Chapter 1

We went back to Tyler's hometown for the holidays to throw a banquet, and my husband was the center of attention.

Dressed in a sharp suit, tall and handsome, Tyler toasted everyone with an easy smile, giving every relative and elder all the respect in the world.

The town mayor clinked glasses with him, laughing heartily as he patted his shoulder. "The pride of our town has finally come back!"

Beside him stood his daughter, Tiffany, whose eyes were practically glued to Tyler.

"Tyler, you're amazing. Unlike the rest of us who are stuck in this small town forever."

Her voice was sickeningly sweet.

As she spoke, she casually leaned in, her chest brushing right against his arm.

A wave of disgust washed over me. I made an excuse to step outside for some fresh air.

Scrolling through TikTok, a local post popped up on my feed.

The thumbnail was a coy, bashful selfie of Tiffany.

Curious, I tapped into her profile.

My heart instantly seized up, squeezing so hard I could barely breathe.

Her feed was packed with "couples' photos" of her and my husband.

Every single photo had a caption that made my skin crawl:

[Once he leaves that woman, he'll realize how good I am for him.]

[Tyler told me I'm the only one in his heart. He only married her to get his parents off his back.]

[The state is buying out his family's property for the highway expansion. Millions of dollars will be mine. He promised to give me a grand wedding.]

My face went pale, and I sank onto the cold bathroom tiles.

Tyler had only told me about the multimillion-dollar government buyout two days ago. Even my own parents didn't know yet.

How did Tiffany know about it?

I forced myself to calm down, though my mind was spinning out of control.

Did Tyler tell her?

No, that was impossible.

I told myself over and over that Tyler loved me, that our marriage was rock solid.

But if it wasn't him, who was it?

My hands shook violently as I gripped my phone, as if holding a live bomb.

Staring at my pale reflection in the mirror, I pictured Tiffany outside—acting so innocent, so casually flirtatious with Tyler.

Suddenly, the laughter and teasing of the relatives outside sounded like sinister background noise to a sickening conspiracy.

Right then, there was a knock on the restroom door.

"Chloe? Why have you been in there so long?"

It was Tiffany's voice.

"Tyler is getting worried about you, so he asked me to check in. Are you okay?"

Her voice through the door was dripping with fake sweetness.

I scrambled to my feet, took a deep breath, and splashed cold water onto my face.

My reflection was still pale.

No, I couldn't let her see any weakness.

Smoothing down my dress, I pulled open the door to find her wide-eyed, innocent face.

"Chloe, are you alright? Why are you so pale?"

Tiffany reached out to steady me, but I stepped aside smoothly, avoiding her touch.

"I'm fine. Just not used to the local drinks, I guess. It went straight to my head," I said with a tight smile.

"I knew a city girl wouldn't be able to handle our local moonshine."

She grabbed my arm affectionately, gripping it tightly enough that I couldn't pull away without making a scene.

"Tyler was pacing the floor, staring at the door the whole time. He only relaxed when I offered to come check on you."

Every sentence out of her mouth had "Tyler" in it, as if the two of them were the real couple here.

I looked down at her hand around my arm. Her nails were painted a dainty baby pink.

To me, that hand looked like a venomous claw ready to drag me into an abyss.

"Tyler worries too much," I replied coolly, letting her pull me along.

When we returned to the dining room, all eyes turned toward us.

Tyler immediately stood up, walked over, and took my other arm, whispering softly, "What took you so long? Are you feeling sick?"

"I'm fine." I shook my head, my gaze drifting past him to Martha, his mother.

Martha was chatting animatedly with the mayor's wife. Seeing us, she flashed a wide smile.

"Chloe is just delicate, not used to our hometown brew. Tiffany, sweetie, hurry and pour Chloe a cup of hot tea."

Tiffany nodded obediently and poured the steaming tea, handing it to me with a delicate brush of her fingers against mine.

Holding the cup, the heat from the ceramic did nothing to warm the chill in my chest.

The entire dinner had turned into a sick, twisted joke.

Every joke and tease from the relatives felt like they were setting the stage for Tiffany.

"Tiffany is such a thoughtful girl. She really knows how to take care of people."

"Of course she does! We watched her grow up. She's the best."

Martha smiled radiantly. Taking Tiffany's hand, she turned to me and said, "Chloe, you've lived in the city for so long, you might not get how close we are around here. Tiffany is practically like a daughter to me. Don't treat her like a stranger."

I curved my lips into a cold smile. "I understand, Martha."

Practically a daughter?

So that gave her the right to obsess over my husband and plot to steal my life?

I glanced at Tyler. He seemed completely oblivious to the underlying venom in Martha's words, just nodding along.

"Yeah, Mom has always adored Tiffany."