On my twenty-third birthday, wine loosened my tongue, and I confessed to my guardian. He did not pull away from my kiss. But next morning, he sent me abroad with a cold command: “Erase that night.” Years later, I walked back into his world, a baby resting against my shoulder. He went rigid. “Yours?” he asked, voice barely steady. I nodded, a slow, deliberate smile spreading. “Yes. We just finished her checkup.” Sitting on the plane, I still felt dazed. I never thought that after five years abroad, I would have the chance to come back. After all, Damian had said that in this lifetime, I’d better never appear in front of him again. But it was also he who personally bought me a ticket back home, inviting me to attend his and Seraphina’s wedding anniversary celebration. After two layovers, I finally landed. Uma had been sleeping peacefully on the plane, but once we got off, she started crying. “Mommy, my feet hurt,” she whimpered softly. Hearing Uma’s quiet sobs, I quickly picked her up and walked towards the exit. At the arrival gate, I turned on my phone, ready to call a cab. Just then, my phone rang. Seeing the familiar number on the screen, I fell silent, unsure whether to answer or not. In the end, I didn’t pick up. But a second call came through almost immediately. I sighed and finally answered. Damian’s voice quickly came through. After years without talking, his voice hadn’t changed. “Are you out of the airport? I sent an assistant to pick you up,” Damian said in a businesslike manner, as if we were strangers. I laughed bitterly, “I can get a cab myself.” There was silence for a second; Damian probably didn’t expect me to say that. After all, back then, I had been well taken care of by him. During my years by his side, all my needs were met – I never had to worry about transportation. After a moment of silence, Damian spoke casually, “Let the assistant come anyway. I bought a gift for Seraphina on your behalf, it’s in the trunk. You can bring it directly when you come for dinner.” Damian was still so thoughtful, considering even the gift situation perfectly. Of course, when he spent millions on the venue and commissioned a limited edition diamond to create a unique wedding ring for Seraphina, it was clear how much he loved her. “Alright,” I said, rubbing my forehead and responding softly. Damian didn’t say anything more, but he didn’t hang up either. After a while, Damian finally spoke: “Elara, after five years abroad, I hope you’ve really reflected on things. If you do anything to Seraphina, I won’t let you off easy.” Hearing this, I was stunned. The noise around me seemed to fade away. Damian said he wouldn’t let me off easy. Before I could respond, Damian had already hung up. Actually, Damian could rest assured. I wouldn’t do anything to them. I just wanted to take good care of Uma and find a job. As I left the airport, I lowered my head. The proud 22-year-old me probably couldn’t have imagined that my life would end up in such a miserable state.
I was sent abroad by Damian on my 22nd birthday. That night, I got drunk for the first time in my life. When I was young, my parents died in a cruise ship accident and never returned. Damian naturally took over my care. My relationship with him had always been harmonious. Until I grew older and realized the feelings I had for him were no longer something a niece should have for her uncle. I liked him. But I also knew very clearly there was no future for us. So I kept my emotions locked deep in my heart. If I hadn’t gotten drunk that night, I probably could have kept pretending nothing was wrong. But I confessed. Everything I had hidden slipped out between slurred breaths. Damian heard it all. The usually gentlemanly and refined Damian wasn’t gentle anymore. He grabbed my arm, his voice shaking with anger. “How could you say something so disgusting? Don’t you know I’m your uncle! Blood relation or not—we are only family!” I wanted to explain it was the alcohol, that I would forget it all tomorrow. But at that moment, no explanation could fix anything. All I could do was bow my head and apologize again and again. Damian didn’t calm down. The next day, he resigned from the job I had lined up, and under the pretext of ‘studying abroad,’ sent me to a remote university overseas. He even hired bodyguards to monitor me, cutting off all contact with the outside world. At first, I didn’t understand why he treated me this way. Until a month later, news of Damian’s marriage went viral. Only then did I realize he had always loved someone else. I watched the wedding video repeatedly. When Damian looked at Seraphina, his gaze was gentle and full of love. He had never looked at me that way. From that moment on, I knew the years he kept me by his side were only out of responsibility and sympathy. His only love was Seraphina. “Miss John, please get in the car,” the assistant’s voice pulled me back to reality.
