But even knowing it would happen didn’t stop the sharp, suffocating pain from stabbing through my chest when I finally saw it with my own eyes.
Garland’s POV
Five years ago, Barrett was an underprivileged student I sponsored.
When I went to the school to select a student to support, a crowd of boys and girls rushed over to show off, each desperately sharing the hardships of their lives. Everyone wanted to be chosen as the recipient of the sponsorship.
Everyone except Barrett.
He stood at a distance in a clean white shirt, his sneakers washed so many times they had faded. He looked like a quiet butterfly, staying far away, neither fighting nor begging—just calmly watching.
At that moment, he reminded me of my younger self.
In the end, I chose to send him the stipends to support his studies and living expenses. When he couldn’t find a job, I even kindly recommended him to work at Cherity’s company.
If it hadn’t been for that initial sponsorship… maybe that night would never have happened—the night Cherity was drugged and, by some cruel twist of fate, ended up sleeping with him.
Thinking back now, maybe all of this was karma. I got involved in someone else’s fate, and I had no one to blame but myself.
Cherity had more patience with him than I’d ever seen. She gently coaxed him for a long time before Barrett finally calmed down. When he turned and saw me, the tears started to fall again.
“I’m sorry, Garland…” he cried.
“You don’t need to apologize to him,” Cherity cut in coldly, staring straight at me. “That night wasn’t your fault. The fact that I got pregnant with your child means that was all meant to happen.”
She turned her attention back to Barrett. “Babe, you’ve been like family to me for a long time. No one can take your place.”
She pulled him back into her arms and kissed him softly.
“Don’t ever run off like that again, or I’ll truly lose my mind.”
In the end, she took Barrett home with her.
Heart aching, she held his small frame with trembling hands, kissing his forehead over and over—five or six times on the way back.
Moved by her possessive love, Barrett dropped to his knees in front of me the moment we got back to the villa.
“Sir, I know I’ve betrayed your kindness. I can never repay what I owe you. But the truth is…” he said, “I’ve fallen in love with Cherity. Can you… Can you…”
He choked on his words, on the verge of crying again.