Chapter 2

My fingers tightened instantly.

Following the direction of her tiny finger, I saw a tall man standing in the crowd. His profile was a silhouette I knew better than my own.

He was holding a little boy, about three or four years old, who was laughing with his arms wrapped around the man's neck.

Beside him stood a woman.

She had long hair and wore a floral sundress. She was on her tiptoes, gently wiping ice cream from the little boy's chin.

Liam turned his head and smiled warmly at her.

The blood drained from my face, leaving me cold from head to toe.

"Mommy, why is Daddy holding another little boy?"

Lily tugged at my hand again.

"Who is that?"

I didn't know how to answer.

My throat felt so tight that I couldn't squeeze out a single word.

Lily spoke again, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Does Daddy not love us anymore?"

Those words felt like a physical blade plunging straight into my chest.

I knelt down, pulling Lily into a tight embrace, forcing my voice to sound as normal as possible.

"No, sweetie. How could Daddy not love you? You are his absolute favorite."

The moment the words left my mouth, Lily's lower lip trembled. Then, she did something I never expected.

She let go of my hand and screamed toward the crowd.

"Daddy!"

Her voice was sharp and loud.

Liam whipped his head around.

The moment he saw us, his arms instinctively loosened, and the little boy almost slipped from his grip.

The woman beside him quickly caught the child, following his panicked gaze to us.

She was young—much younger than I had imagined.

Probably around twenty-five or twenty-six, wearing light makeup, with soft, delicate features.

When she saw me, she froze for a second, and then her expression slowly shifted into something cold and calculating.

Liam took two large strides toward me, but he was immediately grabbed by the arm by the woman.

She held onto him tightly.

She looked up at Liam and whispered something I couldn't hear.

Liam's face grew even paler, his lips pressed into a tight line. He stood rooted to the spot.

The woman let go of his arm, turned, and walked straight toward me.

She stopped two steps away, sizing me up from head to toe.

"You must be his wife."

I pulled Lily behind me.

Lily held onto my leg, peeking out with wide, confused eyes.

"Tell Liam to stop hiding it," the woman said, gesturing toward him with her chin.

"You were bound to find out sooner or later anyway."

Liam rushed over and reached out to pull her back, but she shook him off.

"Elena, right? I'm Chloe. Since we ran into each other today, let's just lay it all out."

She looked me dead in the eye, speaking calmly.

"That child is Liam's and mine. He's three and a half. We've been together for a long time."

The theme park was filled with the happy screams of children, but to me, the world had gone completely silent.

Chloe continued, "I know this is hard for you to accept, but it is what it is."

"He's not happy with you. He's only happy when he's with me. If you're smart, you won't drag this out. Letting him go is best for everyone."

She spoke with a bizarre sense of sincerity, as if she were offering me a perfectly reasonable piece of advice.

I looked down at my daughter.

She was clinging to my leg, her eyes brimming with tears.

But she didn't cry out loud. She just stared up at me, her little lips trembling.

I took a deep, steadying breath and scooped Lily up into my arms.

She immediately buried her face in the crook of my neck, wrapping her arms tightly around me.

I looked at Chloe and spoke clearly, "I don't want him either."

Chloe's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

I turned my gaze to Liam.

He was standing just two yards away, his face ghostly pale. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something.

The little boy in the yellow shirt ran over, hugging his leg and calling him "Daddy."

He looked down at the boy, then looked back at me.

"Liam, we're getting a divorce. The house, the car, and the savings—they all go to me. Do you have an issue with that?"