Old Dreams Fade

By the seventh year of my relationship with Vanessa McBride, she inherited everything her late sister, Rebecca Holloway, had left behind, including her brother-in-law, Derek Holloway. Every time Vanessa returned from Derek's room, she would hold me close and whisper softly, "Just wait a little longer, Grant. Once I give him a child, we'll finally have our wedding." It was the only condition her family had imposed for her to inherit the McBride legacy. In the six months after returning to the capital, Vanessa went to Derek's room regularly. At first, it was once a month. Then, once every few weeks. Eventually, it became almost every other night. And after six months of being alone every night until dawn, the news finally arrived. Vanessa was pregnant. But the announcement that followed shattered whatever hope I had left. She and Derek were getting married. "Daddy, is someone getting married?" Looking at the wedding decorations filling our home, I pulled my confused daughter into my arms. "Yes," I told her quietly. "Mom is marrying the person she loves. So it's time for us to move out too." What Vanessa never understood was that marriage was never what mattered most to me. Chapter 1 Grant's POV After tucking Sadie into bed, I pulled out my phone and booked a flight back to Silver Ridge. Unfortunately, the New Year had just ended, and the post-holiday travel rush was in full swing, so the earliest ticket I could get was seven days away. I stared at the date on the booking confirmation, momentarily lost in thought. January 7th. And the seventh anniversary of my relationship with Vanessa McBride. Maybe fate had a sense of humor after all. A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. Perhaps it was fitting. What had begun on that day should end on that day as well. A heavy scent of gardenias wrapped around me from behind as Vanessa's gentle voice drifted down from above my head. "What are you looking at?" Instinctively, I locked my phone screen. "Just some news about gold trading." In only six months, Derek Holloway's cologne scent had seeped so deeply into Vanessa that it felt as though it had become part of her skin. The smell made my stomach turn. I pushed her away slightly. "Go take a shower before talking to me." Vanessa lowered her head and sniffed at herself before releasing me with an awkward smile. "Okay..." Then she added softly, "I know I've neglected you lately. That's my fault. I won't be going to Der's place for the next few days." Der. How intimate that sounded. She used to keep up appearances at least, calling him "Derek" in front of others. Now she didn't even bother with the title anymore. Anyone who didn't know better would probably assume Derek was Vanessa's husband. The bathroom door swung open a short while later. Vanessa stepped out, wrapped in a towel, steam curling around her body. With a slender waist, long legs, and skin as pale and smooth as cream, she still carried a youthful brightness that many younger women lacked despite her age. For a moment, I saw the woman she had been seven years ago. Covered in dew from the night air as she stayed overnight for the first time, her eyes had shone with pride, as though she wanted the whole world to know. "Grant, from today onward, you're mine. For the rest of our lives, it'll be just the two of us." Seeing me stare blankly at her, she suddenly burst into laughter and threw herself into my arms. "Grant, tonight I'm staying with you. I'm not going anywhere else." The fresh citrus scent from her body mixed with the lingering fragrance of cologne, creating an oddly unpleasant smell. I lowered my eyes quietly. The woman before me was no longer the person I had once loved. A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "Miss McBride, Mr. Holloway isn't feeling well. Please come take a look." The irritation on Vanessa's face disappeared instantly, replaced by concern. She hurriedly pulled on her clothes. "What's wrong with him? Did you call the family doctor?" She had already taken several steps before suddenly remembering I was still standing there. Turning back, she looked at me apologetically. "Derek isn't feeling well. I have to go check on him. With Rebecca gone, I'm all he has left to rely on." She forced out a smile. "I'll come back soon, Grant. You've always been so understanding." Understanding. Because I was "understanding", I had endured six months and many sleepless nights. 'Vanessa, I was always committed to you.' I spoke quietly, "Vanessa." Her brows knitted together, words of reassurance already forming on her lips, but before she could speak, she froze. I draped a coat over her shoulders. "The nights are cold. Wear something warmer before you go." Vanessa gripped the coat tightly, something unreadable flickering in her eyes. "Grant, you..." However, before she could understand the sudden ache rising in her chest, the guest room door closed between us. 