Chapter 4

Roderick accompanied Katie to pick out her wedding dress and didn’t come home until the evening. He pushed open the bedroom door just in time to see Josephine hugging the trash can and dry-heaving. He panicked and handed over warm water. His eyes were full of concern.  “Josephine, I know morning sickness is very uncomfortable. Thank you for your hard work.” Smelling the perfume odour on his body that belonged exclusively to Katie, Josephine was even more nauseous. “If you know I feel uncomfortable, don’t bring a strange smell home.” Roderick’s face was slightly stiff. “What strange smell? Don’t think too much. I’ll make time to spend more time with you later.” As soon as he finished speaking, the phone rang. “Roderick, it’s bad news! Someone exploded Josephine’s pregnancy test report on the internet, saying that you and Josephine are secretly married. And I’m the mistress interfering. Now the netizens are cursing and attacking me. What should I do?” “Don’t panic. I’ll come over right away.” Hanging up the phone, Roderick looked Josephine up and down. “Josephine, you didn’t send anything to the paparazzi indiscriminately, did you?” Josephine Marchand was puzzled. “What do you mean?” “Nothing, something is going on with Katie. I’ll go and accompany her first. You have to rest early. Don’t need to wait for me.” The next door, the room door slammed shut. The man who had just said that he would take the time to accompany her more had disappeared. Josephine calmly withdrew her sight. Fortunately, she had long since stopped believing what he said. Early the next morning, Josephine’s cell phone rang non-stop. When she opened it, countless Instagram story replies and private messages nearly caused her phone to crash.   Only after regaining her composure, Josephine saw that the replies and private messages were almost all insults from Roderick and Katie’s fans. When she opened Roderick’s Instagram, she felt as though she had fallen into an ice cave, feeling cold from head to toe. [Roderick: Thank you for all the fans’ concern. My only wife is only @Katie. And we have and only have one child between us. My manager @Josephine is indeed pregnant. The father of the child is not from the entertainment industry. Please do not believe the rumours and do not spread rumours]. It was strange to say, but Josephine thought she had already made her decision a long time ago and wouldn’t be sad or hurt by Roderick anymore. But the moment she realized she had been abandoned. She still couldn’t hold back the fine pain that flooded the bottom of her heart. Roderick rushed home. The first sentence he said was, “Josephine, let’s get a divorce.” At this moment, Josephine’s heart finally felt a real sense of closure. She calmly opened her mouth and spoke, “Alright, should we apply for the divorce now?” “Well, Josephine, don’t worry. You’re the one I love most. We’re just getting a fake divorce. And when public opinion dies down, I’ll marry you all over again.” Roderick leaned his head on Josephine’s stomach. He swore a promise and said, “At that time, I’ll make up a grand wedding for you. So, the whole world will know that you and the baby are my wife and child.” “It’s all right, whatever you want.”  Josephine’s eyebrows were soft, not seeing the slightest bit of sadness. Meanwhile, Roderick felt an unexplainable sense of unease. “Josephine, you know, I really don’t have anything to do with Katie. Even if I get married to her, it’s just for publicity. Once the hype dies down, I’ll divorce her for the first time.” “Alright, I understand.” “Josephine, thank you for your understanding. I will never let you down.” Roderick finished speaking and rushed out quickly. Katie was waiting for him in the car. “Roderick, did Josephine agree to the divorce?” “Yes, she agreed. Katie, don’t worry. Once we get the marriage certificate, we will have a wedding. At that time no one will ever use the child issues to blackmail you again.” The two were happily discussing and neither of them saw Josephine who was standing nearby with the household registration transfer documents. She quietly and detachedly looked at Roderick. The man who had once made her heart thump was finally killed by himself. And he could never come back. “Roderick, I will let you go and spare myself.”