Ashes of Betrayal

I knew from the start that Williams did not love me.

Everyone knew that I had a crush on him the entire four years I was at university.

Unfortunately, he had already met the woman of his dreams, so he did not care about me.

Right before graduation, Leia accepted her family’s arrangements for her to study abroad.

The day she left, Williams approached me while he reeked of alcohol.

He hugged me and called me Leia with glazed eyes.

He had mistaken me for someone else. Yet, I liked him so much that I allowed myself to indulge in a moment of passion.

However, it was a mistake. When I woke up the next day, he threw my clothes on the floor and told me to leave with a gloomy face.

I thought that it would just be a short fling, but I unexpectedly got pregnant.

Williams held a wedding ceremony and had me give birth to the child; he then named him James.

He probably did not love me at all. That would explain why he turned a blind eye to Leia’s provocation toward me. After she returned to the country, he even allowed her to enter our home and take James with her.

Even when I desperately demanded an explanation from Williams, James would take his side.

He would say, “Mom, you’re not as pretty or as gentle as Miss Leia. Why don’t you just leave?

“Then, Dad can be with her, and Miss Leia can be my mother.”

My eyes felt heavy, and I started to lose consciousness.

I slumped onto the floor, as I was too weak to stand.

Just then, a small head peeked through the suffocating smoke.

“Madam, do you need any help?” someone asked timidly.

I forced my eyes open and saw a young boy who was about the same age as my son.

He was covered in ash and dirt, but his eyes shone brightly through the smoke.

He was so small in size, yet he managed to muster the strength to help me up. Then, together, we slowly made our way outside.

The path to the outside was incredibly challenging, and I felt like giving up several times.

Even so, the boy held on to me and refused to let go.

As soon as we escaped the fire, he was so exhausted that he kneeled on the ground. Despite that, he quickly helped me call for a doctor.

I hugged him and cried uncontrollably.

While we were on our way to the hospital, I learned that he had no parents, and his grandfather had died in the fire.

Overwhelmed with grief, he buried his head in his hands while we were in the ambulance.

He tried to hold back his tears because he was afraid that he might disturb those around him.

I felt an inexplicable amount of sympathy for him. I held his hand as I asked if he would let me adopt him.

His eyes lit up with joy, but he shook his head. He said that he did not want to be a burden to me.

I smiled wryly and told him that I was a big mess myself. So, I was not worried about him being a burden.

I promised him that we would begin the adoption process as soon as I was discharged from the hospital.

I was hospitalized for three days, and I lost my baby, as I had inhaled too much smoke.

During this time, neither Williams nor James called or visited me.

They were just in another room nearby, but they were busy taking care of Leia.

The only one by my side was the little boy who had saved me.

He told me that his name was Lucas Peterson and that his father had named him. If I was willing to adopt him, he would allow me to change his name.

I patted his head and shook my head in disagreement. “I’m willing to adopt you, but you don’t need to change your name. You can do anything you want without making any compromises, okay?”

Lucas’s eyes lit up with joy, and he nuzzled against my arm affectionately. He also thanked me in a sweet voice.

It had been a long time since I last heard those words.

Williams and James found me annoying, and they never thanked me for anything.

I was touched, so I hugged him. I was smiling for the first time in a while.

It was then that I bumped into Williams and James in the hallway.

I had just completed the surgical procedure for my miscarriage. So, Lucas was carefully helping me back to my ward.

As we turned the corner, we ran into Williams and James who were supporting Leia.

They were chatting and laughing away; this trio looked more like a family.

I thought that I would feel incredibly hurt, but to my surprise, I only felt a faint ripple of emotion.

As such, I quietly walked past them.

However, Williams could not hold back and called out to me.

I turned and saw a hint of worry in his eyes.

“Christelle, are you hurt?” he asked.

I wanted to laugh.

Of course not, but I did have an asthma attack and nearly suffocated in the smoke.

There were a few stitches on my head, and it was still wrapped in bandages. Yet, he chose to be oblivious to it all.

On top of that, I had a miscarriage. Perhaps the baby was fortunate in a sense; the baby did not have to live with such a cold-blooded father and brother.

Seeing that I was silent, he stared at my flat abdomen.

Then, he sneered mockingly. “Christelle, I really thought that you were pregnant. It looks like Leia was right. You were just being selfish and trying to trick me into saving you first.”

Next to him, Leia stared at me with resentment.