Gilbert had no doubt at all. The next second, a call came to his mobile phone. It was Eloise.

Seeing that, he hurried out after answering the phone, “My niece Eloise has a stomachache. Her husband is away on a business trip recently and she can't take care of herself. I'm going to see what's going on.”

I did not plan to stop him. Since after Gilbert left, I opened the divorce agreement sent by the lawyer and quickly went to the study to print it out.

In WhatsApp, Eloise also kept reporting the latest news, [I said I was having period pains and my uncle came over to take care of me.]

In the photos, Gilbert was busy in the kitchen, coaxing and feeding Eloise. He even gently wiped her mouth.

In the three years of marriage, even when I was at my sickest, I had never seen Gilbert cook.

Another dynamic pop-up. In the video, Gilbert was helping Eloise wash a pair of bloody underwear.

Eloise put her arms around his neck and teased him deliberately, “Uncle, you are so good to me. If I get divorced in the future, I will marry you, okay?”

Gilbert's face was serious as he answered, “You are already an adult, stop talking nonsense!”

But I could clearly see how excited he was when he heard Eloise's words.

I turned off my phone and signed my name on the divorce agreement.

Gilbert did not return home all night.

The next day, I set out to the dance troupe alone.

That day was the day that Gilbert and I would attend the celebration banquet for Eloise's promotion to principal dancer.

Since I became paralyzed three years ago, I had never set foot in that place where I once won countless honors.

After the accident, the dance troupe was bought by Gilbert early on also.

He told me at the beginning that he felt that that place carried my past and he hoped to preserve the memory for me.

However, as I thought about it again at that moment, all he did from the beginning to the end was to personally put his beloved Eloise on the chief throne.

I smiled bitterly and my eyes just happened to meet Gilbert who was getting out of the car with Eloise.

He walked quickly and said, “Sorry, the road was closed last night, so I didn't have time to go back.”

I did not care about his excuse and nodded slightly.

Gilbert was about to explain, but Eloise suddenly came forward and took over my wheelchair.

“Uncle, there are many big guys in the industry who want to talk to you. So, I'll just accompany Auntie here. You can just go and socialize with peace of mind."

Gilbert looked at me hesitantly and left.

In fact, after Eloise betrayed me with my ex-fiancé, I stopped having any contact with her privately.

Many times, our interactions were only due to the relationship between Gilbert and her. I did not even know why she suddenly became close to me.

Without waiting for me to say anything, Eloise pushed me to the dance troupe's hall of honor.

All my performance photos, award certificates and trophies had been removed and replaced with her photos and honors.

Eloise was too lazy to pretend anymore and a smug voice came from above my head, “So, what if you're a genius girl? Leonor, now you can only be firmly under my feet now.”

As she spoke, she walked in front of me and stretched out her legs to show off.

“Do you see the pair of diamond high heels on my feet? My uncle specially found a brand to make them for me to congratulate me on my promotion to the chief position.

“Auntie, do you like it? Oh, how could I have forgotten that you are paralyzed, so even if you like it, you can't wear such beautiful high heels.

“Oh, by the way, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll be merciful and tell you a secret. Actually, my uncle and I are not related by blood.

“Not only that, we were secretly dating for several years. He married you because I liked your fiancé and didn't want you to get in the way, so I asked him to hook you up."

“Leonor, you are so pitiful now. You can never dance better than me and even the person who married you was given to you because I didn't want him. If I were you, I would have died of shame, right?”

I looked up at her and sneered, “Shouldn't you be the one who should be ashamed? You are not as capable as me and you can only take advantage of my leg injury to get ahead. 

“Also, you have such a poor talent for dancing. Are you really not considering changing your career?”

Eloise was so angry after being teased by me that she kicked my wheelchair hard.

“Bitch, even when you've become disabled now, you still dare to act so arrogant in front of me?!”

She angrily pushed me toward the garden pond outside the dance troupe and said with a smile, “When you are in bed with my uncle, does he like to call your name instead of mine? Just wait and see until you hear him call my name even in his sleep!

“So, Leonor, I just want you to watch me take away everything from you. Why don't we do an experiment? You can see for yourself who your uncle really cares about.”

After Eloise finished speaking, he pulled my wheelchair and fell into the pool with me.

“Honey!” Gilbert's heart-wrenching scream came from a distance.

The water surface was violently heaving and a figure jumped in.

I struggled to move upwards, and in my sight, I saw Gilbert swimming towards me.

I reached out my hand, but I only saw him grab Eloise who was beside me with both hands, pass by me and rescue the person.

It turned out that he was calling her, not me.

I smiled bitterly and when I was almost unconscious, I was pulled up by another kind-hearted person who jumped into the water to rescue me.

When I woke up, I saw Gilbert hugging Eloise tightly in his arms and the woman was crying in his arms.

