He Thought I Couldn't Hear His Lies, I Heard Every Word Chapter 04

He Thought I Couldn’t Hear His Lies, I Heard Every Word Chapter 04

At Gavin’s words, my heart skipped a beat.

In his hand was the official paperwork for the volunteer teaching post on the remote reservation in Montana.

His face looked grim, but I answered calmly, without the slightest hurry.

“It’s for Rachel Lee. Her family is strict and won’t let her go.”

“So she used my information for the application. It got approved, and I was just taking the paperwork to her.”

As I spoke, I took the documents from his hand under his half–suspicious gaze.

Only then did Gavin finally relax.

Beside him, Lily smiled and said, “Mom, guess what we brought back for you.”

I paused for a second before answering slowly, “A chocolate cake your dad made himself.”

“How did you know?” Lily asked, surprise flashing across her face.

How could I not know?

Back when Gavin and I were dating, he used to make all kinds of desserts for me. He said he wanted to fatten me up so no one would ever be able to steal me away from him.

But the cakes he made always turned out bitter and overly rich. Still, because he had made them, I treasured every bite and always finished them clean.

Until one day, he finally realized it and pulled me into his arms, crying.

“The cake is so bitter. Why do you still eat it?”

I buried my face against his chest, nuzzled into him, and said with a smile, “How is it awful? It’s full of proof that you love me, so it’s obviously sweet.”

“If there’s no love left, even the best cake in the world will start to feel sickening.”

The memory drifted away. At some point, Gavin had already taken out a slice of cake and was saying gently, “I really can’t hide anything from you.”

I smiled faintly and answered, word by word, “That’s right. You can’t hide anything from me.”

Something in my expression made Gavin’s heart stumble for no reason. Forcing a smile, he said, “Autumn, I added extra sugar this time. It should be sweeter. Try it.”

I said nothing. I only looked at the cake in his hand.

Maybe it had been sitting out too long. The chocolate had already started to melt, just like the love between

us, ruined beyond repair.

“I’m not really hungry yet. I’ll put it in the fridge for now.”

I took the cloying cake from his hand and walked deeper into the house.

A few minutes later, when I came back out, I saw Sophie standing not far away.

I hadn’t expected that she would be bold enough to show up openly at this house now. Neither, it seemed,

had Gavin or Lily.

Gavin’s face darkened as he strode toward Sophie.

“Have you lost your mind? Who told you to come here? I told you never to show up in front of Autumn.”

Sophie froze for a second at the anger on his face, then suddenly threw her arms around him.

She put on a pitiful expression. “I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have come here. But I just couldn’t suppress how badly I wanted you.”

“I don’t want to be away from you for even a second. The baby doesn’t either.”

As she spoke, she grabbed Gavin’s hand and tried to press it against her stomach, but he slapped her hand

away.

“I told you, that child is nothing more than an illegitimate kid I can never acknowledge in public. I will never

admit that child exists.”

“I’ll have someone take you back. In a few days, I’ll come see you.”

Gavin turned to leave, but Sophie caught his wrist and threw herself into his arms.

“No. I can’t leave you. Gavin, please. Just give me one minute. Just one.”

Then she rose up on her toes and kissed him.

Gavin tried to push her away, but after a token struggle, he gave in.

The second Lily saw what they were doing, she hurried back inside.

Seeing that she was about to come in, I stopped watching their little performance. I cut myself a slice of cake, sat down in the living room, and acted as if nothing had happened.

Lily casually unwrapped a piece of candy and was just about to pop it into her mouth when she seemed to remember something and asked in a small voice, “Mom, can I have one?”

My daughter loved candy, but her teeth were bad. If she ate too much, she would end up in pain, so I was

always the one stopping her.

Maybe that was one of the reasons she hated me.

I nodded. “Go ahead and eat it. No one’s going to police you anymore.”

She looked at me in surprise, but didn’t think much of it and happily started eating.

A little while later, Gavin came in. When he saw Lily stuffing candy into her mouth, he looked confused.

“Autumn, things have been really busy at the office lately. I need to head back out.”

“Wait for me at home. I promise, once this is taken care of, I’ll spend a few days here with you.”

He looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer, but I already knew I was destined to disappoint him.

“Go ahead. Take care of your business.”

“Lily, go with your dad and play in the kids‘ lounge at the office. Mommy still has a few things to do.”

My daughter froze for a moment, because there was no trace of tenderness left in my voice, and nothing in my eyes that looked like love for her anymore.

Gavin started to panic at that, but just then a car horn sounded outside..

We all knew it was Sophie urging them on.

So I lowered my head and began eating the cake, and that was what finally put them at ease.

They stopped overthinking it. After a quick wave, they turned and left.

I spat the bitter cake from my mouth into the trash and wiped my lips.

Then I picked up the teaching assignment paperwork and the suitcase I had packed long ago and walked

toward the door.

By the time I reached it, I had already gotten a text from Gavin.

Gavin: [Autumn, Lily and I have a surprise for you. I promise you’ll love it.]

I laughed when I saw the message.

First Sophie, then her getting pregnant with your child. Haven’t you already given me enough surprises lately?