Chapter 492: True Love
Storm Xavier was the only man from whom Phoenix Golding didn’t want to gain any benefits. She genuinely liked the handsome, refined man, and Storm Xavier knew all sorts of tricks—he was hundreds of times better than Vernon Spann.
And so, Phoenix moved between Storm Xavier and the teacher, leading a very fulfilling life. Storm Xavier would even cover for her and the teacher because he knew he couldn’t provide her with any material benefits, so he never got jealous. This made Phoenix like him even more.
With the teacher’s help, Phoenix became a substitute teacher. After that teacher was transferred to the county seat, Phoenix then hooked up with a leader. Her substitute position became permanent, and she was even named an outstanding teacher. If not for the arrival of a butterfly named Tang Xiaonan, Phoenix’s career would have been a smooth and rapid ascent.
And that was indeed what happened in the book. Phoenix was transferred to the town’s elementary school, was named an outstanding teacher year after year, and never faced any retribution. Her life was smooth sailing and very comfortable.
As for the two times she supposedly had chickenpox, those were indeed times when Phoenix was recovering from abortions. In the heat of passion, she had accidentally gotten pregnant. Of course, Phoenix didn’t want to give birth, so she "took care of it" both times. The third time, she wanted to take care of it again, but she found out a bit too late. The pregnancy was too far along, and it would have been dangerous to terminate it. So Phoenix gave birth to him—and that was Ulysses Spann.
For seven years, no one knew the truth about Ulysses Spann’s parentage. Although Vernon Spann knew, the wimp didn’t dare say a word. This only fueled Phoenix’s audacity, and her affairs became even more brazen. But this time, she had finally been caught.
Phoenix’s body ached all over. She leaned against a haystack, feeling groggy. The blood on her forehead had congealed into a scab, attracting even more mosquitoes. The mix of pain and itchiness caused Phoenix to pass out again. She was only woken in the middle of the night by the cold wind. She shivered violently; her forehead was burning up, and her head felt even dizzier. Her body was limp, without a shred of strength. She couldn’t even lift her own bicycle.
A pair of hands reached out and righted the bicycle for her. It was Jacqueline Spann. Phoenix didn’t curse at her like she usually would. She no longer had the strength to curse. Besides, at this moment of utter loneliness and helplessness, even the sight of her despised daughter brought Phoenix a faint sense of warmth.
"Where’s your father?" Phoenix asked hoarsely.
"Asleep."
Jacqueline Spann replied, pushing the bicycle along slowly. She already knew what had happened in town. Phoebe Huxley and her mother-in-law might as well have been shouting the news through a megaphone in the village. Even if she and her father had covered their ears, they would have heard it.
Vernon Spann had been in a great mood. He had run off right after dinner and still wasn’t back. He was almost certainly with his lover. Jacqueline even knew who Vernon’s lover was—the last female educated youth remaining in the village. He and she were getting hot and heavy.
Jacqueline didn’t want to deal with any of that. Right now, her biggest worry was Phoenix’s job. Without a salary, she wouldn’t just have trouble paying for school; even eating would become a problem. As for Ulysses’s parentage being exposed, Jacqueline’s feelings were conflicted. Though she acted like a good older sister to Ulysses on the outside, in reality, she wished something terrible would happen to him. ’It would be best if he just died!’
’Now that this annoying brother’s true parentage has been exposed, Grandpa and Grandma will definitely not let Mom keep Ulysses Spann—no, he should be Hayden Xavier now. The Golding family can’t afford this kind of humiliation.’
’But what would Clayton Xavier think of her after he found out about all this?’
’Would he still want to be friends with her?’
Jacqueline Spann didn’t dwell on it for long. She had never been one to torture herself over things. What had happened, had happened; agonizing over it was useless. The right thing to do was to find a solution.