Chapter 5

After returning from the hospital, I changed the lock on the guest room door.

The moment Ethan saw the new lock, he frowned.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Someone has already taken over my bedroom. Of course I need to protect what I have left."

He looked ready to argue, but then his phone rang.

Sophie called for him from upstairs, and he turned away before I had even finished speaking.

That evening, my mother-in-law called and invited us to a family dinner.

When I changed and came downstairs, Sophie's cheerful laughter drifted out of the living room.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror wearing the custom-made black dress I had received for my birthday last year.

Around her neck was the pearl necklace my mother had left me.

Ethan was helping her adjust the zipper at the back of the dress.

When he saw me, his hand froze in midair.

Sophie immediately put on an innocent expression. "Claire, I didn't have anything appropriate to wear. Ethan said we were about the same size and told me to pick something."

"Where did you get it?"

"From the closet in the guest room."

I turned to Ethan. "You opened the door for her?"

"It was only a dress," he replied calmly. "You weren't here, and I didn't want to bother you over something so trivial."

I walked up to Sophie and pulled the pearl necklace from her neck.

She instinctively covered the side of her neck. "You hurt me."

"Good. Maybe the pain will help you remember what you're not allowed to touch."

Ethan immediately stepped between us. "Claire, it's only a necklace."

"My mother left it to me."

"She didn't know that."

"She didn't, but you did."

He fell silent for a moment before softening his voice. "Sophie is pregnant. She can't get too worked up. Let her wear it tonight, and she can return it when we get home."

I looked down at the pearls in my hand and suddenly laughed.

"She's wearing my mother's necklace and my dress, and she'll be walking into your family dinner on my husband's arm." I looked at him. "Should I take off my wedding ring and lend her that too?"

Sophie's eyes reddened. "I only borrowed a dress. Why do you have to humiliate me?"

"You entered my room without permission, searched through my closet, and took my jewelry. By any normal person's standards, that isn't borrowing. It's stealing."

Ethan's face darkened. "Don't make it sound so ugly."

I picked up Sophie's glass of cranberry juice from the coffee table and slowly poured it over the black dress.

The dark red liquid soaked through the skirt in an instant.

Sophie shrieked and stumbled backward.

"It's yours now." I returned the empty glass to the table. "Anything you've worn is too filthy for me."

"Claire!" Ethan grabbed my arm. "You're being completely unreasonable!"

I shook him off, turned away, and called a locksmith. I told them to replace the electronic lock immediately and revoke Ethan's backup access.

He stared at me in disbelief. "This is my home too."

"Then you'd better learn to knock."

I took the pearl necklace and headed upstairs.

As I passed Sophie, she suddenly lowered her voice, making sure I was the only one who could hear her.

"Do you really think Ethan is so good to this baby just because he feels sorry for me?"

I stopped.

She gently stroked her belly, every trace of grievance gone from her face.

"I'll tell you why. It's because Ethan is still in love with me."