Chapter 3

Chapter 3 With a sweet smile, he threw himself into my arms. "Mommy, you're finally here!" he cried. The little prince, whose face had been cold and aloof just moments ago, now looked heartbroken and pitiful as he clung to me. "Why didn't you come home yesterday? I missed you so much!" he said, his voice full of grievance. I wrapped my arms tightly around my son, gently soothing him. "Mommy was working," I whispered. "I told you when I left that I had to work. But guess what? Mommy's off tomorrow — I'll take you out to play, okay?" My precious son, Jasper, nodded eagerly. "Okay! Mommy's the best!" Everyone around us froze in shock, staring at me like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Just as they opened their mouths to speak, a tall, handsome man in a tailored suit came rushing down from the meeting room upstairs. "Sweetheart," the man called out warmly, "I heard from the hotel manager that you're here for the class reunion. Why didn't you tell me you were done with work? I could've come to pick you up!" The hotel manager, standing off to the side, turned to address the stunned crowd. "This is Mr. Redmond, the CEO of Redmond Group. If anyone has any requests during the meal, feel free to let me know. We'll do our best to ensure Mrs. Redmond's old classmates have a memorable experience here." The reactions of my classmates were mixed. Some were visibly excited, while the people who had insulted me earlier were now looking ghostly pale. A few of the girls I was close to couldn't hold back their shock. "Selene, your husband is the richest man in New York, Cassian Redmond?" "Is that even a question? Didn't you hear the hotel manager calling her ‘Mrs. Redmond,' and the little prince calling her ‘Mommy'? She's obviously the unspoken wife of New York's wealthiest man!" "Wow, now this is what real aristocracy looks like…" Amidst the hushed murmurs of my classmates, I could only smile in response. Cassian, standing beside me, looked me over, his gaze softening with concern. He gently pulled me into his arms. "Just came back from the hospital again?" he asked, his voice filled with tenderness. "After the reunion, you should go home and get some rest." I nodded, replying softly, "Okay." Then, the man who had seemed so cold ignored Lyra, who was trying to approach him, and his gaze fixed directly on Elias. He spoke with a hint of disdain. "You're my wife's ex, right? Thank you for not marrying her back then. If it weren't for your selflessness, how could I have met such a wonderful wife?" Elias didn't respond to Cassian's mockery at all. Instead, his expression became complicated as he looked at me, a hint of devastation in his eyes. He questioned, "Selene, is this your way of punishing me? How much did you pay to hire these two actors?" I gently set my son down and took Cassian's hand without hesitation. "This is my husband, Cassian." Elias's expression went from disbelief to shock, then pale, and finally, there was nothing but a hollow silence. Perhaps in the past, I would have been heartbroken by this man's every move. But he was right: the past was the past. There was no need to dwell on it. Now, I had a new love, a child, my dream job, and a happy marriage and family—things I had never had in my previous life. Obviously, I was far happier in this life. Although the reunion was originally organized by Lyra, once people learned of my identity, the way they looked at me changed completely. From the previous sycophantic flattery of Lyra to now showing me concern and warmth, it only took a few minutes. "I can't believe Selene actually married the richest man! Elias was just trying to hand her a check, and now it looks ridiculous!" "Yeah, he thought her ex was struggling, but she turned around and found an even better man." "Wasn't Lyra offering her a job as a manicurist? I just heard Selene is the lead surgeon at New York's top hospital. She must be a big deal... She doesn't need anyone to help her find a job. Isn't this funny?" "Selene, you got married and didn't even tell your old classmates? We would have sent you a gift!" I looked at my old classmates, who had been ignoring me at first, now trying to act all familiar, and I couldn't help but feel amused. But I still responded politely, maintaining the surface-level decorum. By the time the reunion hadn't even ended, I had already lost interest. Soon, my husband Cassian, holding our son, and I turned to leave. Just as we stepped outside Redmond Hotel, Elias chased after us, calling my name. "Selene!" I asked Cassian to take our son to the car and wait for me. After all, it was November, and the evening was quite cold. He didn't say anything, silently nodding. As always, he respected me and trusted me. Elias looked at me with eyes full of complexity and confusion. "How did you end up marrying Cassian?" he asked. There was no need to hide the truth. When Cassian's mother was hospitalized at our hospital due to heart disease, I happened to be her attending physician. Because of her condition, we communicated often, and that's how we met. Cassian admired my dedication to every patient, and he appreciated my high standards for professionalism and academics. So, he wasted no time in pursuing me. I saw his devotion to his mother, and I had a positive impression of this man. On the day Cassian formally confessed his feelings, I asked him a few questions. "Do you want children?" I asked. "Yes, I do. Although I could say some pretty things now, like respecting your wishes, I want to answer honestly — I want children. My dream is to have a happy family of three." I continued asking with a blank expression, "Would you stop me from continuing my medical research?" He sincerely shook his head. "No, everyone's true potential doesn't just lie in the family, but also in society and within themselves. I'm willing to support whatever you want to do." "Last question, will you regret it?" He smiled. "I, Cassian, never regret." From that day on, I agreed to give it a try, wanting to give both him and myself a chance for a fresh start. Later, we naturally fell in love and got married. The wedding was very low-key. We simply registered for the marriage and invited a few friends and family members we knew. After hearing my story, Elias's eyes unknowingly reddened. "That little boy, is he really your child?" he asked. "But didn't you say before that you only wanted to have children with me? How could you now have a child with another man?" His words left me speechless, and all I could do was remind him using his own words. "Elias, what's in the past is in the past. Can't you stop dwelling on it? The promises from our past lives don't need to be taken seriously in this life. When we both agreed to break up, the best arrangement for both our past and present selves was to have no connection, wasn't it? Besides, in the previous life, you regretted being with me and didn't want to have children with me. I couldn't accept that kind of life." Elias yelled in anger, "I regretted it because you never supported me! You sent emails to music publishers telling them not to include my songs!" After hearing that, I was completely confused. "What are you talking about? I don't understand at all! I never sent any emails. Back then, I worked three jobs a day for your music dream. I didn't have time for such pointless things, and I wanted you to succeed more than anyone. Didn't you feel that in the past life?" I retorted. As soon as I said this, it was like a thunderbolt striking Elias. He was stunned in place, as if he had just received some huge shock. He couldn't help but cover his mouth, as if he couldn't accept the truth, continuing to question me, "Then why didn't you want to buy the guitar when I asked you to?" At that moment, I started to understand what Elias's unfinished sentence at the class reunion had meant. "Do you think there was any money left in the house? When your father fell ill, the family almost emptied all its savings to send him to the hospital. Do you think we had anything left except for the money for groceries? Should we have just taken a guitar from somewhere?" Elias was completely despondent. He mumbled to himself, "Impossible, Lyra told me that it was you who sent those emails to those music publishers, that's why I never succeeded. It's because you didn't want to see me succeed, you were afraid that if I became successful, I would leave you…" If the matters from our past life had made me feel disappointed and pained, at this moment, I truly felt completely hopeless about my emotions from that past life. "We were together for so many years, and now a casual word from someone else can negate all my efforts. Don't you think you're being ridiculous?" I sighed. "My husband and son are still waiting for me. I'm leaving now." In a hurry, Elias called out from behind, "Do you still love me?"