Chapter 4

Sylvia's POV

How was this still a room meant for living?

It had been turned into Chloe Hayes's storage room.

Laughter drifted up from downstairs, where the family of four was enjoying their harmonious gathering.

Standing in my mother's room, I trembled with pure rage.

I bent down, grabbed a cardboard box off the floor, and hurled it out into the hallway.

Then, one by one, I threw Chloe's old clothes, shoeboxes, cosmetics, and snack bags out of the room, letting them crash onto the hallway floor.

Halfway through, Chloe came upstairs.

Looking at the absolute mess all over the floor, she didn't seem angry in the slightest.

These things were essentially garbage to her anyway—clothes and shoes she had cast aside and no longer wanted.

She had put them here solely to spite me.

Seeing that she had successfully riled me up, a delighted smile spread across her face.

"Sylvia, how does it feel to see me taking over your mother's room?"

Ignoring her, I bent down and kept throwing her things out.

Chloe leaned against the doorframe, her smile widening.

"It's fine if you don't talk. This house has been mine for a long time anyway. This villa, the Hayes family assets, and Charles Hayes's favoritism—it's all mine."

She tilted her head, sizing me up.

"You have nothing in this house. Sylvia, you're like a stray dog that got kicked out, only allowed back inside occasionally if you behave yourself."

I slammed the last box into the hallway and brushed the dust off my hands.

"Keep this house if you want it. I don't give a damn."

I looked Chloe dead in the eye.

"But as long as I have a breath left in me, don't you dare touch my mother's room."

Chloe froze for a split second, then burst into loud laughter.

"Your mother? That woman has been dead for how many years now, and you're still clinging to this room? Sylvia, you really are incredibly stubborn."

Once she was done laughing, her expression turned relaxed and smug.

"But speaking of what belongs to me, Sylvia, there's actually something I've been dying to tell you in person."

She took two steps closer.

"Do you know why Julian Vance ended up with you?"

"Because of me."

Chloe's smile was sweet yet vicious.

"He's my ex-boyfriend. Sylvia, I was the one who dumped him first, and only then did he go after you. After all, you look like me. Since he couldn't have the original, he settled for a knockoff."

"You don't need to tell me about your past."

I turned around, refusing to look at her.

"I don't want to know."

"You don't want to know?"

Chloe was highly dissatisfied with my reaction.

"Well, I'm going to make sure you know anyway."

"Did you honestly think he belonged to you just because he married you? Sylvia, he's flown out to see me every single month for the past few years."

I froze.

Without fail, Julian would go abroad for a few days every month. He always claimed it was for international business.

I had never once suspected him.

"On your very first wedding anniversary, didn't he claim he had a last-minute work thing?"

I remembered.

That day, I had booked a restaurant and put on a new dress, only to wait until closing time without him ever showing up.

He had texted me saying he was negotiating an important contract and told me to go home first.

Later, he bought me a bracelet, promising to make it up to me next time.

"And your birthday last year—he didn't spend that with you either, did he?"

Chloe held up her hand, counting on her fingers with a triumphant grin.

"In all the years you've been married, how many anniversaries, birthdays, and Valentine's Days has he missed?"

My hands began to shake.

It wasn't a matter of how many times he had missed them; he had never shown up once.

For every single milestone, Julian always had an excuse to be absent.

Each time he promised to make it up to me next time, but "next time" never came.

Chloe was finally satisfied with my reaction.

"I did it on purpose. Why would I let him spend the holidays with you? All it takes is one word from me, and he'll fly right over to be with me."

So that was how it was.

I was the one blowing out the candles alone at home, the one packing away a new dress that no one would ever see.

It turned out he had spent every single one of those days with Chloe.

"And Sylvia, did you really think he only had coffee and chatted with me whenever he came to visit?"

Chloe's eyes filled with suggestive meaning.

"Every time he sees me, he's like a beast that's been locked up for too long, desperately pinning me down on the bed."

She swept her gaze over me from head to toe, her face practically dripping with smug contempt.

"Sylvia, is there something wrong with you? Does your husband look at you and find himself completely turned off? When you two are in bed, does he just go through the motions?"

She covered her mouth and giggled.

"No wonder he's always so insatiable when he comes to me. It turns out he can't even get hard for you. Sylvia, honestly, don't you think you're pathetic? You can't even satisfy your own husband, yet—"

I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

"Sylvia! What do you think you're doing?!"

Julian's furious roar boomed from behind me.

He rushed forward with large strides, shoving me aside to support Chloe.

"What happened to your face? Let me see."

He cupped Chloe's face, his brows knitted in tight concern.

Chloe's tears fell instantly as she clutched Julian's sleeve, sobbing.

"Julian, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have put my things in Sylvia's mother's room. That's why Sylvia got mad. It's all my fault..."

She wept like a delicate flower in the rain, looking utterly aggrieved and innocent.

Charles and Regina rushed upstairs right behind them.

The moment Charles saw Chloe's swollen, red cheek, he didn't hesitate for a second. He raised his hand and slapped me across the face.

"You lunatic! How dare you strike your sister!"

This slap was far heavier than the one I had given Chloe.

The impact sent my head snapping to the side, and half of my face burned with searing pain.

Seeing me get hit, Julian instinctively took a step forward.

Chloe let out a soft whimper, burying herself in his chest and trembling like a leaf.

His gaze darted back and forth between Chloe and me.

After all, I had been the one to strike first.

Hardening his heart, he looked down to soothe the woman in his arms.

"Stop crying, Chloe. Let's go apply some ointment. You'll be fine."

Regina chimed in, her voice sounding gentle and diplomatic.

"Charles, I know you're angry, but don't resort to violence. Sylvia is still just a child. Don't let this ruin your relationship with your daughter."

Hearing this only fueled Charles's rage further.

"You're still defending her? She just struck your daughter!"

Regina let out a sigh, her expression turning sorrowful.

"Chloe and I just don't have that kind of luck. Sylvia has always felt that we stole her father and her home. She's harbored resentment in her heart all these years, so this is just our cross to bear."

With just a few words, Charles's face flushed red with anger.

I clutched my burning cheek, watching the scene unfold before me, finding it utterly absurd.

"You promised me that you would protect my mother's room and let no one enter."

I stared directly at Charles.

"You promised me with your own mouth."

Charles choked on his words, caught off guard.

He stubbornly turned his head away.

"The living are always more important than the dead. Chloe was coming back, and we didn't have enough rooms. What's wrong with clearing it out temporarily?"

"The moment you come back, you disrupt the peace of the entire household! I should never have let you return!"

"I didn't want to come back either."

"In this house, there is absolutely nothing left for me to cherish, except my mother's room."

After saying that, I turned around and walked toward my room.

“Get back here! Sylvia Hayes! I said stand right there!”

Charles roared behind me, the veins on his forehead bulging.

I didn't even look back.

I returned to my room and slammed the door shut with a bang.