Chapter 8
I nodded and met his hopeful gaze.
Just then, a phone call interrupted the moment. He glanced at the screen and quickly hung up.
He explained. “Cynthia, there’s an issue with the project in the west suburbs. I need to make a quick call. Go eat the cake. I’ll be back to keep.
D
<
As he said that, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on my cheek.
I didn’t react much, not even bothering to ask anything.
Keith finally seemed to sense that something was off. He looked at me, his voice hoarse. “Cynthia, why do I feel like you’re different? Like… you don’t care about me anymore, and your eyes don’t have the same light.”
His words made my heart skip a beat, but I just smiled faintly. “Don’t overthink it. Go ahead and take care of what you need to do.”
Keith wanted to say more, but time didn’t allow. He turned to leave, even forgetting to change into proper shoes.
I went upstairs and looked down coldly at Mildred, who had caught up to the door. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest.
When Keith had grabbed his phone earlier, I had clearly seen the name on the caller ID.
I just didn’t expect that he would openly bring Mildred to my villa.
I opened the window, and from this angle, I could see everything happening below.
Keith’s expression turned cold, his entire demeanor tense with irritation. He walked quickly over and grabbed Mildred’s hand.
“I told you not to come! Why did you chase me all the way home? I told you not to appear in front of Cynthia! Are you out of your mind?”
Mildred froze, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
“Keith, I’m sorry. I was just so scared… I’m scared you’ll leave me and the baby. Please, don’t be mad at me…”
She placed his hand on her pregnant belly. “If you’re angry, the baby will be scared too.”
Seeing her tearful expression, Keith immediately softened. He patiently comforted her.
“Alright, no more of this. Go back now. Once I’m done here, I’ll make time to come see you and the baby. You have to be good.”
Mildred reluctantly pulled away, and her face was full of longing. Though she was clearly unhappy, she had no choice but to leave. As she turned, she stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to Keith’s lips, her gaze filled with longing.
Keith was momentarily stunned, then cupped her face and kissed her back fiercely. They embraced each other, lost in a passionate kiss.
Keith only snapped back to reality when Mildred began unbuttoning his shirt. He quickly pushed her away.
“Enough. You need to go back now, or Cynthia will start getting suspicious.”
Mildred bit her lower lip in frustration, then whispered something in his ear. Whatever she said made Keith’s ears turn bright red.
“Alright, go home and wait for me. I’ll take care of things here, then come straight to you.”
Keith took a moment to compose himself at the door before slowly walking in.
I was casually leaning on the couch, sipping warm milk, and gave him a cold look.
Keith sighed in mock resignation. “Cynthia, I’m sorry, but I’m breaking my promise again. I said I’d spend these days with you, but there’s a problem with that project in the West District. It’s something we can’t solve over the phone, so I need to go there in person. Do you get why I have
to do this?”
Before he could continue, I raised my hand to stop him. “I know you’ve been working on that west district project for a while. Don’t worry about
- me. Go ahead, I’m fine.”
Perhaps he was feeling guilty. A trace of regret flashed across Keith’s face. “I’ll be back soon. I promise I won’t keep you waiting too long.”
I nodded and smiled, just like before.
8:45 AM C
<
Seeing my smile, Keith finally relaxed. He didn’t hesitate, gently patted my head, grabbed his keys, and walked out the door.
As I watched the car speed away, I finally let out a deep breath.
Wiping away the tears on my cheeks, I turned and walked to the bedroom, pulling out the suitcase I had prepared earlier.
I took one last look around the house, the place I had lived in for five years. This time, I was saying goodbye for good.
I left an envelope on the table, then packed all the messages Mildred had sent me and forwarded them to Keith. Finally, I took out my SIM card and threw it, along with the cake he had bought, into the trash. After doing all that, I turned away without looking back.
From this moment on, there would be no trace of Cynthia in Keith’s life.
In this world, Cynthia Beltran was gone.
