Blurb：
After his mother’s tragic death during a storm while fetching a mango cheesecake for Chloe Quinn, Evan Taylor’s world shatters. When Chloe dismisses the incident as a silly game of Truth or Dare with her ex-boyfriend Zachary John, Evan’s grief turns to fury. As Chloe returns home with a discarded gift—a watch once flaunted by Zachary—Evan confronts her about their impending divorce. But Chloe defiantly insists only Evan’s mother could approve their separation, unaware of the depth of his loss. This emotional tale explores betrayal, love, and the haunting legacy of a mother’s final sacrifice.
Content：
During a torrential downpour, my wife called my mom saying she wanted a mango cheesecake and asked her to go buy one.
My mom braved the storm to get that mango cheesecake, but on the way, she was in a terrible car accident.
By the time I got the news and rushed to the hospital, Mom was barely hanging on.
“Chloe wanted the mango cheesecake… hurry, take it to her…”
Before she could finish, my mom passed away.
Even in death, she was clutching that mango cheesecake tightly in her hand.
Tears streaming down my face, I called my wife over a dozen times. Finally, she picked up, but her openin line was, “So, what’s your favorite sex position?”
Hearing the muffled laughter in the background, I couldn’t help but roar in anger, “Chloe Quinn! You hate mango cheesecake! Why did you make my mom go get it?!”
The voice that answered wasn’t Chloe’s, but her ex-boyfriend Zachary John’s. “Sorry, Evan, man. I lost a game of Truth or Dare. Chloe took the hit for me, that’s why she asked your mom to get the cake. Blame me, okay?”
I wiped my tears and said coldly. “Tell your woman to find some time to come back and sign the divorce papers.”
I heard Chloe murmuring soothingly to Zacharybefore she finally replied impatiently, “Fine, we can divorce. But leave Zach out of it.”
Alone, dragging my exhausted body, I silently handled my mom’s funeral arrangements.
Three whole days passed. Chloe Quinn seemed to have vanished. Not a single text. Not one call.
Not that I expected her to do anything.
I just felt it was all so unfair to Mom.
“I’m exhausted, honey. Draw me a foot bath.”
Three days later, Chloe finally came home.
She kicked off her high heels and collapsed onto the sofa.
Like she was completely drained.
In the past, moments like this, I’d be right there, eager as a puppy.
Rushing to fetch water with a smile, wash her feet, and massage them to ease her fatigue.
But this time, I sat slumped in the corner of the sofa, still drowning in the grief of losing Mom. I didn’t even look up at her.
After waiting a long time with no response, Chloe turned to look at me, as if finally realizing something was off.
She offered a slightly placating smile. “Still sulking over that silly game? It was just a bit of fun. Really not a big deal, is it?”
I looked straight at her, grief and fury warring in my voice. “Not a big deal? You think tricking my mom into going out in a storm to buy something you despise is ‘not a big deal’?”
Her so-called “bit of fun” had killed my mother!
The thought of Mom, in her final moments, still worried about getting that damn cake to Chloe, felt like a knife twisting in my heart.
Seeing my sudden intensity, Chloe was taken aback for a moment, then asked. “Is Mom upset? Don’t worry, I’ll go sweet-talk her when I have time. She dotes on me the most, she’ll definitely forgive me.”
With that, Chloe tossed an elegant gift box onto the coffee table in front of me.
“Got you a present. Specially for you. Like it?”
I glanced at the packaging. Clearly a men’s watch.
“Specially for me.”
But it had obviously been opened before.
If I remembered correctly, this exact watch had been featured in Zachary John’s social media post just a couple of days ago.
His caption: “When someone loves you, they always feel they haven’t given you enough.”
The picture showed Zachary wearing a limited-edition watch. And in the very corner of the photo, tossed in a trash can, was another watch.
The very one Chloe had just “gifted” me.
How utterly pathetic.
Giving me a gift someone else had thrown in the trash.
I let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh. “So, when are we going to file for divorce?”
Chloe’s face darkened instantly. Her delicate brows knitted together as she glared at me. “Evan Taylor, are you seriously not going to drop this?”
“If you want a divorce, fine. But only if your mom comes and tells me herself. I refuse to believe she’d agree to us splitting up.”
With that, Chloe stood up, slammed the bedroom door behind her, and disappeared inside.
I knew she was waiting in there for me to come crawling, to apologize.
That’s how it always went. Every fight, no matter who started it, I was always the one humbly begging for reconciliation.
But this time? She’d be waiting forever.
I pulled the pre-written divorce papers from the drawer and signed my name quickly.
Then, dragging my suitcase, I walked out the door without looking back.
I met Chloe Quinn because of my mom.
Back then, Chloe was still a college student. She took her dad’s car without a license, drove recklessly, and hit my mom.
Terrified, Chloe jumped out to check on Mom.
She begged and pleaded with my mom not to call the cops, offering to pay any amount.
Mom, gritting her teeth against the pain, managed to get up. Seeing Chloe’s look of pure guilt and fear, couldn’t bear to be too hard on her.
She just waved it off. No police. No compensation demand. She just went home.
That day, seeing Mom covered in bruises, I was heartbroken and furious.
I wanted to hunt down the driver and beat them senseless.
The next day, Chloe showed up at our door with a lot of expensive gifts and care packages for Mom.
Mom was touched. I, however, gave her the cold shoulder. I was hostile at every turn.
Chloe didn’t seem bothered by my attitude. She set aside her rich-girl airs.
She cleaned and tidied our house, and took care of Mom with genuine concern.
She said Mom was the most genuine, kind-hearted person she’d ever met.
Someone like that deserved to be treated well.
After that, she came over almost every day.
Always bringing fancy health supplements and expensive gifts.
For Mom. And for me.
She and Mom grew closer and closer. They’d chat and laugh all day long, like real mother and daughter.
The neighbors were all jealous, telling Mom she’d found herself a wonderful, devoted future daughter-in-law.
Whenever they said that, Chloe would just smile, never correcting them.
And me? I kept up my campaign of making things difficult for her…
One day, Chloe showed up again. I blocked her at the door, my voice thick with annoyance.
“Quinn. Can you just stop coming here? Don’t you hear people thinking you’re my girlfriend? How am I supposed to date anyone?”
Chloe gave a dazzling smile. “Then let’s date. Then it wouldn’t be a misunderstanding.”
I scowled. “Don’t joke like that. It’s not funny.”
Chloe pinched my chin and pressed me against the wall. “I’m not joking. Other men try so hard to flatter and suck up to me. Only you, Evan Taylor, have given me attitude from day one. You’re different. I like it. Be my man. From now on, I will be good only to you and your mom.”
Faced with this sudden, unexpected confession, I found myself nodding like an idiot. “Okay.”
It was only then I realized I’d fallen for Chloe Quinn at first sight.
My hostility towards her hadn’t been hate. It had been attraction.
When Mom found out we were together, she was overjoyed. It was a smile I hadn’t seen on her face since Dad passed away.
She always told me I’d hit the jackpot, landing such an amazing wife.
On our wedding day, my mom warned me very seriously that if I ever wronged Chole, she’d never forgive me.
I will never let her down, I intended to cherish Chloe.
To me, she was my lover, my family, a precious treasure I couldn’t believe I’d found.
After we married, I always let Chloe come first in everything. cherishing her like a treasure held carefully in my hands.
Back then, she was very attached to me too.
We were deeply in love, and our life was incredibly happy.
But that happiness ended the moment Zachary John came back.
He was Chloe’s ex-boyfriend. Her irreplaceable soulmate, apparently.
The tenderness she once showed me has now all been given to Zachary.
“Zach just got back, he has a lot of things that I need help with. I won’t be home for the next few days.”
“Zach has a cold, I’m taking him medicine. Celebrate your birthday without me.”
“Zach isn’t well, he needs me. You need to be more understanding, Evan…”
No matter the time or place, Chloe would drop everything and run to Zachary at a single from him.
If I dared question it even once, I was being “unreasonable” and “needy.”
It made me miserable.
But to keep my mom from worrying,
To keep this family from falling apart,
And deep down, because I still loved Chloe Quinn desperately.
So I endured it. Again and again.
I thought that if I just quietly held this family together, it could remain as peaceful as before.
I was wrong.
My silence only let to Chloe treating me with even more disregard.
This time, her carelessness even cost my mother her life, all for the sake of a game between her and Zach.
I was heartbroken. And utterly hopeless.
As Mom’s body turned to ash in the crematorium, so did my love for Chloe Quinn.
