Filed to story: When His Wife Can’t Forgive
Alicia moved a bit farther away. As she reached to pick a flower, she suddenly twisted her ankle and cried out as she crouched down. Startled, Georgia hurried over.
“Miss Bennett, are you alright?”
The grass was thick and obscured the ground, making it difficult for Georgia to navigate. As she approached Alicia, she felt something squish under her shoe.
With a sinking feeling, she lifted her foot and discovered it was a fresh pile of dog droppings.
Trying to maintain her composure, Alicia feigned concern. “Are you okay, Georgia?”
Revolted, Georgia instinctively tried to shove Alicia. Alicia swiftly sidestepped, avoiding her reach.
Georgia’s balance faltered, and she fell hard onto the ground.
As she attempted to push herself up, the stench hit her, and she realized her hand was now coated in yet another pile of dog droppings.
Georgia had always been a favored maid under Shelia’s care, rarely facing real hardship. Now, caked in muck, she shivered with disgust, vocalizing her complaints about the foul stench.
Shelia watched coldly, her expression hardening as Georgia’s disheveled state marred the otherwise pristine setting. Alicia’s half-smirk only deepened Shelia’s irritation, causing her to silently curse Alicia’s manipulative ways.
Struggling to her feet, Georgia made her way toward the living room to clean up. Alicia, feigning surprise, asked, “Georgia, where are you headed?”
“To take a shower, of course!” Georgia snapped back.
“Isn’t your room past the living room?” Alicia reminded her, pretending to be helpful. “And Mrs. Yates is in there. Won’t you bring the smell with you?” she added, making Georgia pause and glance at Shelia. The displeasure from Shelia was palpable from a distance.
Shelia’s annoyance was clear, a mix of disdain and frustration over Georgia’s mishap. Georgia had failed to teach Alicia a lesson and, instead, had fallen flat on her face.
Alicia subtly suggested, “Why not wash at the fountain? It might lessen the stench a bit.”
Seeing the logic in Alicia’s suggestion, Georgia headed toward the fountain without further thought. Alicia followed, offering, “Let me help you.”
“You should help. This mess is your doing. You’ll assist me in cleaning up later!” Georgia retorted, accustomed to bossing Alicia around.
Alicia nodded in agreement, offering no protest.
As Georgia began to wash, the foul mess repelled the nearby fish in the pond, which quickly swam away. The tension was palpable, but the calm was short-lived as Georgia confronted Alicia.
“You deliberately called me over, didn’t you?”
Alicia blinked, her face an innocent mask. “Georgia, how can you say that?”
Georgia, unfazed and visibly annoyed, shot back, “You claim you were picking flowers? That’s a flimsy excuse. You staged a fall near two piles of dog mess to lure me there, didn’t you?”
Alicia feigned hurt. “You know we’re not friends, Georgia. When I hurt my ankle, I never called for you. You came without being asked. Remember?”
“You-” Georgia faltered, struggling for words, before bursting out, “Why did you move when I pushed you?”
“You would’ve stayed put, I wouldn’t have ended up on the ground!” Georgia’s voice was tinged with anger. Alicia’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Really, Georgia? You pushed me. Why would I just stand there? Do you think I’m a fool?” Alicia shot back, leaving Georgia speechless once again.
She was taken aback by Alicia’s defiance. After the divorce, Alicia had become increasingly bold. In the past, no matter how harshly she treated her, Alicia had always stayed quiet.
As Georgia’s face flushed with anger, Alicia offered a sly smile. “Relax, Georgia. It’s only a bit of dog mess. Thankfully, it didn’t get in your mouth.”
Alicia then gestured toward the pond. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
The moment Alicia’s hand touched the water, she gasped. Before Georgia could react, Alicia seized her arm and tossed her into the pond.
At nearly forty, Georgia’s lack of agility and inability to swim made her panic. She thrashed about in the water, struggling to stay afloat.
Alicia, feigning concern, called out, “Are you alright, Georgia? Can you manage?”
Though she sounded worried, Alicia stood there, arms crossed, watching with cold indifference as Georgia floundered.
It wasn’t until Shelia and a few others arrived that they managed to pull Georgia out of the water.
Terrified, Georgia scrambled to the shore, still screaming for help. “Help, Mrs. Yates, help!”
Shelia reprimanded her sharply, “Stop being such a crybaby!”
Stunned by Shelia’s harsh response, Georgia regained her composure, wiped her face, and shuddered. “Mrs. Yates, I can’t swim! I almost drowned.”
Shelia looked at her coldly. “That little pond almost drowned you? Why didn’t you just stay in there?”
Georgia, still panicked, insisted, “Mr. Yates, I mean it!”
Georgia gestured toward the pond, about to voice her complaint, but stopped when she noticed Alicia standing calmly in the water, which barely reached her knees.
Georgia was left speechless.
Someone chuckled from behind.
Shelia whirled around, her fury escalating. “Is that funny?”
And then Shelia stopped in her tracks. Standing just a short distance away, Caden had been observing the entire spectacle, amused by the scene.
Shelia quickly softened upon recognizing him. “Oh, it’s you, Caden. I mistook you for a servant and spoke too harshly. Please, don’t take it to heart.”
