Chapter 582
Chapter 582:
Surely, if Hiram could know, he would be pleased to see her find companionship.
“Hiram was a godsend. Without him, I wouldn’t have made it through the toughest days of my life.” Fernanda sat before Hiram’s gravestone, her voice soft as she spoke to Cristian.
“When I was a child, people thought I was lost with my parents. But that was never the case. They abandoned me on purpose. My mother had been Robert’s first wife. Back then, he was just another struggling man, but she supported him until he climbed his way to wealth. Once he had everything he wanted, he turned his back on her. He resented her for not giving him a child, so he found another woman—Michelle. With Michelle, he had Ector. At that time, Robert still pretended to be a devoted husband, keeping up the illusion that everything was fine. But as his empire grew, so did his arrogance, and he stopped even pretending to care about my mother.
“Their marriage became a battlefield, with rumors swirling about Robert’s mistress. My mother fell into despair, and her health deteriorated. Then she discovered she was pregnant with me—probably the only thing that gave her a moment of happiness, but it was short-lived. Soon after, she learned that Michelle was expecting too—Erika, just four months younger than me. Michelle moved into the Morgan family home, flaunting her presence in front of my mother. It wasn’t long before my mother succumbed to the weight of it all and passed away, consumed by her sadness.
“As for Michelle, she became Robert’s second wife—and she hated me. To her, I was nothing but an inconvenience. When I was three, she took me away and abandoned me deliberately. She handed me off to someone she knew, then left me far from Esaham. When she returned, she lied to Robert, claiming I’d gone missing. They pretended to search for me, but it was all just a show—they gave up quickly, just as they’d planned.
“By the time I was five, I overheard the family who’d taken me in talking about their plans for me. They intended to marry me off to their mentally challenged son. That was when I ran away. I didn’t stop running, not even when I left their town behind. I ventured down forgotten paths until I collapsed from exhaustion. That was when Hiram found me—and he saved me.”
With a faint smile, Fernanda turned toward Cristian. “Fate can be cruel at times, don’t you think? My mother was pure of heart, yet she ended up surrounded by the worst people. And Michelle? She did nothing, yet she reaped everything my mother worked for.”
Fernanda’s fingers traced Hiram’s photo on the tombstone as tears welled in her eyes. “I wish Hiram could have lived longer so I could have cared for him when he grew old. When he fell ill, I searched for the finest doctors and the best hospitals. I did everything I could, but nothing worked. Before he passed, he smiled at me and said that having me in his life was his greatest blessing—that I was the best companion he had in his final years.”
“She was my blessing. Without him, the person I am today wouldn’t exist.” Fernanda paused, her voice trembling.
Fresh chapters just uploaded gⱯlnσν𝓮𝓁s․cøm
Cristian remained silent, his full attention on her as she revealed her past. He had known she wasn’t raised by the Morgans and that an elderly man had cared for her, but he had never imagined just how intricate her story truly was.
.
.
.