The next morning Alexia woke up to find her body completely sore. She rolled over and found there
was no sign of Chaim. At first Chaim’s absence upset Alexia, but then the memories flooded her.
The night before, Chaim and she had what she could only describe as a magical sexual experience.
The warmth soon faded when Alexia noticed a file on her bedside table.
‘What could that be?’ Alexia sat up and wrapped the quilt around her as she grabbed the file. She
flipped the file over but there wasn’t any writing to be found so she opened it instead. She scanned the
document inside and her heart dropped. It was the donation agreement.
Alexia gripped the agreement tightly, the last warm feelings the night of wonderous sex had brought
drifting away only to be replaced with sadness.
"He really wants me to sign it," she said laughing to herself.
Even though Chaim ordered her to sign the agreement by the end of the day, she hadn’t expected to
wake up to find it on her bedside table waiting for her to sign it as if he were afraid she would go back
on her promise.
The fact that Chaim didn't trust her at all, upset her. Alexia stared up at the ceiling and wanted to cry.
She tried for a long moment but the tears refused to fall. Instead, she just sat that and stared at the
donation agreement.
After a while, she laid the agreement file on the bed and grabbed a pen out of the drawer on the
bedside. She signed the document quickly, not wanting to lose her nerve. As soon as she was done,
she quickly shoved the document back into the folder and sent Chaim a text telling him she signed it.
Within seconds of sending the text, Alexia’s phone rang. It was Chaim calling.
"Hello?" Alexia answered wearily.
"Are you already up?" Chaim asked in a low voice.
Alexia held the phone with both of her hands. "Yes, and I signed the donation agreement too."
"I know. I saw your message. When you come to work, bring the file." Chaim said.
"OK."
Then, they were both silent and neither knew what to say. If Alexia didn’t hear Chaim breathing gently
on the other end, she would’ve thought he’d hung up on her. She actually didn't know why Chaim
hadn’t hung up and was instead staying on the line in silence.
"Well…" Alexia asked, trying to continue the conversation.
"What?" Chaim replied quickly.
"Nothing. I was only wonder when the surgery is."
"At 3 p.m. tomorrow." Chaim answered her.
"Okay." Alexia hung up, dread filling her from head-to-toe.
The surgery was tomorrow…
It was only last night she agreed to donate her bone marrow and Chaim had already arranged the
surgery. That meant he must really care about Evelyn. And he didn't care about her!
Alexia stopped the sadness from growing worse and put the phone and the file aside. She forced
herself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
After showering, Alexia got dressed and went downstairs.
Aunt Song greeted her with a smile. "Ms. Alexia, you’re up."
"Yes, good morning." Alexia smiled back at her.
"Morning! What would you like to have for breakfast?" Aunt Song asked.
Alexia thought for a moment. "Nothing heavy, but something that will fill me for a while."
"How about some oatmeal and fresh fruit?"
"Okay."
"I’ll get started on that right away. Please have a seat." Aunt Song wiped her hands on the apron and
turned back to the kitchen.
Alexia sat down and played a game on her cellphone while she was waiting for the breakfast. Just
then, a notification popped up on her screen. She was going to dismiss it, but she stopped herself
when she read the preview and a name caught her eye. Evelyn. ‘Is this Evelyn in the news the one she
talked to before?’ Alexia frowned and read the article carefully.
The article was about a national ballet troupe that the Lincoln Group had invited to perform Swan Lake
later that year. The hope was that the ballet would increase the national happiness. However, the lead
dancer of the troupe who would usually portray the swan had to temporarily retire from the troupe
because of personal health issues. Instead, the troupe was bringing in a foreign ballerina to portray the
swan.
"The lead dancer's name is also Evelyn, and she was sick as well. Are they the same person?" Alexia
pondered as she looked at the name Evelyn.
"I’m sorry. Were you talking to me, Ms. Alexia? Is who same person?" Aunt Song asked as she carried
out a tray with Alexia’s breakfast.
"I was just curious about this article." Alexia handed her phone to Aunt Song and eyed the woman’s
expression.
If they were the same person, Aunt Song would know something. As soon as Aunt Song finished
reading the article, Alexia knew she was right. Aunt Song’s entire demeanor changed when she
handed Alexia back her phone.
"Aunt Song, are you still refusing to tell me about the relationship Evelyn and Chaim have?"
Aunt Song glanced around guiltily, but still didn't want to tell Alexia.
" Song!" Alexia grabbed the woman’s hands. "Please tell me. I really want to know."
Aunt Song couldn't tell her, even if she wanted to. "Ms. Alexia, I really wish I could tell you the truth.
However, Grandpa Rocco ordered us not to mention her again, and forbade us to tell you anything."
"But you didn’t tell me about her. Evelyn showed up on her own. If you don't tell me now, I’ll know the
whole thing eventually, so why don't you just tell me now?" Alexia asked.
Aunt Song didn't want to upset Alexia, so she gave in. "Okay, I’ll tell you, but you mustn’t tell anyone I
told you. I can only say that Evelyn was Mr. Lancaster's ex-girlfriend."
"Ex-girlfriend…" Alexia muttered, surprised to find she wasn’t upset, but relieved.
She considered the idea yesterday, assuming Evelyn was either Chaim's ex-girlfriend or his secret
crush. If that weren’t the case, it would be hard to explain why he cared about Evelyn so much. It was
obvious Chaim couldn't forget his ex. He even requested his wife to donate the bone marrow to his ex,
so he still loved Evelyn.
Alexia gripped her fork and wondered if Chaim would divorce her so he could get back together with
Evelyn.
"Ms. Alexia, are you alright?" Aunt Song asked Alexia carefully.
Alexia shook her head, not in the mood for breakfast anymore.
"Aunt Song, do you think they’ll get back together?"
Alexia put down her fork as sadness engulfed her.
Her question surprised Aunt Song, but she replied matter-of-factly, "No, they won't."
"Why?" Alexia looked up at Aunt Song.
Aunt Song smiled. "Because Grandpa Rocco will never allow it. Ms. Alexia, you should know Grandpa
Rocco hated Evelyn. And you are Mrs. Lancaster."
"But he could still divorce me," Alexia worried.
Aunt Song started worrying and immediately tried to stop Alexia from talking like that. "Ms. Alexia, you
must stop talking about divorce. There’s never been one in the Lancaster Family."
"That doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen." Alexia laid her chin on her arms, feeling even worse than
she had. "Aunt Song, you know Chaim doesn’t like me. If he did, he wouldn't have left me alone here
for three years. However, he treats Evelyn very differently. He stays up all night to take care of Evelyn
in the hospital, and he even…"
"Even what?" Aunt Song looked at her in concern.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda