Chapter 41
Brandon rode a black horse. As soon as he mounted, he yanked the reins hard, and the horse reared up with a sharp, ringing whinny.
The crowd went dead silent. The men were impressed, and the women couldn’t hide their admiration.
Allen rode a brown horse. He stepped into the stirrup, mounted, and sat firmly in the saddle.
While everyone praised Brandon, Allen just smiled calmly. He ran his hand gently over the horse’s mane, like he was soothing an old friend.
Outside the arena, Matilda watched the two men competing, her feelings a tangled mess.
She had once loved Brandon deeply-so deeply that when he was sick, she had wished she could take his place and suffer for him.
But now, when she looked at Brandon, all she felt was emptiness and loneliness.
And Allen-she had only known him for about ten days, yet he gave her a sense of closeness and understanding she had never felt before.
The biggest change was that since meeting Allen, she had only smoked twice.
Shelby came over, holding Lola’s hand. “Matilda, I’m really curious-who are you more worried about?”
Matilda folded her arms across her chest and didn’t even glance at her. “Get lost, or I’ll give you something to worry first.”
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Lola gave a cold snort. “All you ever do is be mean to people.”
She tugged Shelby’s hand. “Mommy, let’s go. Don’t bother with her.”
The words stabbed through Matilda like an invisible knife-silent but excruciating. This daughter of hers-she thought maybe it was better not to see her at all. Every time she did, it only broke her heart again.
Shelby bent down and scooped Lola up. “Good girl, let’s go cheer for Daddy.”
Not far away, Jolene’s eyes followed Lola. She had never envied anyone before, but right then, she envied Lola more than anything.
Lola had Matilda as her real mother. But Lola didn’t want her. Fine, then she did.
Jolene looked up at Matilda and whispered under her breath, barely audible, “Mommy? Mommy?”
But Matilda was too focused on the arena to hear.
The competition began. The time limit was one minute.
Brandon squeezed the horse’s belly with his legs, and the black horse shot forward.
He sat tall in the saddle, holding the reins with one hand, looking every bit like a commanding general. He cleared the single bar, the double bar, and the AB combination jumps with ease.
But when he reached the ABC combination, the black horse balked and refused to jump. No matter how hard Brandon kicked its belly, the horse wouldn’t budge. He lost three points and wasted precious time.
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Chapter 41
The parents murmured among themselves.
“Well, it’s not his own horse. To still pull this off is impressive.”
“I know I couldn’t do it.”
“Brandon’s so handsome-rich, good-looking, and talented. If I were Lola’s mom, I’d never divorce him.”
Then it was Allen’s turn. He patted the horse’s neck, and the brown horse let out a neigh before charging forward.
Voucher
His AB combination jumps were smooth and beautiful. Each time the horse leapt, Allen stood in the stirrups and leaned forward; when its hooves hit the ground, he settled back into the saddle.
His movements flowed naturally, man and horse moving as one.
At the ABC combination obstacle, he stroked the horse’s back twice, as if to reassure it.
“Jump!” His legs tightened sharply around the horse’s belly, and the brown horse leapt with all its strength.
Matilda’s heart was in her throat. She dug her nails into her arms, but she didn’t feel the pain.
The crowd fell silent, then erupted.
“He cleared it!”
“That was incredible!”
“Who is this guy?”
Allen won-to thunderous applause.
Matilda hadn’t felt this kind of raw excitement in a long time. Not the kind that came from anger, but the kind that made her want to scream with joy.
When Allen dismounted and walked toward her, she nearly lost control and wanted to throw her arms around him in celebration.
The last time she had felt this restless, she realized, was when the X2+ chip research had succeeded.
“Daddy, you were amazing!” Jolene cried, hugging Allen tightly.
Matilda clapped so hard her palms stung red. Overwhelmed, she blurted out, “Wonderful, Allen, that was wonderful!”
Allen picked Jolene up and walked over to her. “Then can I ask you a favor?”
“What?” Matilda blinked, still caught up in the moment.
“From now on, call me Allen the way you just did.”
“What?” Matilda was confused.
The heat of the day pressed down, and Matilda was still in her riding clothes, her hair tied high, her delicate face flushed and glowing.
The smile lingering in her eyes made her look vibrant and alive, stripped of all her usual coolness.
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When Brandon turned his head, this was what he saw. His teeth clenched, and his expression grew so twisted it was almost ugly.
But with everyone watching, he couldn’t lose his temper. He had to pretend he didn’t care.
Shelby hurried forward, wiping his sweat with a clean towel. “It was the horse’s fault. Just bad luck-we picked a timid one.”
Brandon said nothing. He opened a bottle of water and tilted his head back, trying to hide his dark mood.
Shelby could blame it on bad luck once, but if they lost the next two events-archery and tennis-it wouldn’t just be luck.
Brandon scored a perfect ten in archery, but Allen hit the bullseye every single time.
Then it was Matilda against Shelby in tennis.
Matilda’s returns were heavy and deep. Shelby had to chase the ball far out of bounds just to hit it back. Then, when Matilda. played it softly, Shelby couldn’t even reach it.
Before long, Shelby was out of breath. In the end, Jolene’s family won.
Lola stormed over and blamed Matilda. “What kind of mother are you? You did it on purpose to go against me!”
Matilda’s voice was cold. “Little girl, you’ve got the wrong mother.”
Lola froze, staring at her as if she were a stranger.
Shelby rushed over and pulled Lola behind her. To the onlookers, it looked like she was protecting Lola from being hurt.
“Matilda, how could you hold a grudge against a child? Aren’t you afraid of hurting Lola’s feelings?” Shelby shouted.
Matilda ignored her and turned toward Brandon, who was walking over. Their eyes locked, neither one backing down.
Shelby defiantly slipped her arm through Brandon’s, her eyes flashing with a trace of mockery. “Now that you’ve got a new daughter, you don’t want Lola anymore, huh?”
The question was sharp and cruel, cutting straight to the child’s heart.
Silence would mean admitting it. But if Matilda said she chose Lola, it would hurt Jolene.
The air grew tense as everyone waited for her answer.
At that moment, Allen finally stepped forward with Jolene in his arms. His other hand landed firmly on Matilda’s shoulder.
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AD
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