Chapter 2

Though Charlotte and I are both Sinclairs, Charlotte was treated like a princess. I, on the other hand, was just a mistake my father made after drinking too much with the maid.

Charlotte never missed a chance to mock my status, and my father had viewed me as a stain on his reputation. He only brought me into the house to keep the tabloids from calling him heartless.

In our past life, Charlotte was jealous of the Sterlings' wealth, but she looked down on Marcus for being a mechanic. Greed won, and she happily married Ethan Sterling.

Later, Marcus started his own auto-tech company. He grew it into a Fortune 500 giant, even threatening to overshadow the Sterlings.

As Marcus's wife, I became the most envied woman in high society. Everyone kissed my feet. But in reality, I lived every day walking on eggshells, terrified for my life.

Right when Marcus's company was about to go public, his products were flagged for a major safety violation.

In a state of pure panic, a corrupt business partner gave him an idea—and Marcus turned his eyes to me.

I am beautiful. Even though my mother was a housekeeper, I inherited a face that could turn heads anywhere.

Suddenly, Marcus started dragging me to every business party. Big galas, small private gatherings—he insisted I accompany him.

And all these gatherings had one thing in common: the presence of Mr. Harrison, a disgustingly fat, greasy old billionaire.

Finally, at a private club afterparty, Marcus leaned close and whispered in my ear, "Chloe, just help me out this once. If Mr. Harrison backs us, we’ll be set for life. You’ll have all the luxury you want."

I nodded, pretending to agree. Seconds later, Marcus excused himself to go to the restroom.

He never came back that night.

From that day on, Mr. Harrison treated me with weird respect and poured millions into Marcus’s company. The IPO went flawlessly, and Marcus's status skyrocketed.

Marcus became so powerful that clients constantly tried to send beautiful women to his bed.

But Marcus always turned them down. He built a massive reputation in the city as a "devoted, loyal husband." Everyone talked about our perfect marriage.

And every time Charlotte heard about it, she would stare at me with pure, venomous hatred, as if she wanted to tear me apart.

I could only laugh bitterly inside.

Marcus didn't love me. He was only keeping me close to make sure I kept his darkest secret.

A secret that, if exposed, would ruin us both, destroy our reputation, and land us in a place worse than death.