Helen Gu was overjoyed to hear others praise her daughter. Her nervousness vanished, and she immediately started chatting enthusiastically with them.
Cecilia Gu lounged in the lobby downstairs, flipping through a magazine. Though she was waiting for her mother, she didn’t feel bored at all.
"Honey, since you’re not coming today, I’ll just get my beauty treatment. Okay, got it, bye!" A woman entered, talking on her phone as she pushed open the door.
Cecilia Gu heard the woman's voice. It sounded familiar, as if she'd heard it somewhere before.
Looking up, she saw a woman in her forties, with a weathered face and blunt bangs, dressed in a tight pencil skirt and ten-centimeter heels, still talking on her phone as she walked in.
Cecilia only glanced at her before quickly looking away.
As soon as the woman entered, she called out, "Ms. Qi, are you busy? I forgot to book an appointment this time!"
"Ms. Vanessa, Ms. Qi is doing a beauty treatment for another customer right now. Would you like to wait a bit?" The receptionist greeted her quickly. "Ms. Vanessa, your seasonal card is almost used up. Would you like to renew it?"
"That's easy! I'll wait for my husband to bring the money. This time, I want to get an annual card!" Ms. Vanessa said proudly. "My husband’s got money now. He told me that when his daughter has a baby, he’ll get a big sum!"
Cecilia hadn’t paid much attention to the woman before, but when she heard that, her eyes sharpened and she couldn’t help but take another look at her.
Her husband’s daughter is having a baby? Could this be a coincidence?
The receptionist, who’d been flattering the woman, said admiringly, "Wow, Ms. Vanessa, your husband’s daughter is about to have a baby. Does that mean you’ll be a grandma soon?"
The woman scoffed, "Who says I’m her grandma? Of course, if she gives me a big sum of money, I wouldn’t mind being her stepmom!"
Cecilia suddenly felt her throat tighten and coughed lightly, instinctively disliking this flashy woman.
The woman glanced at Cecilia, maybe feeling stung by Cecilia’s youth and beauty, and stared at her with ill intent.
Even while reading her magazine, Cecilia could feel the woman’s unfriendly gaze.
Cecilia ignored her, but the woman took the initiative to greet Cecilia: "You look new here. I’m a regular—why haven’t I seen you before?"
Cecilia put down her magazine and gave a polite smile, not intending to answer.
Just then, the woman’s phone rang. She showed off her new iPhone and answered on speaker: "Honey..."
"Vanessa, have you eaten yet?" a familiar voice came from the phone.
Cecilia froze when she heard that voice!
She knew that voice all too well!
Cecilia’s gaze snapped to the woman.
The woman thought Cecilia was admiring her phone, so she turned the speaker toward Cecilia and continued to whine: "Honey, you’re not coming to see me again. I don’t have any appetite without you!"
"Heh, I’ve got something to do tonight. Just eat something yourself." The familiar voice made Cecilia stand up abruptly, her eyes fixed on the woman’s iPhone!
Dad!
You’ve gone too far!
"I don’t care! If you don’t come, I won’t eat!" The woman kept whining, convinced Cecilia was jealous of her phone.
Cecilia gripped her magazine tightly, her gaze cold as she stared at the woman—and her phone.
After the woman finally finished her clingy phone call, Cecilia couldn’t hold back anymore: "Is your husband named Howard Gu?"
The woman was stunned and blurted out, "How do you know my husband?"
Cecilia immediately shut her eyes.
It’s true what they say—sometimes you search everywhere for something, only to stumble upon it effortlessly.
So this woman was Dad’s mistress!
Cecilia couldn’t sit still anymore. She tossed her magazine aside, grabbed her bag, and rushed off to find her mother.
But as Cecilia rounded the corner, she saw her mother standing there, frozen in shock.
"Mom, what’s wrong..." Cecilia’s heart sank. Oh no! Did Mom overhear something?
Helen Gu stared blankly at Cecilia, then shoved her aside and strode straight to the woman, demanding, "The man you just called ‘husband’—is he Howard Gu from Guville in Fortune Township?"
"Yeah, who are you? How do you know my husband?" The woman sized up Helen Gu, decided she was no threat, and sneered, "You’re not trying to seduce my husband too, are you? Please, he’d never go for someone like you!"
Helen Gu’s face went pale in an instant.
Her body staggered and she collapsed to the ground behind her.
