Chapter 313

"Are you the third party in someone's relationship?" An angry voice came through the phone.

Susan's heart sank. Even though she anticipated the purpose of this call, it still hurt. She hurriedly explained, "Dad, it's not what you think. I..."

"Still denying it? If not, why would they come to the school and cause a scene? The whole school knows about your disgraceful actions. You've tarnished our family's reputation."

Susan felt a sourness in her throat as if she had swallowed a lemon. "Is your reputation more important than me?"

"I've been a respected teacher for so many years, and you are my only stain!"

Susan took a deep breath. "You'd rather believe others than me? I was not the third party."

"Then why didn't the child's father show up? I could accept it even if you got pregnant before marriage, but you said that the man abandoned you. I wanted to find him, but you stopped me, saying he was dead to you. I thought he was irresponsible, so I didn't force you. It turned out he already had a family.

"I gave you the best education, taught you moral values, sent you to study abroad, and taught you ethics, but now you're involved with a married man. It has escalated, and his wife even came to cause a scene. They even made a scene at your mother's music school. Our whole family has been dragged into this, enduring such shame because of you."

"Our family?" Susan forced a bitter smile, unable to hold back her tears. "Am I your family too?"

"Since you didn't listen to my advice and insisted on having the child, I no longer consider you my daughter. You're on your own but don't tarnish our reputation any further, or I won't be polite!"

The call ended with a loud click. In the mirror, Susan's tears flowed. Family was supposed to be a warm harbor, but it could also be the sharpest blade, piercing her softest spot, and causing a torrent of tears.

She tried to control them, but they only flowed more fiercely. Susan kept crying, for about ten minutes, until Oliver knocked on the door, worried. "Mommy, are you okay? Mommy."

"I'm fine..." Susan choked while applying a warm towel to her eyes for a while before leaving. Her eyes were as swollen as walnuts. Oliver looked at her with concern. Susan forced a smile, "Don't you want to eat KFC? I'll order it now." Caleb didn't arrive at the hospital until after 8 o'clock. He had a full day of meetings and couldn't find time, but his heart had been here long ago. He ran into Susan coming out of the ward.

Caleb smiled. "What a coincidence.

"It's cold outside, let's go in."

"We can talk here." Susan lowered her head, her long hair falling over her face, hiding her expression.

Caleb noticed something was wrong with her. "What's the matter? What happened?"

"Don't come here anymore."

"Why?" Caleb instinctively asked. "It's not appropriate. Caleb, you have a family."

"I've already asked my lawyer to handle the divorce."

"That's your business. You're not divorced yet."

"I know, I'll hurry up, but the divorce involves two families, especially Candy's custody, so I have to be well prepared..."

"That's none of my concern." Susan interrupted his explanation. "I don't want to know about your affairs. I just know that I don't like you coming here every day."

"You don't like it? You're always happy when I come. You can't fool me."

Susan felt a sense of irony. Yes, she couldn't deny that there was always a hint of joy and anticipation in her heart. Every time he came, her heart would beat faster. She had always told herself that she was not the third party, but it seemed more like self-deception. She couldn't convince herself, and she didn't dare to face it. She deserved to be exposed!

"I'm not happy. I hate myself for being like this."

"Susan..." Caleb wanted to comfort her, but as soon as he reached out, she took two steps back. This move really made Caleb feel uncomfortable. "Your presence will attract a lot of gossip, which is not good for me and Oliver."

"Why do you care about what they say? As long as you have a clear conscience."

"But I can't have a clear conscience." Susan looked up at him, her eyes red and swollen. "Because in my heart, I also consider myself a third party. Every time I see you, I condemn myself. Caleb, do you know what it means to add insult to injury?"

She was like a string under immense pressure, tightly stretched, and could break at any moment. Caleb felt sorry for her.

It was his fault. He also knew that he should handle his own relationship before coming to her, but he couldn't control himself. On the one hand, he wanted to take care of Oliver, and on the other hand, he wanted to see her.

"I'm sorry for putting so much pressure on you.

"I promise you, I won't come to you until after the divorce."

"Don't come to me after the divorce."

"But by then I will be a free man."

"Your freedom at that time does not mean that you did not deceive me. Caleb, I can't forget your deception. We can't get back together."

"Are you really willing to give up our future happiness and give up giving Oliver a complete family because of past mistakes? Susan, I know you have principles, and I know you have a barrier in your heart, but no one is perfect. If you keep punishing me for the past, then we will never have a future."

"Stop, I don't want to hear it."

"Okay, I won't say it for now. Let's talk about everything after my divorce." Caleb didn't dare to push too hard. It was not the time to discuss these things. He believed that after the divorce, all the problems would be naturally resolved. So, it was definitely not now. Caleb handed a game console to Susan. "This is for Oliver, can you give it to him?"

"He can't take it."

"This is my last request, okay?" Caleb took her hand and put the game console into Susan's hand. "I won't come over during this time, and you have to take care of yourself. When I come back, I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer." Caleb held her hand tightly, gave her a determined look, and turned to leave.

Susan's eyes turned red again. She quickly raised her face, trying hard not to let the tears fall. She couldn't cry, she couldn't...

Caleb was originally going to take the elevator, but he suddenly felt a little depressed and decided to take the stairs. As he pushed open the door to the stairwell, he overheard a group of middle-aged women talking.

"Where's the money? When will Mrs. Eilish give it to us?"

"Oh, don't worry. Mrs. Eilish has money, and she won't shortchange us. She'll transfer it soon. I thought of you first when there's a benefit. We made five thousand in just one day. Isn't that easy money?"

"Yeah, should we continue tomorrow?"

"Of course, we'll continue. The orders are to make sure her child knows about her dirty deeds, and to make her reputation in the hospital so bad that everyone will despise her."

"Didn't she ask someone to paint over those words on the wall? We'll find two more people tonight to rewrite them."

"Okay, no problem. My nephew is a loan shark, so he's good at it." Caleb's face darkened completely.

Caleb's face turned gloomy.