I nodded and got into the car with the sleeping Uma. When he saw Uma, the assistant’s face showed a hint of surprise: “Miss John, this is…?” I made a shushing gesture, afraid our conversation would disturb Uma’s sleep. After sitting in the back seat, I answered softly: “This is my daughter.” The assistant nodded and fell silent. When he drove to our destination, I was stunned. This hotel was where Damian and Seraphina got married. Five years of marriage, he held a wedding anniversary celebration every year, and personally selected gifts for Seraphina. I thought, Damian really cherished Seraphina. In previous years, he didn’t allow me to enter their world. Inviting me back this year was probably just to let me witness their happiness. I numbly got out of the car and saw Seraphina smiling as she walked towards me. Unlike my haggard appearance and simple clothes, Seraphina wore expensive jewelry and perfume, looking well-cared for by Damian. Seraphina’s smile suddenly froze. I knew she had seen Uma in my arms. Sure enough, when she came to my side, Seraphina’s expression was very surprised: “Elara, how did you secretly have a child abroad without telling me? I’ve been married to your uncle for so long, you still treat me like an outsider.” Before I could speak, Seraphina took Uma from my arms without asking. Uma woke up and immediately started crying, struggling not to let Seraphina hold her. I took Uma back from Seraphina and comforted her for a while. Actually, Seraphina knew about my past crush on Damian. Returning this time, I didn’t want to get too involved with Seraphina. But Seraphina still stubbornly wanted to hold Uma. When Seraphina and I arrived at the hotel’s private room, Uma was still crying and wanting me to hold her. Seraphina forced a smile and handed Uma back to me: “Your uncle knows having children isn’t easy. We haven’t thought about having kids these past few years. Seeing you’ve had a daughter, I got too excited.” There were already several people sitting in the room. I wasn’t used to socializing, so I chose a corner seat, and Seraphina sat down next to me. She enthusiastically linked arms with me, introducing me and Uma to the others. The looks others gave me were visibly teasing and probing. I couldn’t stand the strange atmosphere here and said I wanted to go to the restroom. When I came back after washing my face, I heard Seraphina’s voice. Someone asked Seraphina why she brought in an unlucky thing like me. “What unlucky thing, Elara is Damian’s sister. Although she went down the wrong path and tried to seduce Damian before, now that she’s had a child, she definitely won’t make mistakes again.” Hearing Seraphina say this, I just quietly stood at the door of the private room. Yes, in others’ eyes, I was just a madwoman who tried to seduce her uncle, a shameless slut. Uma tugged at my clothes uneasily, and I comforted her before entering the room. Some things have to be faced eventually. I don’t know how long passed, but suddenly everyone in the room stood up. “Mr. John is here!” “Hello, Mr. John!” A group of people crowded around him, while I didn’t move, just sitting in my seat. After a long time, I finally raised my head and looked at Damian. He seemed to have lost some weight. Damian wore a suit, with Seraphina leaning on him. When they looked at each other, their eyes were full of smiles. Damian was surrounded by people and didn’t notice me in the corner. All these years, he who should have been the center of attention still was, while the only one not doing well was me. Suddenly, Seraphina seemed to remember something and pushed Damian with a smile: “Damian, Elara is here too. You uncle and niece haven’t seen each other for so many years, catch up a bit. Elara even brought back a surprise!” Hearing the word “surprise”, Damian remained unmoved, first helping Seraphina sit down and ordering her a glass of milk before raising his eyes to look in my direction. Uma shrank into a ball, looking very wary. Damian obviously saw Uma too, his eyes widening suddenly. “Elara, what is this?” He was asking about Uma. I hadn’t told them about Uma, so when they saw me with her, their expressions were all the same – either surprised or looking like they were watching a show. Seraphina spoke for me: “Damian, this is Elara’s daughter. Isn’t she cute? She looks just like Elara and seems to be a few years old already.” Damian’s gaze fell on Uma, then on me, examining me for a while. Just when I thought Damian wouldn’t pay attention to me anymore, he asked hoarsely, pointing at Uma: “During these years abroad… you got married and had a child?” I raised my head, looking directly at Damian, and nodded. “I got married a while ago. Sorry I didn’t tell you.”
It was very quiet around, no one spoke. Damian stared at me, as if trying to judge whether my words were true or false. Seraphina seemed about to say something, but Damian had already come to stand in front of me: “Where’s your husband?” I pursed my lips: “He’s busy recently, so he didn’t come.” Whispers and snickers sounded around the room, though these guests seemed to restrain their laughter out of respect for Damian. Damian’s face was aJohn, but in the end he didn’t say anything, just sat down next to Seraphina. This meal, I ate without tasting anything. Everyone else was praising how well-matched Damian and Seraphina were, while I just wanted to take Uma to rest early. The rent here wasn’t too expensive, I could still afford it. I didn’t want to go abroad again. The meal ended quickly. I wanted to leave, but Damian stopped me, saying he had something to tell me. In the end, Damian and I stayed in the private room. Seraphina was there too. Damian looked at me coldly, his words as emotionless as his expression. “Elara, since we all have our own families now, I hope you won’t come to bother me in the future.” Seraphina covered the smile at the corner of her lips: “Damian, don’t say that to Elara. She’s a grown woman now, she knows what she shouldn’t do.” The couple sang in harmony, looking particularly in sync. And I was excluded from this synchronization. They never believed the promises I made. But I still nodded and bowed: “I won’t in the future.” They didn’t say anything, and I had already turned to leave with Uma in my arms. Damian called his assistant to send me off, but this time I refused. After returning to the rental apartment with Uma, she suddenly asked me quietly if the uncle and aunt today disliked her. They say children are perceptive and know everything. I shook my head: “They don’t dislike Uma.” They just dislike me. Uma looked like she had many questions she wanted to ask me, but in the end she didn’t, just hugged me and said, mom, you’ve worked hard. The tears I had held back all day seemed about to fall at this moment. But I couldn’t cry in front of Uma. So I tilted my head back, holding back the tears. After putting Uma to sleep, I suddenly received a text message. The sender was Seraphina. “Elara, if you have time, let’s talk.” I frowned and told her she could just text me directly. But Seraphina didn’t send any more messages. Just before bed, I received a call from Seraphina. “I’m downstairs at your place. I just want to ask you one thing.” “Do you have any thoughts of going abroad again recently? Damian and I actually both hope you’ll continue to stay abroad. And your husband is abroad too, right? It’s better for you to go abroad.” I was a bit confused at first, but after realizing, I found it a bit funny. The only thing that could make Seraphina contact me late at night was probably just this. They both hated me to this extent. They couldn’t even stand being in the same country as me. I glanced at Uma sleeping beside me. After going downstairs, I indeed saw Seraphina standing under a streetlight. Standing in front of her, I took a deep breath before looking directly into her eyes: “I don’t plan to go abroad.” Even if just for Uma’s sake, I won’t take her on such a tiring journey again. Seraphina laughed lightly. With no one else around, her gaze finally showed undisguised contempt. “Elara, I know you’re very short on money now. What if I could give you a sum of money, would you be willing to go abroad?”
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