Four days after moving out of our house and back into my mom’s place, I had finally chosen a cemetery plot.
I was just preparing to take my mom’s urn for burial when I opened the door and was met by Chole’s cold, beautiful face.
Zachary John stood beside her, with four bodyguards behind them.
Chloe pushed past me into the house, frantically searching.
Finally, she turned back to me. “Where’s your mom?”
I glanced down at the black cloth-wrapped urn in my hands and said in a low, heavy voice, “You’re only looking for her now? It’s too late.”
Chloe frowned at me.
Anger flashed in her eyes. “What have you done with her?”
I frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I meanl! Zach’s health health has really gone to pot! Why would you mom steal the prescription for his special medication? That medicine is his lifeline!”
“Are you really that desperate to see him dead?”
Her words sent a fresh pang of pain through my numb heart.
I’d thought Chloe had come with such a show of force because she realized her game had gone too far and came to apologize.
Or perhaps she had learned of my mom’s death and came out of guilt to beg forgiveness.
Instead, she was here, on Zachary’s behalf, to accuse my mother.
How utterly ridiculous.
Killing her wasn’t enough. She even had to slander her too!
I stared at Chloeand said sharply. “Protect Zachary all you want. But don’t you dare smear my mother’s name.”
Chloe thrust her phone in front of my face. “See for yourself.”
The screen showed a surveillance video.
A woman, looking around shiftily, entered Zachary’s mansion.
A few minutes later, she left, sneaking away with something tucked in her clothes.
The woman in the video, from her clothes and style, to her build, even her profile… looked almost exactly like my mom.
When the video ended, Zachary spoke up. “YMy prescription disappeared right after your mom sneaked into my house yesterday. Evan, what did I ever do to your mom? Was it necessary for her to try and kill me?”
Zachary had severe asthma. The ‘special medicine’ he referred to was essential for his attacks. Rumor was the prescription was unique and worth a fortune.
Losing it meant Zachary was cut off from his lifeline. Definitely not a small matter.
But I knew. This was just another one of Zachary’s manipulative pity plays.
“Evan, I’ve told you I only see Zach as a friend now! Why won’t you believe me? Why would your mom steal his formula?”
The disappointment in Chole’s voice held a note of blame, as if she had already decided my mom was the thief.
I looked at her, a wave of bleak despair washing over me. “Chloe, you were so close to my mom. You know how good she was to you, what kind of person she was. Do you really think she would steal?”
Hearing this, she seemed momentarily swayed.
Seeing this, Zachary chose his moment to speak again,
“Stop making excuses! I saw your mom leaving my place yesterday! I asked her what she was doing there and she said she was looking for Chloe! Then she glared at me!”
“The evidence is right here! Are you still trying to cover for her?”
Instantly, Chloe’s face instantly turned cold and contemptuous again.
“Just make your mom to return it. This is about Zach’s life. I won’t indulge your stubbornness.”
Zachary was blatantly lying. My mom had been dead for a week. There was no way he saw her “yesterday.”
Yet Chole still believed his nonsense.
All these years, my mom had treated her like her own daughter, caring for her and protecting her with the utmost care.
And what did she get in return?
The label of a thief.
How utterly laughable.
Mom’s years of unconditional love couldn’t withstand a single, flippant lie from Zachary John.
And my mom had thought of her even in death.
At this moment, I felt it was all so worthless for my mom.
My own heart died completely.
Since she trusted Zachary unconditionally, nothing I said mattered.
Whatever.
No point wasting my breath. I pushed past Chloe without another word.
Zachary chased me out into the yard, grabbing my arm. “Think you can just walk away after stealing? Make your mom to give me back my property!”
I looked at Zachary, hatred burning in my eyes. “Zachary John. If you want to be the other man, be one. But don’t use my dead mother as a a tool for your disgusting games.”
“You know perfectly well whether my mom stole it or not. You’re doing this because you want Chloe. Fine. I’ll step aside.”
“I have already signed the divorce papers. All Chloe needs to do is sign them, and you two can be together openly.”
I shoved Zachary away and started walking.
But Zachary wasn’t done. He yelled after me, “Evan Taylor, stop pretending to be the victim! A thief is a thief! The moment your mom stole my formula, she became nothing but a sewer rat, despised by everyone! She’s vile!”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Rage exploded inside me.
