Chapter 17
The servants quickly sprang into action, tossing Natalie’s suitcases one by one outside the main gate.
Her designer bags, jewelry, high–end cosmetics…. lay scattered on the ground like a pile of messy garbage.
“You’ll regret this!” Natalie screamed hysterically from the doorway. “You think Cassidy will take you back? She’s had enough of you!”
The heavy door slammed shut in her face, cutting off all her bitter curses.
The living room suddenly became eerily quiet.
Gabriel slowly crouched down, gathering both children into his arms.
Their bodies trembled, tears soaking his expensive suit.
“Daddy… does Mommy really not want us anymore?” Emma sniffled.
Gabriel’s throat tightened.
He recalled Cassidy’s resolute back as she left, remembered the divorce papers he had unwittingly signed, and felt a dull ache spread through his chest.
“She wouldn’t,” he said softly, more to convince himself, his brow deeply furrowed.
“Your mother loves you too much… She could never bear to leave you. She’s probably just taking some time away.”
“Then why hasn’t she come back?” Ethan looked up with tearful eyes, his little face clouded.
‘Is it because we pushed her down the stairs…”
Gabriel couldn’t show weakness in front of his son, so he simply wiped away the child’s tears, struggling to maintain
his composure.
‘Daddy will find Mommy.”
After the servants took the children upstairs, Gabriel finally allowed himself to collapse onto the sofa.
He pulled out his phone and called his assistant, his voice grave: “Find Cassidy’s whereabouts. Immediately.”
Hanging up, Gabriel’s gaze fell on the family portrait above the fireplace.
It had been taken three years ago. Cassidy stood at the edge, her smile so forced.
But back then, he had never really seen Cassidy, never even noticed her expression.
21:19
Screw You, Ex! My New Life’s Hotter Than Your Money!
hage 17
Looking back now, perhaps it was his repeated neglect that had finally made her give up on them.
“Sir,” the butler gently interrupted his thoughts. “Dinner is ready. Shall I call young Master and Miss down?”
Gabriel nodded, his brow deeply furrowed. “I’ll eat with them today.”
In the dining room, Ethan and Emma picked listlessly at their food, their former boisterousness completely gone.
Perhaps due to their recent lack of proper care, the once chubby–cheeked children now had noticeably sharper jawlines.
“Daddy,” Emma suddenly asked in a small voice, her demeanor completely stripped of her former arrogance and
selfishness.
“I miss Mommy… Where did she really go? Why hasn’t she come back for so long?”
“When you find Mommy, will she forgive us?”
Gabriel’s hand paused mid motion. For some reason, he couldn’t give a definitive answer.
But thinking of how Cassidy had selflessly devoted herself to their family all these years, remembering her love for him and the children despite everything.….
He finally nodded with conviction: “No matter what, she’s your mother. She loved you more than anything in the world before. She’ll definitely forgive you.”
In the silence of midnight, Gabriel stood alone in his study, reviewing security footage from the past six months.
On screen, Cassidy moved quietly through their lives–doing housework, caring for the children, waiting for him to come home.
She rarely smiled, but whenever the children needed her, she was there without fail.
Until that day–when the children pushed her down the stairs, and he hadn’t even bothered to look back at her.
Gabriel switched off the video, feeling a heaviness in his chest.
He silently promised himself: When I find Cassidy and bring her home, I’ll treat her properly this time.