Caden, uninterested in her apology, turned his attention back to Alicia. She had just climbed out of the pond.
His gaze was intense, a subtle smile playing on his lips. Feeling his stare, Alicia looked down and noticed her wet dress clinging to her figure. She awkwardly tried to adjust the hem of her dress.
Though the fabric wasn’t see-through, after a few shakes, her dress loosened slightly, only to cling back to her body. Dark clouds gathered overhead, and strong winds made Alicia shiver and sneeze, but no one seemed to notice her discomfort.
Georgia, still upset, lamented, “I don’t understand what I did to upset Ms. Bennett. I asked her for help, and she pushed me into the pond and mocked me. Mrs. Yates, you have to defend me.”
Shelia waved her off. “Enough. You know how Alicia is. Why bother? You’re much older than she is.”
Alicia, realizing that Shelia was indirectly validating Georgia’s words, spoke gently, “Mrs. Yates, I was only trying to help. I didn’t push Georgia.”
Georgia, seething with anger at Alicia’s feigned innocence, glared at her. “You’re lying! Don’t you worry about karma?”
As she finished speaking, the sky suddenly split with a bolt of lightning, quickly followed by a thunderous clap.
Rain fell in heavy sheets, pounding the ground with each drop. A sudden burst of thunder made Georgia shriek, her hands instinctively clutching onto Shelia.
The foul smell of dog poop still clung to her, and Shelia’s expression twisted in disgust. With a shove, Shelia pushed Georgia away.
Caden chuckled softly. “Why are you screaming, Georgia? Alicia’s the one in trouble. That thunder sounds like nature giving her a warning.”
Alicia shot him a cold glare. The rain only grew stronger, and Shelia, fed up, pushed Georgia aside and hurried inside to clean herself up.
Another rumble of thunder echoed overhead. For a moment, Caden’s face darkened as he turned his gaze toward Alicia. For reasons unknown, she had darted into the pond, her hands moving frantically as if searching for something.
The heavy rain blurred the view, making it hard to see what she was up to. Caden walked closer, his brow furrowed. “What exactly are you looking for?”
Alicia lifted the hem of her skirt as she continued to feel around in the water. She mumbled, “I think I dropped my phone in here.”
Caden glanced down, skeptical. Seeing his hesitation, Alicia urged, “Don’t just stand there. Help me find it.”
Caden wasn’t fooled. “Is this another one of your tricks? Like what you pulled on the maid?”
Alicia snorted in response. “Believe what you want.”
She continued her search, moving a few steps to the side. Suddenly, she let out a loud cry. “Ah! I found it!”
Caden squinted through the downpour. It was hard to make out what she was holding, but it looked like something.
Alicia wiped the rain from her face, her hair sticking in wet strands to her cheeks. She glanced up at him and said, “Give me a hand. Pull me up.”
Seeing how drenched and miserable she looked, Caden reluctantly extended his hand.
Just as Alicia’s hand was about to grasp his, she quickly switched to the other hand. Without warning, she placed something into his palm. Caden froze. At first, he didn’t know what it was, but the slimy texture told him everything he needed to know.
It was a toad. A toad!
His face darkened with revulsion. With a sudden jerk, he flung it aside, his entire body shuddering in disgust. Alicia erupted into laughter.
Caden, notorious for his aversion to anything unclean, was repulsed beyond measure. The mere thought of touching that toad would likely haunt him for days. His expression darkened further, a storm brewing behind his eyes.
Sensing that she might have gone too far, Alicia stopped laughing and tried to climb out of the pond. In her haste, she lost her footing on the slick mud and tumbled back into the water, her knee striking a sharp stone. A sharp pain shot through her leg, and her vision momentarily blurred as she gasped.
Caden glanced at her, his expression softening ever so slightly. Alicia tried to regain her balance, but her injured knee refused to support her weight. Her hand shook as she reached out. “Help me up.”
Caden, his tone casual but cold, replied, “Miss Bennett, don’t you know? I can’t stand women who pretend to be innocent.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “Whatever you’ve learned from your books, it won’t work on me.”
Alicia could only stare at him, speechless. Without another word, he turned his back on her and began walking away.
As the thunder rumbled above her, Alicia, torn between fury and pain, felt as though the sky itself was about to strike her down. Seeing that Caden was really leaving, panic set in, and she scrambled to her feet, forgetting her pain in her haste to follow him. The storm intensified, mirroring her frantic state.
Caden had been ready to leave, but the downpour forced him to reconsider. Soaked to the bone, he had no choice but to change. It had been ages since he had stayed at the Yates Mansion, and he had nothing of his own left there.
Shelia, ever the dutiful hostess, fetched a set of clothes belonging to her son, Joshua. She smiled and said, “You and Joshua are about the same size. Why not just wear these?”
Caden, flicking droplets of water from his sleeves, responded with icy indifference, “I’m not one to settle.”
“Don’t bother yourself.”
His words were colder than the rain that pelted down.
Shelia’s smile faltered, her embarrassment evident. Caden had never liked his stepmother, and Shelia despised him in return, though she tried not to show it. But in the end, there was little choice. Caden was far more accomplished than her son, Joshua. And now, with the inheritance at stake, Shelia knew she had to play the part of the perfect wife and mother, even if she could barely tolerate Caden’s presence.