Wedding

I suddenly burst into laughter. "You are dreaming!" I replied. Roderick squinted his eyes dejectedly. "Elaine, as long as you do what I say, I can give you anything you want, including marriage. Think it over."

When I wanted it, he didn't give it to me. Now that I didn't need it, he was trying to make me submit through all his threats and lies.

I suppressed the pain on my face and laughed mockingly, "Roderick, I told you we're done. I don't want to marry you anymore." Perhaps I had seemed too in love with him before, leading him to think I would always be there waiting for him. He scoffed, "What? You don't want to fulfill your mother's last wish anymore?" His tone was contemptuous.

But before I could retort, Lindsay interjected, "Roderick, I told you she was lying to you. If her mother were really dying, how could she be like this? Don't be fooled by her. It's disgraceful for a daughter to use her terminally ill mother to deceive you."

I couldn't stand it any longer. "Shut up! What right do you have to talk about my mother?" My retort completely infuriated Roderick. "Fine, you asked for this." He sneered as he made a call, putting his assistant on speakerphone and making sure I could hear clearly.

"Cancel the surgery for Elaine's mother." Roderick thought he could threaten me with this, his gaze on me hardening. However, I just looked at him calmly, with no emotions in my eyes. On the other end of the phone, Chester hesitated, and then said, "Mr. Bessemer, her mother passed away two days ago, the day of your wedding."

"How is that possible?" Roderick was thunderstruck. He looked at me incredulously, then angrily demanded through the phone, "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Chester, afraid of being blamed, quickly explained, "Mr. Bessemer, you told us you don't want any report about Miss Evans."

I heard that last sentence loud and clear. In fact, I wasn't surprised. Roderick only cared about Lindsay, while I meant nothing to him.

Before he could finish the call, I turned and left.

After hurriedly hanging up, Roderick chased after me with a panicked stride. "Elaine, I didn't know your mother... I didn't know she was that ill. She seemed fine when I last saw her."

Hearing this, I angrily shook off his hand. How dare he bring it up? The last time he saw my mother was four months ago. I had begged him for a long time, and he finally agreed to see her.

Even though the cancer had already spread, my mother still mustered the energy to prepare a dinner for Roderick. At the beginning of that dinner, everything was fine. But less than ten minutes into it, he received a call and hurriedly left. I knew that call was from Lindsay. My mother, feeling sorry for me, didn't say much but hid in her blankets and cried that night. That was the first time I thought of breaking up with Roderick. But every time I saw his face, I couldn't bring myself to do it, so I swallowed the words back down again and again.

Actually, I knew my mother didn't like Roderick. But because I liked him, and she didn't want me to be unhappy, she kept silent. She had been suffering from cancer for four months, and the only thing she wanted was to for me to marry the man I loved before she died. But on our wedding day, Roderick did not even show up! My mother and I waited until the evening, until I watched her die in my arms.

I pushed Roderick away. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Looking at my indifferent face, Roderick finally felt panic for the first time. He had a strong premonition that he was about to lose me. "Elaine, believe me. I knew nothing about this. If you want a wedding, I'll have my assistant arrange it right away. We can get a marriage certificate tomorrow!"