Cecilia darted over and caught her, her voice trembling: "Mom, maybe it’s all a misunderstanding..."
"Cecilia, did you know about this all along?" Helen Gu grabbed Cecilia’s wrist so hard it made Cecilia wince.
Cecilia didn’t pull away, just shook her head weakly.
What could she say now? Any explanation would sound hollow.
Helen Gu suddenly let go of Cecilia’s hand, her eyes dead with despair, and stumbled out the door.
The beautician who’d been treating Helen Gu looked awkward and said to Cecilia, "It’s not my fault! She said she was going to the restroom, and then..."
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^ Please click next page to continue reading!)
Cecilia didn’t want to say anything else. She turned and chased after her mother: "Mom, wait for me! Mom..."
Howard Gu’s mistress finally realized that these two knew Howard Gu by name—they definitely weren’t strangers!
Ms. Vanessa suddenly rushed forward and blocked Helen Gu at the door.
"Explain yourselves—how do you know my husband?" The woman eyed Helen Gu and Cecilia warily.
Cecilia was furious. She hadn’t found the right moment to tell her mother the truth, and now this woman had appeared out of nowhere, ripping open the ugly reality.
She hadn’t even confronted the mistress herself, yet this woman had the nerve to pick a fight with the legitimate wife!
"Howard Gu isn’t divorced yet. Do you know that?" Cecilia practically spat the words out.
"So what? He’ll divorce eventually!" the woman scoffed. "He told me, as long as I get pregnant, boy or girl, he’ll divorce and marry me right away!"
Helen Gu trembled as if she were shaking apart, her eyes losing their light. She forced out the words through clenched teeth: "He said he’d divorce and marry you?"
Cecilia quickly supported her mother, looking at her anxiously.
She hadn’t expected the truth to come out like this.
Would it have been better if it happened another way?
No, the result would’ve been the same, no matter how it happened.
Helen Gu suddenly pushed Cecilia’s hand away and walked straight toward the woman.
"What are you doing? What do you want?" The woman saw Helen Gu coming and, feeling a little guilty, tried to push her away.
"Don’t you dare!" Cecilia stepped in front of her mother, glaring coldly at the woman. "Touch her and see what happens."
"Oh, you’re threatening me? Well, I’ll—" The woman, seeing Cecilia block the older woman, grew furious and raised her hand to slap Cecilia.
Just then, a hand firmly grabbed the woman’s wrist.
The woman struggled, but couldn’t break free from the grip.
Cecilia glanced up and immediately recognized him—it was one of Charles Yin’s bodyguards.
He didn’t talk much, but he was quick and efficient. Clearly, Charles Yin had sent him to protect Cecilia in secret.
Cecilia nodded to him in thanks, then helped her mother and got ready to leave.
The woman, suddenly restrained by the man who appeared out of nowhere, began to shriek, "Who are you? Why are you stopping me? Do you even know who I am? Around here, people know Ms. Vanessa! You’re an outsider—how dare you bully me? Manager, are you just going to stand there and watch me get bullied by an outsider? Don’t you want me to keep renewing my membership here?"
The manager hesitated.
Though Cecilia was a generous customer, she did have the look of an outsider.
Ms. Vanessa, on the other hand, was a local regular.
After weighing his options, the manager said, "Stop them! They stole from our store!"
Stole from the store?
Cecilia couldn’t help but laugh in anger!
Helen Gu was so devastated by Howard Gu’s betrayal that she didn’t hear a thing. Cecilia tried to lead her mother to the door, but they were stopped—Helen Gu didn’t even react.
The bodyguard protecting Cecilia immediately released Ms. Vanessa’s wrist and came to Cecilia’s side, ready to escort her and Helen Gu out.
He was skilled, but facing a crowd of women... he suddenly hesitated.
If he got too rough, it could cause trouble. Besides, this wasn’t N City.
Cecilia stopped and looked back at the salon manager, saying softly, "Looks like you’ve reached the end of your managerial career."
The manager ignored Cecilia and ordered a dozen beauticians to lock the main door!
There was only one bodyguard, but more than a dozen people on the other side!
Without hesitation, the bodyguard pulled out his phone and quickly called Alex, reporting the situation.
"Hit them!" Ms. Vanessa shrieked, hands on her hips. "That mother-daughter pair definitely knows my husband! Shameless! Both of them are trying to steal my man! Beat them up! If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility!"