'Seven more days, Vanessa. After that, I won't wait for you anymore.' Chapter 2 As expected, Vanessa never came back that night. Even so, when my hand brushed against the cold, untouched half of the bed, my chest still tightened painfully. The knocking at the door grew louder and louder. When I opened it, one of the McBride household staff stood there with barely concealed disdain. "Madam McBride wants you and the child at the estate." The old matriarch of the McBrides, Edith McBride, had never liked me. No matter how many times I tried to explain our relationship status, she saw me as nothing more than an immoral fraud who had tricked his way into the family. Her contempt extended to my daughter, Sadie, as well. When the family head behaved that way, the staff naturally followed suit. By the time Sadie and I arrived at the estate's main hall, all the McBrides' elders had already gathered. Vanessa, who had disappeared all night, stood off to one side, supported by Derek. The tenderness in her eyes was impossible to miss. Edith looked at Vanessa's stomach, smiling so broadly that the wrinkles around her eyes deepened. "Vanessa is finally pregnant. Since the whole family is here today, it's time to honor the agreement we made six months ago." The family's most respected elder stepped forward and publicly announced Vanessa's appointment as the new head of the McBrides. "Now that the family line will continue, you should choose a date for the wedding." I looked up. Every single person in the room was looking at Derek, even Vanessa. Without the slightest concern for who was watching, she guided Derek's hand onto her stomach. Her expression was impossibly gentle. "I'm going to be a mother." Not "a mother again". Simply "I'm going to be a mother". A dull ache spread through my chest as my fingers tightened unconsciously. "Daddy, that hurts." Sadie's small voice echoed through the hall. I immediately released my grip. Her tiny hand had already turned red in my palm. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to. Let me kiss it better." That single sentence drew everyone's attention toward us. The elder frowned. "If word gets out that the head of the McBride family had a child out of wedlock, the family's reputation will be ruined. She's nothing more than the daughter of a con artist, and a girl at that." Eleanor McBride, Vanessa's mother, let out a dismissive snort. "From now on, we'll tell people she's a distant relative's child that the family took in." She had never liked me, and by extension, she had never cared much for Sadie either. It was her idea to use Vanessa to inherit the family leadership in exchange for carrying on both family lines. Now that Derek's child was on the way, Sadie had become even more dispensable. "Mom, that's going too far." Vanessa released Derek's arm. She had barely taken a step toward us before Derek quietly caught her wrist and pulled her back. I saw it clearly. Taking Sadie's hand, I walked over to Eleanor. "As you wish. From this day forward, Sadie is no longer Vanessa's daughter." Then I crouched in front of her, my eyes burning as I forced myself to explain to Sadie, "Sweetheart, from now on, you can't call her Mommy anymore. You have to call her Aunt Vanessa instead, okay?" Vanessa froze. She knew better than anyone that one of the biggest reasons I had stayed these past six months was Sadie. Her eyes searched mine, as if looking for anger, resentment, or desperation, but she found none of it. Children don't understand the complexities of adults. Sadie's little face turned bright red as tears streamed down her cheeks. I hurriedly led her toward the door. Then Derek's voice stopped us. "Grant, I heard amethyst is said to protect both mother and child during pregnancy. Vanessa has been looking everywhere for a piece suitable enough. Who would've thought you'd have one? "I wonder if you'd be willing to part with it?" Chapter 3 "Vanessa, is that what you want too?" My eyes landed on the cluster of fresh love bites exposed along Derek's neck as he tilted his chin upward. The sight scraped across my heart like a thousand tiny needles, leaving behind a slow, lingering ache. The amethyst pendant had been our token of love. Seven years ago, we had met at a gemstone exhibition in Silver Ridge because we had both reached for the same piece of amethyst. On the night that we got together, Vanessa had braided the cord herself and tied the pendant around my neck. We made a promise for a lifetime. I knew Derek liked it since he had asked Vanessa for it more than once. She had never given it to him. However, this time, she looked away with hesitation and guilt in her eyes. "Maybe you could—" "Sure." I let out a quiet laugh and tore the pendant from my neck, dropping it into Derek's hand. Watching him eagerly fasten it around his own neck, I nodded in approval. "It suits you." Vanessa looked at me in surprise. Ignoring her expression, I picked up Sadie and walked away. Back at the villa, Sadie was still crying so hard she could barely catch her breath. Ignoring the pain twisting in my chest, I took her little hand in mine. "Sweetheart, if I wanted to take you away from here, would you come with me?" Her tears fell even harder. "Daddy... can't we stay?" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "But your mom and your grandmother don't want us here anymore." I forced myself to meet her eyes. "Do you really want to spend the rest of your life calling her Aunt Vanessa?" I selfishly wanted her to be only my daughter who would choose me without hesitation and to love me the way only a child can love a parent. But life didn't work that way. She hugged her Barbie doll tighter against her chest. It had been Vanessa's birthday gift to her last year. "Daddy, I just want one more birthday with Mommy." She stubbornly refused to change what she called Vanessa. Closing my eyes, I pulled her into my arms and nodded. "Okay." ... January 5th was Sadie's birthday. I'd reminded Vanessa two days in advance so she would have time to prepare. This might be the last birthday our daughter ever celebrated with her mother, and I wanted her wish to come true. That morning, Sadie woke up early and put on her little dress. Then she looked up at me nervously. "Daddy, Mommy's coming to my birthday party, right?" "Of course she is." I forced a smile and sent Vanessa a message. "It's your daughter's birthday today. Where are you?" The message disappeared into silence. No reply came. Sadie lowered her head and tightened her grip on the ribbon wrapped around the cake box. "Mommy isn't coming, is she?" A long while passed before she seemed to convince herself otherwise. "It's okay." She forced out a smile. "Aunt Vanessa is busy. We shouldn't bother her. Daddy, let's eat cake." It was the first time she had called Vanessa "Aunt Vanessa". Little by little, she was beginning to accept the truth—that she simply wasn't important enough to her mother. But the trembling corners of Sadie's mouth and the redness gathering around her eyes betrayed her heartbreak. Watching her pretend to be strong felt like someone had poured gasoline over the frustration and grief burning inside my chest. The pain spread through me, scorching everything in its path. I opened my phone and pulled up Vanessa's chat window. "You don't even have time for your own daughter's birthday? Do you really love Derek that much? So much that you have to spend every waking moment with him?" My thumb hovered over the send button. For a long time, I couldn't bring myself to press it. Then a new message appeared. "Come to the McBride estate." Chapter 4 Excitement surged through me as I held out the latest message for Sadie to see. "Sadie, look! Mommy remembered." Her head snapped up, her face instantly breaking into the brightest smile I'd seen in days. "Mommy must've gotten me lots of presents! Daddy, let's go!" With Vanessa's message as proof, Sadie spent the entire drive chattering excitedly beside me, guessing what gifts her mother might have prepared. However, the moment we arrived at the McBride estate, my heart sank. The gardens were overflowing with roses. This wasn't what a little girl's birthday party was supposed to look like. Oblivious, Sadie grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the entrance. I followed behind her, unease settling heavily in my chest. 'Vanessa, please don't do something we can't come back from.' Inside the ballroom, Sadie's eyes lit up the moment she spotted Vanessa standing beside the cake. "Mommy!" She ran straight into her arms. Vanessa stiffened. Her eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing here?" The surprise in her voice confirmed the fear already growing inside me. Behind us, whispers rippled through the crowd. "Isn't today Vanessa McBride and Derek Holloway's engagement party?" "Then why is that child calling her Mom?" "I thought Miss McBride wasn't married." "Could this be some old scandal coming back to haunt her?" Vanessa's face turned pale. She pushed Sadie away. "What did you call me?" The force sent Sadie stumbling backward before she fell hard onto the floor. She sat there frozen for several seconds, tears pooling in her eyes but refusing to fall. Finally, in a tiny trembling voice, she corrected herself, "Aunt Vanessa." After a moment, she looked toward the enormous cake at the center of the ballroom and smiled again. "Aunt Vanessa, are you here to celebrate my birthday?" Hope sparkled in her eyes. "I can cut the cake with you." She had been looking forward to this birthday for weeks. In her mind, as long as she could spend it with Vanessa, even calling her Aunt Vanessa was okay. A long hand wrapped around the knife Vanessa was holding as Derek smiled down at Sadie. "I'm afraid not. This kind of event isn't for extended family members. Right, Vanessa?" Anger exploded inside my chest. By now, there was nothing left to misunderstand. The message hadn't come from Vanessa at all. Derek had sent it. His goal had been simple: to establish, in front of everyone present, that Sadie was nothing more than a distant relative of the McBride family. "Vanessa, is that true?" I stepped in front of my daughter. For a long moment, she said nothing. Then she met my eyes, guilt flashing across her face. Under the gaze of the entire room, she finally spoke, "She's a child from one of the McBrides' distant relatives." Behind her, Derek smiled with the smug satisfaction of someone who had finally won. The whispers around us grew louder. "How shameless." "Causing a scene on such an important day." "What do you expect? Those distant relatives never know their place." Sadie's face was drained of color. Her eyes reddened as she stood there listening to the voices closing in around her. Something inside me snapped, and I strode forward. Then, with one violent shove, I sent the towering cake crashing to the floor. "So it's a celebration, is it? Then let's make sure everyone enjoys themselves."