I've Been There Before

In the past three days, Caden did not come to her.
Saul and Deacon were just like two expressionless Door Gods, with one standing on the left and the other on the right.
The original residence was almost destroyed by the fire. Therefore, Grace once again came to the Shaw’s mansion. There was
no fragrance of flowers or the beautiful singing of birds. The housekeeper was very professional, for he had arranged everything
properly.
Apart from Saul and Deacon, she didn’t even have a person to speak to.
Even Saul and Deacon didn’t talk to her.
As for the housekeeper, he was always respectful when seeing her.
In this case, both her ears and mouth had become ornaments.
She knew some of the servants in this villa, but whoever saw her would just nod respectfully and bypass her.
She only took interest in watching the gardener.
But in this season, flowers and trees had long withered, so it was impossible to see colorful plants.
Only the pines and cypresses were still green.
Apart from that, there was no one else she could talk to. There was not even an animal in the villa.
At this moment, she remembered that Caden had once said that when he was lonely, he could only talk to the fish in the pond.
But ... that was just a lie.
Another week passed.
In this large villa, she was still alone.
Half a month had passed, but Caden never appeared in front of her again. Occasionally, Ladd would come back to fetch some of
Caden’s clothes, but he always left in a hurry.
Grace spent every day in confusion, and she found that Saul and Deacon would show a grim look sometimes.

She couldn’t guess why they were like this.
On a cold winter day, the pitch-black iron gate of the villa was opened once again. From the second floor, she saw the familiar
Bentley coming in.
Looking at the car, she was in a trance.
He ... still came back.
She looked away, for she didn’t know how to face him.
Time ticked away and the butler respectfully invited her downstairs.
She wanted to ask him if she could refuse to see Caden.
However, the butler had already turned around and left.
She delayed for a long time, but she finally went downstairs.
Grace couldn’t help laughing at herself. She wondered when she had learned to adapt to the changing environment.
She chuckled self-mockingly. Before a smile appeared on her haggard face, she had put on a cold expression.
At the entrance of the stairs, a tall and straight man stood there quietly.
It was him.
He just stood there, looking up at her standing at the top of the stairs.
At this moment, a strange feeling gripped her. Caden was like a figure in a static painting, and he was looking at her quietly.
Ladd still stood behind him in a respectful manner, looking like an eternal guardian.
Caden looked at her for a while. Then he stretched out his hand and beckoned to her. “Come here.”
His voice was still deep and low, but there was a hint of softness in it.
She remained silent, but she knew that she couldn’t avoid meeting him.
She walked downstairs.

She walked slowly on purpose, and it seemed that a century had passed. Since Caden had always been an ill-tempered and
impatient person, she thought he must have urged her. However, he just stood quietly at the staircase, waiting for her to
approach him.
At this moment, she had an illusion that Caden had been waiting for her for more than a century. In this long period of time, he
had turned into a fossil, and his only purpose was to wait for her.
However, just as this absurd idea struck her, she immediately denied it. She seemed to be naive again.
What was worse, she no longer knew how to face him in a natural manner.
She did not know how long a century was, but when she finally came to him, she felt limp and exhausted. Standing in front of
him, she did not dare to look up, but she could feel that he was looking at her affectionately.
Perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps because she lost her head for a moment, she looked up and secretly glanced at him. Then
she couldn’t look away.
She was attracted by his complex expression.
There was a hint of tenderness and affection on his face. But there still something else.
She began to search all the words she had learned, wanting to find the most suitable one ... However, after racking her brains,
she still couldn’t find one that best described his expression.
She gradually became confused.
She didn’t understand why he looked at her in this way.
She felt she had seen him show this expression before, but on second thought, she thought it was so unfamiliar.
To her surprise, he gently put his warm hand on her forehead.
He stroked her scar, which would never disappear.
“You must be very painful at that time, right?”
Caden asked softly.

