“Addy, what‘s with the news?”
From the other end of the line, Flint asked Adina in disbelief.
Adina smiled plainly. “What do you mean? Are you seriously asking about the gossip that the reporters
are spreading?
“Even if what they say is nonsense, Duke
is having affairs with other women within a month of his wedding. That‘s a major disrespect
to you as his new wife.” Flint said coldly, “Addy, I know you don‘t care about such matters, but Duke is
not taking you seriously. He must‘ve had something else in mind when he married you…”
“That‘s enough!” Adina‘s voice turned cold. “This matter is between Duke and me. I don‘t need an outsi
der to tell me what to do.”
All of a sudden, the two became silent.
Almost immediately, Flint smiled wryly: “You‘re right. I‘m just an outsider. Who am I to intervene in both
of your affairs? I‘m sorry, I‘ve acted impulsively. Goodbye.”
All of a sudden, the call ended.
Adina was in a daze as she stared at her phone‘s screen.
‘I didn‘t mean to hurt Flint. I just… don’t want to give him any hope.
‘Even if Duke and I aren‘t together anymore, I still won‘t get together with Flint. –,
‘As for staying through the marriage…
‘After our wedding, I‘ve only talked
to Duke a few times, and each time I‘ve only grown more and more disappointed in our marriage.
‘I know it‘s time for a divorce.
‘But I don‘t want to disappoint our four children.
‘What‘s more, for some reason, something has happened, and I can‘t figure out what it is…
‘Perhaps I should just wait for a little while…’
For the next few days, Duke did not come home.
Mabel tried to pretend that everything was alright and explained to Adina on Duke‘s behalf, “Addy, there
are too many things to do in the corporation. He has been so busy that he had to go to multiple places t
o attend meetings and do inspections…”
“Mom, I know.”
Adina smiled and helped Mabel arrange the flowers with a calm expression.
She
had never learned flower arrangement before, but could match colors pretty well. Bright yellow daisies l
ooked good with pink roses. She added some baby‘s-breath to make it look prettier.
Mabel observed Adina carefully. She could not help but feel uneasy when she saw that
she did not seem to be processing emotions the right way.
‘The four children are very smart. They are more or less as smart as Adina. She would‘ve guessed it…
‘No! Impossible!
Mabel shook her head vigorously.
‘Back when Earl and Duke were born, one of them was found to have congenital heart disease…
‘Many people kept an eye on the Winters family. Earl and Duke had
attracted much attention as well. In order to make sure the sick child gets treatment in peace, the Winter
secret…
‘Duke only learned he had a twin brother at the age of fifteen.
‘So, no matter how smart Adina is, it would never occur to her that her newlywed husband
has been swapped with someone else…‘
Mabel and Adina were arranging flowers in the flower hall, while the
four children were playing with the sand in the courtyard.
Harold and Melody were building sandcastles without a care in the world.
Alden was holding a small spade as he looked in the direction of the flower hall in silence. “Al, somethin
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