Chapter 2 1288 ¡ Vouchers As the car slowly came to a stop , Cordelia snapped back to the present . She glanced at the club outside . Seeing that Declan had already pushed the door open and stepped out , she quickly followed suit . Standing in front of the club , she picked up a wooden stick from the ground and urged Declan , " Hurry up ! I'm ready to give Darry a piece of my mind . " She had been a willful girl herself , but she had never skipped classes . Most of the time , she'd just play around after school . And her homeroom teacher had never once called her parents - not even a single time ! But now , look at her sons ... They were really setting a new low . In the club , Darrell was intently focused on a video game . Suddenly , his phone , lying next to his hand , buzzed several times . One of the guys in his posse asked , " Darry , are you really ditching class again this afternoon ? " " Yeah . " Darrell had red hair , cut in a sharp bald fade . His youthful face radiated a rebellious attitude , looking both detached and cool . " What if your teacher calls your parents ? " Darrell didn't respond . Not a word , not even a flicker of expression . He simply didn't care . Declan was always swamped with work , flying around the world all year long . Even if Declan wanted to discipline him , he had no time . Cordelia never paid much attention to what he did . She didn't even seem to like him . Declan and Cordelia fought constantly . They were already living separately and going through a divorce . Soon , the divorce would be finalized . He had made up his mind . He wouldn't live with either of them . " Darry , that woman looks like your mom ... doesn't she ? " Finally , Darrell reacted . He sneered , " Are you fucking blind ? My mom ? Why the hell would she be here ? " He lazily glanced toward where his friend was pointing - and froze . 0.0 % 09:31 Chapter 2 There was Cordelia , searching for him . 1288 iVouchers The club was packed with boys around his age , their hair dyed in every color imaginable . The air hung thick with smoke and curses . Clearly uncomfortable , she pressed forward . Declan walked close behind her , his expression icy , but his protective stance toward her was unmistakable . As his ra- zor - sharp gaze swept over the crowd , the rowdy punks shrank back , dropping their eyes to the floor , not daring to look up . Cordelia asked Declan , " Are you sure Darry's here ? " " No. " " Then why did you bring me here ? " she snapped . Suddenly , Declan pointed toward a spot not far from them . " There he is . " She immediately stormed over , stopping in front of Darrell before Declan could . Darrell had already set down the game controller . He looked at them , his face tense . It had been so long since he'd seen them together - he was almost in a trance . Cordelia grabbed him by the collar . " Come with me . Now . " G As she spoke , she waved the wooden stick , fully prepared to teach him a lesson if he resisted . She promised she'd be gentle . But Darrell didn't resist at all . He walked out of the club in silence . Following behind him , Cordelia was seething with rage as she looked at his red hair . She turned and glared fiercely at Declan , directing all her anger at him . " Why didn't you do something ? Can't you see his hair ? " she hissed under her breath . " He was smoking in there , wasn't he ? Did he learn that from you ? " And he's addicted to video games ! I bet you taught him that , too . " Declan just looked at her without saying a word . She wasn't herself today . What had gotten into her ? Once outside the club , Declan walked to a secluded corner , claiming he needed to take a work call . Instead , he dialed Fredrick Barton , Cordelia's attending physician . " Hello , Dr. Barton . This is Declan . I have a question - could my wife's car accident have caused amnesia ? " After listening to Declan describe her symptoms , Frederick replied with certainty , " Yes , it's possible . " There was a small hematoma in Mrs. Beasley's brain . But she refused further hospitalization and insisted on being 21.5 % 09:31 Chapter 2 discharged against our advice . " " I see . Thank you . " Declan nodded . 1288 ¡ Vouchers Standing by the car with Darrell , Cordelia waited for Declan to finish his call . As soon as she saw him approaching , she hurried them both into the vehicle . Waving impatiently at Declan , she said , " Come on , busy man . We still have to find Raddy . " Hurry up ! It's getting dark . " As Declan watched her fidgeting , he suddenly took hold of her arm and asked tentatively , " Why aren't you wearing your wedding ring today ? " Cordelia glanced down at her bare ring finger , her mind blank . The ring hadn't been there when she woke up . How was she supposed to know ? Not wanting to raise his suspicions , she lied quickly , " I left in a hurry and forgot . " He nodded silently and followed her into the car . Sure enough , she had lost her memory . She'd thrown away their wedding ring years ago during one of their heated ar- guments . It seemed she had forgotten many years ' worth of memories - exactly how many , he couldn't tell . As the car started moving again , the atmosphere inside grew quiet . Cordelia glanced irritably at Darrell , wondering how to communicate with him properly . Though Darrell remained silent , his eyes occasionally flickered toward his parents sitting across from him . He was so surprised that they had come together to find him . Had they reconciled ? Was the divorce off ? Noticing they were heading back home , Cordelia frowned in confusion . " Why are we going back ? We still have to find Raddy ! " Declan gently caught her hand as she waved anxiously in the air . " Raddy is already at home . " She was stunned . It seemed she had indeed forgotten a lot . Or ... perhaps she had never truly cared about her children in the first place . In fact , every time Conrad skipped class , it wasn't to fool around outside . Instead , he would always go straight home . He was introverted , often avoiding conversation - simply put , he was autistic . As the car pulled into the driveway , Darrell was the first one out , charging toward the door . " Stop right there ! " 46.7 % 09:31 Chapter 2 11 288 ¡ Vouchers Finally , they were home . Cordelia had been bottling up her anger the whole ride , and now it was time to discipline this defiant boy . Darrell halted , turned around , and watched as Cordelia marched toward him . He had skipped class before just to get her attention , but she had never seemed to care - never even bothered to ask why . " Tell me ! Why did you skip class today ? You see this stick ? If you don't give me a proper reason , brace yourself ! " Suddenly , Darrell's butt began to ache in anticipation . But he didn't flinch . Instead , he lifted his chin defiantly . " I didn't want to go . " " What ? Then what do you want to do , huh ? " Cordelia was burning with rage . How dare he skip class and still act so righteous ? What on earth had she and Declan been doing all those years ? How could they have let him go so far astray ? " Answer me ! What is it you want ? Video games ? Smoking ? Is that it ? " She demanded while poking Darrell's shoulder with the wooden stick . He receded under the prodding . A few seconds passed before he answered , his cheeks flushing red , " Yes . I like video games . And I like smoking . " Seething with rage , Cordelia staggered back , covering her forehead as her chest heaved violently . Seeing her like this , Declan was terrified , his expression changing drastically . Fearing she had been overcome with anger, he immediately stepped forward to steady her . As Cordelia fell into his arms , a faint , refreshing scent wafted from him , so pleasant that she couldn't help but inhale a few times . By the time she turned around , Darrell had already bolted . Furious again , she shoved Declan away and stormed into the villa . Darrell was nowhere to be seen in the living room . Conrad , however , was sitting on the sofa properly , his refined face calm , almost serene . Hearing the commotion , he glanced up at her - only for a fleeting moment - before lowering his gaze back to his book , utterly absorbed . She walked over , stood in front of him , and softened her tone . " Raddy , why did you skip class today ? " But after a long time , she still heard no reply . 70.9 % 09:31 Chapter 2 288 iVouchers He was completely immersed in the pages as though she weren't there . His non - response landed like another heavy blow , right after her confrontation with Darrell . Two shocks in one day left her numb . She sank onto the sofa , feeling as though she'd aged ten years in minutes . What had she ever done to deserve this ? How had her children turned out to be such a handful ? 95.6 %