I clenched my fist, spun around, and punched Zachary square in the face.
Thud!
The blow sent Zachary staggering back.
“Evan! What the hell are you doing?!” Chloe screamed at me, rushing to support Zachary, her face full of concern.
“I’m going to kill him!” I roared, my eyes bloodshot, and charged at Zachary again.
Mom had already died because of their stupid game.
Now Zachary was scheming to frame her, using such vile words to insult her memory.
I couldn’t take it.
I was beyond reason. All I wanted was to beat Zachary to a pulp.
“Stop him! Now!” Chloe immediately ordered the bodyguards.
Two bodyguards moved swiftly, each grabbing one of my arms, holding me immobile.
Chloe glared at me coldly. “What Zach’s words might have been out of line, but that doesn’t justify you hitting him.”
“Apologize to him. Now.”
“Dream on!”
I retorted without hesitation, my tone final.
In the past, I would have done anything Chole asked.
That was because I loved her, cared for her, and couldn’t bear to see her upset.
But now, there was nothing left for me to care about.
Zachary covered his face, glaring at me with hatred. “I don’t need his apology! I want payback! Double!”
Hearing this, Chloe glanced at me. It was a look that said, If you back down now, I’ll side with you.
But my expression was stone. I wouldn’t yield an inch.
Seeing me unmoved, Chloe’s face darkened with displeasure.
She said nothing more, allowing Zachary to stride over to me aggressively.
As soon as he reached me, Zachary, without a word, put all his strength into several hard punches to my stomach.
Once. Twice. Three times.
These punches were fueled by boundless rage and all his strength.
They hit me so hard I saw stars, my legs giving way as I collapsed to the ground.
The urn in my hands fell with a heavy thud.
The ashes inside scattered across the ground.
The bone ash refracted a stark white light under the sun, blinding me.
My mind exploded. I was completely stunned.
Watching my mom die had been agony enough. Now, I couldn’t even protect her ashes.
The hatred burned!
As if fate itself was mocking me, a sudden gust of wind whipped up.
The ashes scattered on the ground were instantly caught by the wind, swirling into the air.
“No! Stop!”
I frantically reached out, trying to grab the ashes dispersing in the air.
But how can you hold dust?
The ashes, like gray snow, drifted further and further away, vanishing before my eyes.
Watching the last physical trace of my mother disappear from this world…
A crushing wave of guilt and despair crashed over me.
I felt myself shattering into pieces.
I collapsed onto the ground, desperately trying to gather the few remaining ashes that hadn’t blown away.
Hopeless tears streamed down my face.
“Evan, cut the act!” Zachary sneered, looking down at me with disgust. “I barely touched you! What’s with the melodrama over a pile of dirt? Trying to cover for your thief mom with this pathetic performance?”
My ears were ringing. I ignored everything, just kept gathering the ashes from the ground, putting them back into the urn.
“Evan, have you lost your mind? Crying and carrying on over a pile of lime like this, don’t you find it disgusting?”
Chole looked down at me, utterly exasperated. “Instead of putting on this crazy act, you should hurry up and make your mom return Zach’s things.”
I glared at her, my eyes red with hatred. “Chloe Quinn, you bitch!! You will always owe my mom!”
“Chloe,” Zachary chimed in, his voice dripping with false sympathy, “you always said Evan and his mom were so good to you. But looking at them now! One a sneaky thief, the other publicly cursing you right here! They’re both trash!”
Hearing this, a flicker of anger surfaced on Chole’s face.
She stepped forward, her designer shoe landing squarely on the scattered ashes. Her voice was frigid.
“Evan, I always thought your mom was honest, kind, and genuine. I treated her like my own mother.”
“I never imagined she would stoop to theft! That is a crime!”
“Since you’re determined to play crazy and won’t produce her, I’ll find her my own way!”
She pulled out her phone, her tone businesslike and cold. “Ms. Baker. Find Evan Taylor’s mother. Bring her to me. Whatever it takes.”
On the other end of the line, her assistant paused for a moment, then stammered. “Ms. Quinn… you didn’t know? Evan Taylor’s mother… she passed away.”
Chloe froze. “Wh… what? Say that again?”
“His mother died a week ago. On her way to buy you that mango cheesecake you asked for.”
Download the NovelGo app, Search 【 171446 】reads the whole book.