Gilbert had a frightened expression on his face and his eyes never paid any attention to me from beginning to end.

“Don't be afraid, I am here with you. I will never let anything happen to you.”

I smiled bitterly and wanted to leave, but Eloise suddenly pointed at me and started crying, “Uncle, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have subconsciously dragged Auntie into the water when she deliberately hit me with her wheelchair. It's all my fault for having an unstable center of gravity."

Gilbert's expression froze and the look he cast at me was clearly accusatory and unfriendly when he spoke to me, “Well, well, just think of it as an accident, since luckily you two are fine now.”

Eloise was stunned. Because she did not get the desired result. As a result, she glared at me in dissatisfaction.

However, after a while, Gilbert stopped me in a corner where no one was around and threatened me, “Leonor, Eloise is a simple person. Even if you have resentment in your heart, you really shouldn't be so hard on a young girl and even do something harmful to her. Do you understand?”

I had expected it. After all, how could he believe me?

I sneered, “How could a wheelchair user like me harm a healthy and flexible person like Eloise, Gilbert? Don't you think it's funny when you accuse me?”

He frowned, “Whether it was an accident or not, I don't want to see the same thing happen again in the future!”

As if realizing that his words were too harsh, Gilbert added, “After all, Eloise is the apple of my brother's eye. If something really happens to her, neither you nor I will ever be able to explain ourselves.”

“Okay, I got it.”

I was too lazy to argue anymore, but Gilbert was stunned.

He suddenly realized that he seemed not to have cared about my situation since I was rescued.

He stretched out his hand and at that moment, Eloise was crying and shouting in pain not far away.

Gilbert turned around and subconsciously ran towards Eloise.

I returned home alone, sorted out all the diaries and photos that were tokens of our love over the years and burned them all.

I also signed for my portable crutches so that it would be more convenient for me to leave.

I saw Eloise’s updated WhatsApp story again. [My uncle is too worried about me. I just choked on the water, but he booked the entire hospital to check me up. There were so many doctors surrounding me, making me suffer from social anxiety.]

A familiar voice of a man came out from the video, “Be good and get all the tests done, so I can feel at ease, okay?”

In the evening, Gilbert came back very late.

As he came back, Eloise was with him.

“Eloise is scared to stay at home alone and she needs someone to take care of her until she recovers. So, I will take her home to live with us for a few days.”

Anyway, that would not be my home soon, so I had no objection.

Gilbert smelled the smell of ashes in the air and asked, “Is something burning? Why is there a burnt smell?”

“Nothing, I just burned some unimportant things.”

Gilbert's face darkened after hearing my answer. “Don't burn those things at home anymore. It's not good for Eloise’s lungs.”

I nodded. Since everything had been burned, there was no need to burn any more.

I went to bed early because I had a fever.

Late at night, a loud thunder exploded outside the window.

When I woke up, I subconsciously wanted to hide in Gilbert's arms.

Ever since the car accident, I had had a stress reaction to loud noises.

During those three years, it was Gilbert who hugged me tightly every time and told me that he was there, so that I did not need to be afraid. That was how I was able to get through it.

But that time I failed.

Gilbert had already gotten out of bed and put on his coat. “Eloise is most afraid of thunder. I'll go over and take a look.”

I shook my head and laughed at myself. Even at that moment, I still subconsciously relied on Gilbert.

Watching his back as he left, I stood up and put the signed divorce agreement on the table.

I also took out my mobile phone and dialed the driver’s number I had prepared.

“You can pick me up now.”

As I was walking past the guest room on the first floor with my crutches, I heard Eloise sobbing from inside, “Uncle, you obviously still like me, don't you?

“I can see that you start to forget me and often defend Leonor in front of me now. Please tell me, what should I do to get your love again, uncle.”

Eloise put her arms around Gilbert's neck and offered her lips to him.

Gilbert turned his head away a few times, but finally could not help but grabbed the back of Eloise's head with one hand and kissed her back deeply.

The thunder outside the window illuminating the two people's lips and tongues entwined clearly.

The unstoppable pain in my heart overwhelmed me and I turned around decisively.

We walked out of the villa gate, got into the car that had been waiting for us and drove away into the distance in the pouring rain.

***

The next morning, Gilbert woke up beside Eloise's bed.

He glanced at Eloise who was still sleeping and could not help but kiss her forehead.

The sun was shining outside the window. After all, he had been away from home for no reason all night. He was thinking about ways to apologize to Leonor and make amends.

So, he ordered the breakfast meal that she liked the most.

Leonor was a picky person after all.

Gilbert picked up his phone to order food, but his assistant called him instead.

“Mr. Rogers, something bad has happened. Last night, your wife was traveling by car and encountered a mudslide on the road. Both the car and the people were washed into the lake,” he said.