Chapter 2

"Nora, don't blame Ethan. Forging the medical records was my idea. I was afraid you'd find out, so I actually wanted to bring a stray cat home to make you contract an infection for real. But Ethan was worried I might get infected too, so he shot the idea down."

Vivian sat up, looking at me with big, tearful, innocent eyes.

"Honestly, when I first found out I was pregnant, I wanted to get an abortion. But Ethan stopped me. He said abortions are terrible for a woman's body and leave permanent damage."

"To make sure I didn't do anything stupid, he took me to the Maldives for a whole month. And during my third trimester, I couldn't stand the smell of smoke, so he quit smoking cold turkey for me."

I listened in silence, my breathing trembling.

He knew abortions were terrible for a woman's body, yet he tricked me into getting one.

I had begged him to quit smoking a thousand times, and he always brushed me off, saying his job was too stressful.

Yet, Vivian didn't even have to ask, and he quit instantly.

I guess love, or the lack of it, is always painfully obvious.

Suddenly, I remembered the early days of my pregnancy when the doctor ordered me to be hospitalized for observation because the pregnancy was unstable.

Terrified of losing the baby we had tried so hard to conceive, I had called Ethan, sobbing.

But he didn't care about my fear at all. He just brushed me off impatiently:

"Nora, the company is sending me on an urgent business trip abroad for a month. Take care of yourself."

I tried to plead with him.

"Can you ask your boss to send someone else? I'm so scared something will happen to the baby if you're not here..."

But before I could finish, he hung up.

When he came back, he was several shades tan.

How could I have been so blind? He wasn't on a business trip. He was using that excuse to take Vivian to the Maldives.

The pain in my chest was suffocating.

I tilted my head back, refusing to let my tears fall.

But out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the bassinet next to the bed.

It was a custom piece I had commissioned from a European craftsman. It had taken seven months to make.

My baby's nickname was carved right on the wooden frame.

Vivian let out a weak, awkward laugh.

"Nora, I didn't want to use it, but Ethan insisted on bringing it here. He said since your baby is gone, it's just sitting around anyway. Might as well let my baby use it. At least it's not going to waste."

My mom chimed in from the side.

"It's just a bassinet, Nora. What's the big deal? Just let Vivian have this one."

Always "let her have it."

My throat felt like it was clogged with cotton, dry and tight.

Since we were kids, no matter what Vivian wanted, I was always forced to give it up to her.

From a pretty dress to my spot at a top-tier school.

And now, my baby's bassinet.

She always had an insatiable desire to steal whatever belonged to me.

Seeing my silence, my dad spoke up sharply.

"Vivian grew up as an adopted child in our home. You've had a million times more happiness than she ever did. Why are you fighting her over a stupid bassinet? I honestly regret raising a daughter as selfish as you."

A cold, bitter smile crept onto my face.

"Sometimes I wonder if I was the one who was adopted."

Hearing this, Jack instantly lost his temper.

"Do you have a conscience? Dad is just trying to be fair to Vivian, and you can't even handle that? Do you have to tear this entire family apart before you're satisfied?"

They stood united against me, a solid front.

As if I were some kind of monster.

At that exact moment, I realized I had always been completely on my own.

"This family won't fall apart. Because I'm leaving."

With that, I turned on my heel and slammed the door behind me.

My dad's angry shout echoed from inside the room.

"Ethan, don't go after her! She has no job and no money. She doesn't even have a place to stay. Once she hits rock bottom, she'll come crawling back on her knees."

I rushed out of the hospital.

The cold wind hit my face, and the chill seeped deep into my bones.

Just then, my former business partner sent me a text.

"Are you still interested in joining our agency's expansion? The team is heading out tomorrow. I can still book your flight."