I, in turn, became an obstacle to his pursuit of excitement and novelty.
—
That night, outside, the city was lit up, bustling with life.
Inside, I sat in the dark, alone and growing cold.
Staring at the flood of congratulatory comments on his Instagram post, I spoke to the empty room with a bitter smile, "Congratulations, Dereck. Truly, congratulations."
"Neither my child nor the mistress’s child belongs to you."
The next day.
I attended a celebratory banquet in honor of Dereck’s successful endorsement of the German luxury brand Jil Sander.
The brand’s executives appreciated his relatable charm, hoping to further tap into the French market.
The brand’s senior manager raised his glass to toast Dereck.
For a moment, something unreadable flickered in Dereck’s eyes.
Taking advantage of his tipsy state, the German executive commented in German, "Your manager has such a sexy figure."
Dereck had spent an entire month learning German for this deal.
With a relaxed expression, he replied fluently, "She’s quite enjoyable, and very open in bed."
The executive chuckled knowingly and added, "I heard both your wife and your manager are pregnant at the same time?"
Dereck froze for a brief second, panic flashing in his eyes.
When he glanced over and saw me casually scrolling on my phone, my expression calm, he assumed I hadn’t understood a word.
He then curved his lips into a warm smile and replied, "Yes, a sweet burden indeed."
The group of German executives exchanged amused glances, their smiles filled with innuendo.
"Mr. Hughes, you’re impressive—two women having children for you at the same time!"
“I suddenly remember a saying called ‘double happiness arrives’? Did I pronounce that correctly?” The foreign executive attempted the phrase with a thick accent, his eyes gleaming with amusement.
Dereck nodded and smiled, praising his effort. “Your French is quite good.”
My fingers instinctively clenched, gripping the cutlery in my hand so tightly it hurt.
They didn’t know that I had attended a foreign language high school and understood German perfectly.
Feigning ignorance, I asked Dereck, “What were you all talking about?”
I tried to keep my tone casual and light, as if I wasn’t suffocating inside.
“Oh, he just mentioned a saying, and he got it pretty spot on,” Dereck said, grinning.
I forced a smile in response, even though my heart felt like it was being torn apart.