âWhatâs up with you?â Elgin asked, âSpit it out, will you? Sniffling and whining⦠is not a good look!â
Letitia sniffled, âIâll tell you, just⦠not sure where to start.â
âSpill whatever comes to mind!â
Mopping up her tears haphazardly, Letitia blurted out, âElgin, what exactly happened between you and
Shela?â
âWhy are you bringing this up all of a sudden?â
âJust answer me.â Letitia locked eyes with him, âItâs important.â
Elgin, however, looked away, âIâll handle problems between me and Shela. Itâs none of your business.â
With that, he was about to turn to leave.
But Letitia grabbed the hem of his shirt, holding on tight, âIl already know everything. The night before
you picked me up from the AquaCity Psychiatric Institute, you and Shela hooked up at the hotel, didnât
you?â
Elgin sharpened his gaze instantly, âHow did you find out?â
Letitia continued, âThat night, you were drugged, alone in your room. Then, out of the blue, Shela
barges in seeking refuge and you two slept together by accident.
It was pitch black in the room and you couldnât see her face and didnât know who the other was. Plus,
when you woke up the next day, she was gone. You started searching high and low for Shela.
Until one of your guys reports back that they found Shela. That night, Mark had pawned her off to a
geezer. Sheâd rather die than submit, so she bolted and by some fluke ended up in your room. Then
you found Shela and promised to marry her. Because she saved you with her bodyâ¦â
At this point, Letitia bit her lower lip, âElgin, am I right?â
He countered, âHow do you know all this? Did Shela tell you?â
âPffft⦠how would she ever share that with me?â
âThen how do you know?â Elgin narrowed his eyes slightly, âLetitia, where are you getting your
information? This is top secret.â
Only he and Shela were privy to this!
With tears welling up in her eyes, Letitia said, âElgin, that night, you even swore youâd take
responsibility and marry herâ¦â
A wave of unease swept over Elgin. These details, only Shela herself could know so intimately!
He gripped Letitiaâs shoulders fiercely, âYou, youâ¦â
A dreadful thought flashed across his mind. But⦠Elgin didnât dare to contemplate further!
Tears streaming unchecked down her face, Letitia covered her face as she confessed, âElgin, the
woman that night wasnât Shela⦠it was meâ¦â
Elgin was petrified.
The living room was filled only with Letitiaâs faint sobs.
âElgin, from start to finish, Shela never showed up at the hotel. Because the woman given to that
geezer and stumbled into your room in a panic was me, the woman you promised to marry, was also
meâ¦â
lured me out of the psych ward and knocked me out to deliver me to the hotel. The geezer had his eye
on
Mark couldnât bear to shame his daughter, so he picked me as a sacrifice to butter up the geezer.â
Shela,
Ege was in shock, staggering back, with his towering frame trembling.
He couldnât digest this truth!
âIt was you? No⦠this canât be!â Elgin said, âI said Iâd marry you, then why did you run away!?â
âBecause it was nothing to be proud of! I didnât know it was you! I was the woman you left in the psych
ward as punishment, if youâd found out I lost my innocence, you would have hit the roof!â
Elgin heaved his chest violently, tightly clenching his fists.
The truth was too cruel!
âSo, soâ¦â Elginâs voice was hoarse with difficulty, âThe child in your bellyâ¦â
âItâs yours!â Letitia replied in despair, âElgin, thatâs your child, our child!â
He felt like heâd been punched hard, his back slowly bending, then he lost his balance and fell to his
knees with a thud, hands bracing hard on the ground.
His childâ¦Then, what had he done?
âI was only touched by you that night. The rest of the time, I was clean and pure!â Letitia said, âI wanted
that child so much and did everything to protect him, hoping to bring him into this world⦠but Elgin,
what did you do! How could you hurt me and him like that!
I survived a plunge into the lake, the child was fine. Shela framed me, and I tumbled down the stairs,
but the child was also fine. We survived disaster after disaster, but who would have thought⦠the child
died by your hand in the end!â Letitiaâs scream was heart-wrenching, âElgin, you killed our child with
your own hands!â
All the emotions she had suppressed all day burst forth now!
Letitia was heartbroken in agony, on the verge of mental collapse, unable to bear such a brutal truth.
Now, she had to get it out, she wanted Elgin to share in the pain!
Letitia collapsed to the floor, her tears already blurring her vision.
She couldnât see Elgin clearly, only to see a hazy outline.
Biting her teeth, she said, âYouâre in pain now, arenât you? Full of regret, wishing you could kill yourself,
right? Well, let me tell you, Elgin, my pain is no less than yours! Youâre the root of all this! Youâre the
executioner! All that favoritism and indulgence you showered on Shela should have been mine! And
the result? She enjoyed everything that shouldâve been mine! Elgin, how much longer and deeper will
you hurt me?â
Each of Letitiaâs accusations was an invisible knife, stabbing deep into Elgin.
What a torturing pain! Elgin couldnât accept this truth!
The bastard he kept harping about, the child he was so set on getting rid of, the obstacle he thought
stood between him and Letitia turned out to beâ¦his flesh and blood!
âNo, it canât be, I donât believe itâ¦â Elgin clenched his teeth, veins throbbing on his temple, âItâs all lies,
youâre lying!â
Letitia answered, âYes! I wish it were all lies! All of this, just my speculation!â
The two looked at each other, eyes filled with despair.
Elgin punched the ground hard and slowly rose to his feet.
He looked up, bobbing his Adamâs apple, with a tear slowly trailing down his cheek, mingling with his
sideburns.
Men donât easily shed tears, just⦠not until their hearts are truly broken!
Elgin, in his life, had never shed a single tear, but now, for once, he did.
He snapped his eyes open and barked, âButler!â
âRight here. Mr. Ramirez. The butler appeared at the door in a flash.
âFetch Shela for mel And Mark, plus that old geezer)â
âYes, sir.â
Elgin gritted his teeth and growled, âAnd make it snappy!â
âHahâ¦â Letitia sneered with irony, âYou need a face-to-face showdown to swallow this bitter pill, huh?â