She was irritated by his gentleness and shook off his hand impolitely. “It doesn’t hurt.” She had experienced much more pain
than this.
Hearing him ask her this question, she only felt he was hypocritical.
At that time, she indeed thought so.
A swelling immediately appeared on the back of his hand.
Ladd glared at Grace angrily, but Caden waved his hand and said, “All of you, please go outside.”
Ladd left reluctantly. At the same time, led by the butler, all the servants retreated outside the courtyard.
For a moment, there was only her and him in the large living room.
He reached out to rub the back of his swollen hand.
He said gently, “It doesn’t matter.”
She didn’t know how to break this strange silence.
His voice sounded again.
“I remember at your eighteenth birthday party, you were so arrogant and proud that you didn’t pay attention to me at all.
I also remember that you were like a little tiger back then. You always grinned, which revealed your cute canine teeth ... It was
quite interesting.”
“I don’t remember.”
She insisted on antagonizing him.
“I remember that it was a summer afternoon. With my eyes closed, I was resting under a tree. You thought I was asleep and
kissed me.”
“I don’t remember.” She still denied it.
Hearing this, he only smiled.

“I remember that on a Valentine’s Day, you made chocolate like other girls and secretly stuffed it into my bag.”
“Finally, you fed it to your dog, right?” she retorted.
He laughed heartily, for he was amused by her. “No. Even my dog didn’t like the chocolate you made.”
“That’s right. You’ve always disliked me.” Unwittingly, she also began to recall the past and retorted him angrily.
“No. I ate it in the end.” The smile on his face disappeared, and he wore a more serious expression.
“Then because of acute gastroenteritis, I was injected with drugs for three days and I also suffered from diarrhea.”
Grace couldn’t believe such a thing had happened to him.
She wanted to ridicule that he was talking nonsense, but she suddenly recalled something. When she went to the Shaw’s villa at
that time, the servants said that Caden had a stomachache and was hospitalized.
“I remember that during my basketball game, you secretly took a lot of photos.” As he spoke, he extended his hand towards her.
“Where are the photos? It’s time for you to return them back to me.”
“... I lost them.”
When hearing this, he gave her a meaningful look.
She was upset by his inexplicable attitude and words.
“Caden! What the hell are you doing? You want to reminisce about old times with me?”
Grace asked coldly.
However, he just turned a deaf ear to her words.
He continued, “I remember that you love me.”
She suddenly trembled and closed her eyes ... What he had said just now shocked her.
“Do you remember that Grace doesn’t belong to the James family?” she asked. This was what he had said back then.
“Hello, Mr. Shaw. I’m a convict. I’ve killed someone before. Nothing can extenuate my guilt.”

He lowered his eyes and sighed helplessly. Then he stretched out his hand again. “So you won’t love me anymore, right?”
When he asked her, her heart trembled violently. Although this was just a simple question, she was already overwhelmed by the
bitter and painful memories.
Subconsciously, she reached out and tried to cover her chest, but the moment she raised her hand, she forced herself to put it
down ... She told herself that she shouldn’t be tortured by the past anymore.
It was meaningless to make things difficult for herself.
But in the next moment, he held her in his arms tightly. Out of instinct, she wanted to break free from his embrace.
However, he whispered in her ear, “Don’t push me away. I’ll just hug you for a moment.”
Perhaps it was an illusion, but she felt the sense of pleading in his words. Her heart softened for a moment, and she allowed him
to hug her.
She could feel that his chin was rubbing against her head.
He patted her back gently, as if the person in his arms was not her, but a precious treasure.
Her chin was raised and his warm fingers covered her lips. Her eyes narrowed and she looked at him vigilantly.
However, she could only see a hint of affection and pity on his face.
His finger had a faint smell of tobacco, and he kept rubbing her lips. She even thought that his sexual desire had been aroused
again.
However, he only caressed her gently. His slightly cocooned fingers caused her lips to itch, making her more annoyed.
“Don’t move. Don’t move. I just want to look at you,” he whispered softly. She thought his behavior was so strange. When did he
learn to be “gentle”?
She looked up at him, and their eyes met. His eyes looked like two black whirlpools, which were going to devour her. It seemed
that he would confess his love for her in the next second.
She had never been through this before.

