Chapter 4

“Fate brought us together outside the troubled times…” Monique Xander’s phone rang when she was occupied with work.

She was helping out in a luxurious café. Aunt Harriet who worked with her was having a day off so all cleaning tasks for both floors fell on her alone.

She continued cleaning as she took out her old Nokia phone to accept the call. “Hello, this is Monique Xander from Mansion Coffee. Who am I speaking to?”

“Monique, it’s me, your uncle.” A gentle and amiable middle-aged man’s voice came from the other end of the call, it was familiar yet distant at the same time.

It was her uncle, Zephyrus Xander!

Stunned, she stood there without giving a response, her body bent over slightly from the floor-mopping.

Why was he calling her? It had been a long time since they last talked. Did something happen?

She thought about her past that she never liked to talk about. She had kept everything to herself like hiding it at the bottom of an ocean.

Monique Xander’s parents had a matrilocal marriage so her surname was from her mother’s side. Her parents had a divorce when she was little and she was raised by her grandfather.

She was only eight years old when he passed away. He entrusted her over to her uncle, Zephyrus Xander, and he treated her like his own daughter. He was the primary father figure in her life.

However, an unraveled knot was tied in her chest after the incident.

Her uncle’s daughter, Yvonne Xander had deceived her, causing her to lose her virginity and get

pregnant. She had been looked down upon by others ever since.

Her uncle was furious and lost his cool when he found out she was pregnant without marriage and, she did not even know who the man was.

“How can you be this shameless when I’ve raised you well? You’re an embarrassment to us!” Enraged, Zephyrus Xander landed a hard slap on Monique Xander’s face.

Monique Xander took the slap and fell onto the ground. Her fair and delicate cheek swelled and her head spun.

“...” She only responded after a while. She sat herself up, curled herself into her arms, and sobbed silently.

She did not know why she was dumb enough to trust Yvonne Xander and followed her to the bar. How could she believe Yvonne Xander when she always made fun of her since they were young?

She never expected Yvonne Xander to be this evil.

How could she explain? Would her uncle believe her if she said that Yvonne Xander tricked her into going to the bar, set up a trap for her, and took her to a hotel room?

It did not matter whether he believed her. The one with a ruined reputation and a baby was her.

Monique Xander was extremely upset but she had no solutions. She dug her nails deep into her

palm but she felt nothing.

The voices she heard were earsplitting. They were like daggers stabbing into her heart.

“You’re as cheap as your mother. You are a disgrace to us, how are we going to face people now?” Yvonne Xander’s mother, Siobhan Zack shot Monique Xander a glare and sneered.

She wanted nothing more than to chase her out of the house at that moment.

‘Aren’t I used to these words already?’ Monique Xander asked herself. Why did it still hurt so badly?

She always thought that she had thick skin to fend off and ignore comments like this. She thought that she would be content as long as her uncle still loved her.

Yvonne Xander was standing behind the door, watching the scene. Her grandfather had always protected Monique Xander and gave her everything she wanted. On the other hand, she was only left with her leftovers.

When Monique Xander came to her house, her father had been kind and loving to her too. Monique Xander had been snatching away her father’s attention which was previously on her. Yvonne Xander was unhappy about that, so she always bullied Monique Xander.

That was the first time her father hit Monique Xander. It was satisfying.

Zephyrus Xander always cared about his reputation and Monique Xander had always been a good and obedient child. How could he not be brokenhearted when something like that happened? However, his heart still ached when he saw her all curled up and weeping.

“Abort that scum within the next two days.” Zephyrus Xander shook his head and sighed before leaving.