Chapter 2

After hanging up with Chloe, my phone buzzed.

Message after message from Ethan popped up on SnapChat:

[I'm hungry. Come home and cook.]

[Don't make me wait.]

My finger hovered over the screen for a second. Then, a cold sneer escaped my lips.

For five years, Ethan had always been like this.

He was so confident that I loved him to the point of madness, so sure I couldn't survive without him, that he never gave a damn about my feelings.

I lowered my head and replied in my usual submissive tone:

"I... I'm on my way back."

"Your stomach has been acting up lately. I'll make sure to prepare some light fruits for you first."

When I got back with the groceries, Ethan was lounging on the sofa, holding Chloe in his arms.

Hearing me walk in, he didn't even look up.

"You're back? Make some soup."

"After all these years, only your cooking tastes like Clara's."

I nodded meekly, keeping my eyes downcast as I walked toward the kitchen.

But before I could take another step, Chloe’s sweet, dripping voice sounded from behind me.

"Ethan, I want to learn how to cook from Rainey. That way, we won't have to bother her next time we're having our intimate moments."

Hearing this, Ethan stroked Chloe’s hair affectionately.

"Silly girl. Your hands are meant for playing the piano. They're precious."

"But some people's hands are born to cook and serve. Some people just don't know their place. She practically begged to stay with me back then, and now she thinks because she's becoming Mrs. Vance, she can show off."

He paused, then frowned and looked over at me.

"Right, Rainey?"

I knew Ethan was trying to humiliate me, punishing me for the slap I gave him earlier.

I turned around immediately, putting on the terrified, eager-to-please face he loved so much.

I looked at him with eyes full of desperate love, whispering with a crack in my voice:

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I was out of line earlier. I shouldn't have hit you."

I even took his hand and pressed it against my cheek, looking up at him like a beaten puppy.

"You can slap me back. Just please don't be angry with me, okay? I know I was wrong."

Ethan smiled, thoroughly satisfied with how hopelessly in love I looked. He stroked my face playfully before drawing his hand back.

"Alright. At least you're sensible."

Then he turned to Chloe.

"Learn if you want."

"I have some business to take care of in the study. You two... play nice."

With that, he walked up to the second-floor study.

The kitchen door closed. Chloe listened to make sure he was gone, then handed me a micro SD card from her pocket.

With hesitation in her voice, she whispered:

"Everything is in here."

"Are you really going to marry him? With the evidence we have, it's enough to bring down the Vance family. You've endured five years. You don't need to throw away your own life..."

I clutched the SD card tightly, cutting her off.

"No! I must marry him."

"I want to rip off his hypocritical mask at the altar! I want everyone in high society to see how rotten the Vance family really is!"

"My sister Clara... will not die in vain!"