She had never seen him behave like this.
Before she ran out of patience, he let go of her.
Taking a step back, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
“You want to leave me, right? I’ll let you go,”
Caden said.
She took the paper and looked at it. It was the divorce agreement.
She found that he had already signed his name on it.
For a moment, she became even more confused.
He had done everything he could to force her to stay with him, but now he gave the divorce papers to her.
She couldn’t figure out what was on his mind.
She looked at him with confusion.
He no longer wore a gentle expression. With a cold and indifferent look, he just sneered.
“Don’t forget who I am.”
He continued in a cold voice,
“I don’t want a woman who tends to commit suicide.
The way you set yourself on fire disgusted me.
Grace, please sign it. I’m tired of this game.”
He looked indifferent, but his words were like arrows piercing through her heart.
She pretended not to care, but her ears had turned red ... He said that he was tired of this game.
“Sign it. You aren’t qualified to be my wife.

It’s just a game, and you are my toy.
My wife needs to be dignified, gentle, virtuous, beautiful and generous. You don’t have any of these qualities.
I’m tired of you,” he said.
She should be happy, but she was trembling all over.
She didn’t know if she was happy or in pain at this moment.
She also didn’t know whether she was freed or still trapped in the “prison” built by him.
“Grace, you are still so susceptible to me. I reminisced about old times with you, and you also began to recall the past.
I said I was hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis after eating your chocolate, and you believed me.
I said that I knew it was you who kissed me secretly under the tree, and you had mood swings ... Have you ever thought that if
you were the girl I took a fancy to, why didn’t I express my love after you kissed me?”
He wore a mocking smile.
“Because I never cared about you.
You’ve never been the one I wanted.
I was so bored at that time, and I couldn’t find any more interesting toys than you, so I kept you by my side.
But I’m sick of you now.
After all, you mean nothing to me.”
Her face was drained of color.
And her lips gradually turned deathly pale.
Looking at the divorce agreement in her hand, she walked to the living room and took a pen. Then she signed her name on it.
Caden’s voice sounded behind her immediately after she signed the agreement.
“Saul, Deacon, help Miss James pack her luggage and ask her to leave the Shaw’s villa.”

She trembled slightly ... It was out of her expectation that he was so eager to let her leave.
She closed her eyes and told herself that she should be happy. Then she slowly put on a smile.
“Wait.” When her luggage was packed up, the man called out to her abruptly.
“Saul, Deacon, open her luggage and check if she has taken anything that doesn’t belong to her.”
Standing on the side, Grace was trembling with anger.
She just pursed her lips and stood there, looking at the two men check her luggage, as if they were guarding against a thief. She
thought to herself, “I will finally be freed. I could immediately leave this damn place and return to my normal life.”
However, she still couldn’t help but sneer. “Mr. Shaw, have you seen it clearly? Did I take away anything that doesn’t belong to
me?” she retorted mockingly.
He gave her a contemptuous look and snorted. “It’s good that you didn’t take anything. You can leave now.”
Hearing his mockery, Grace bit her lips and endured her anger.
She told herself over and over again that as long as she could leave, she could suffer a little grievance. After all, she had been
wronged many times in the past.
She thought to herself, “Isn’t that what you’ve been wanted?”
Now, she could finally escape from this man and discard all of her painful memories.
Dragging the suitcase, she stepped out of the room.
He watched her leave in silence... “You indeed took something that did not belong to you,” he thought to himself.
He secretly clenched his fists.
Ladd walked over and said, “Boss, it’s time for you to go back to the hospital.”
“OK. Let’s go.”
Grace walked out of the iron gate of the Shaw’s villa. A black Bentley passed by her.

She stopped and looked at the receding car, which was getting farther and farther away. Then it disappeared from her sight.
The wind blew over, making her feel cold. She trembled and gently hugged herself.
She whispered to herself, “Congratulations, Grace. Your wish has been fulfilled, and your future will have nothing to do with him.”
From now on, she would never feel distressed for him again.