Chapter 3
Upon returning to the penthouse, Oliver was still crying uncontrollably.
Holding back my heartache, I held his small hand and asked, “Oliver, if Mommy wants to take you away from here, would you come with me?”
Oliver’s tears fell harder. “Mommy, do we have to leave?”
“But sweetheart, Daddy and Grandma don’t want us to stay here. You want to call him ‘Uncle‘ forever?”
I held back my tears, looking tenderly at my son.
Selfishly, I wished he could be just mine–that his love would always be exclusively, unconditionally for
- me. But I knew that wasn’t how a child’s heart works.
Oliver clutched the LEGO set Ethan had given him for his birthday last year.
“Mommy, can I have one more birthday with Daddy… please?”
He stubbornly refused to change how he addressed his father.
I closed my eyes, pulled him into my arms, and nodded.
“Sure.”
February 12th was Oliver’s birthday.
pare
I had deliberately reminded Ethan two days in advance so he could prepare.
This might be the last birthday our son would celebrate with him. I wanted Oliver’s wish to come true.
On his birthday, Oliver woke up early, dressed in his little suit, and anxiously asked me:
“Mommy, Daddy will come to my birthday party, right?”
“Of course he will,” I reassured him, then sent Ethan a WhatsApp message:
“It’s Oliver’s birthday today. Where are you?”
The message was met with silence, like a stone dropped into a deep lake.
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Ribbons Unbound: My Fiancé’s Lingerie
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Chapter 3.
My son hung his head, clutching the ribbon on his cake box.
“Daddy’s not coming, is he?”
After a while, as if trying to comfort himself, he said:
“It’s okay. Uncle is busy. We shouldn’t bother him.”
“Mommy, let’s eat the cake.”
This was the first time Oliver had called Ethan “Uncle.”
Though he seemed to be gradually accepting that his father didn’t prioritize him, his quivering lower lip and reddening eyes betrayed just how deeply he was hurting.
Seeing my son trying to act so brave ignited something inside me. The pain burned through my chest.
I picked up my phone and opened my WhatsApp chat with Ethan:
“Too busy even for your son’s birthday?”
“Do you
love Victoria so much that you can’t bear to leave her side for a moment?”
My finger hovered over the send button, unable to press it.
Just then, a new message appeared in the chat:
“Come to the Ferrers estate.”
Joy instantly filled my heart. I showed the message to my son:
“Oliver, look! Daddy remembered.”
My son’s head shot up, his face breaking into an ecstatic smile:
“Daddy must have prepared lots of presents for me. Mommy, let’s go quickly!”
Having received confirmation from Ethan, Oliver chattered excitedly the whole way, guessing what presents his father might have for him.
But when we arrived at the Ferrers estate, my heart tightened at the sight of roses everywhere.
These weren’t decorations for a child’s birthday party.
Oliver didn’t notice, just excitedly pulled my hand toward the entrance.
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Ribbons Unbound: My Fiancé’s Lingeri. ~
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Chapter 3
Nervously, I followed, a sinking feeling in my stomach, silently begging, “Ethan Ferrers, please don’t do something irreversible.”
In the grand hall, Oliver’s eyes lit up when he saw Ethan standing by a cake.
He ran joyfully into the man’s arms: “Daddy!”
Ethan looked at the child in his arms, his pupils contracting as he blurted out:
“Why are you here?”
The surprise in his voice confirmed my suspicions, and a terrible foreboding took root in my heart.
Behind us, American elite society members whispered among themselves:
“Isn’t this Ethan Ferrers and Victoria’s engagement party? What’s with this kid calling him Dad?”
“I thought the younger Ferrers wasn’t married?”
“Could this be the result of some affair?”
Ethan’s face darkened as he pushed Oliver away:
“What did you call me?”
The little boy stumbled backward and fell to the ground.
On the verge of tears, he finally stammered: “Uncle Ethan.”
After a moment, he noticed the cake in the center of the hall and smiled again.
He asked Ethan:
“Uncle, did you come to celebrate my birthday? I can cut the cake with you!”
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