Chapter 2

The moment Vivian sat down on the sofa, Leo ran to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of premium sparkling water for her.

"Here, Vivian! This is your favorite. Chloe wanted to drink it last week, but I didn't let her."

Seeing the proud, smug look on my son's face, my heart completely shattered.

Last week, I had a raging fever. I was so thirsty that my throat felt like sandpaper. I opened that bottle of water and took one sip, only for Leo to throw a massive, crying tantrum.

At the time, I thought it was just a child being possessive over food. Now I realized the truth.

I simply wasn't worthy of drinking it in his eyes.

Watching the three of them interact, a horrifying realization washed over me.

This home, which I had painstakingly put together, had already been taken over by another woman.

The custom throw pillows on the couch—the ones I was never allowed to touch—were custom-made for Vivian.

The expensive designer tableware I was forbidden from using was a matching three-piece set for Julian, Vivian, and Leo.

Even the spare bedroom, which Julian promised would be for our second child, had been fully decorated as a guest suite just for Vivian.

Late at night, Vivian quietly slipped out of her bedroom.

Curious, I floated after her. She stopped in front of the giant wedding photo of Julian and me hanging in the hallway.

Looking at my younger self in the photo, smiling with pure adoration at Julian, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Back then, I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world.

I had a man who loved me unconditionally. We went from high school sweethearts to husband and wife, like a fairytale.

But everything was a lie.

Vivian's long, manicured fingernail scraped against the glass frame, making a screeching sound.

"Chloe... if the Julian family hadn't been on the brink of bankruptcy back then, and if I hadn't wanted to escape his debts by going abroad, do you really think you'd ever have the chance to marry him?"

I froze, staring at her in disbelief. Then, a wave of dark amusement hit me.

The woman Julian loved so desperately only cared about his money.

Meanwhile, the woman who had sacrificed everything for him—the woman currently carrying his unborn child—had been murdered by his own hands.

Vivian's voice turned incredibly venomous.

"So what if you got married and had his kid? His heart, and his son's heart, still belong to me."

"Honestly, if you had just stepped aside and given me my spot back, you wouldn't have had to die tonight."

Her words hit me like a lightning bolt.

It was a setup. My death wasn't an accident. They had planned this!

"Why? Why would you do this to me?"

"My baby was only three months old! He didn't even get a chance to see the world!"

I screamed in agony, lunging forward to tear her face apart. But my hands passed right through her body.

I was dead.

I collapsed to the floor in despair, forced to listen as Vivian muttered the rest of the truth to the empty hallway.

She let out a low chuckle.

"You actually thought Julian loved you? He just needed a free maid to take care of his kid while he built his empire."

"The second his company secured that new venture capital, he immediately wired me one million dollars for my allowance."

One million dollars?

I snapped my head up to glare at her.

Years ago, when Julian's company was failing, he told me he desperately needed cash.

I sold the cottage my grandmother had left me in her trust fund to give him the money.

But just two days later, he claimed there was still a one-million-dollar deficit.

So, I sold all the heirloom jewelry my parents had given me. I worked three different low-wage jobs, sleeping only three hours a night, just to scrape together that one million dollars.

And he gave it all to his first love as pocket money.

I laughed. A silent, hysterical laugh.

Chloe, you absolute fool.