Chapter 2

Charles and I parted on bad terms.

Over the next few days, while the trending topic gradually died down, Scarlett clearly couldn't sit still.

She started appearing everywhere I went, "accidentally" running into me in the neighborhood or "coincidentally" showing up at my regular coffee shop.

After barely seeing her for two years, now I couldn't escape her.

Obviously, Charles was behind this. What was his game, constantly throwing Scarlett in my face?

That day at the café with Emily, Scarlett showed up in a calculated white dress and full makeup.

"Lily," Scarlett smiled sweetly, "are you still mad at me? I know I messed up before. I shouldn't have sent those messages. Can't you forgive me?"

I threw her a dismissive look and turned away. Over my shoulder, I added, "Scarlett, since you're dying to be the other woman, let's make it official. I'll pick a date to have you kneel and serve me."

Her face instantly twisted. "Don't push your luck, Lily! Charlie only loves me. You're just the wife his grandmother forced on him. How much longer do you think you've got?"

Emily linked her arm through mine, giving Scarlett a withering look. "Pathetic."

Scarlett trembled with rage. "Y-You'll both regret this!" She spun on her heel and stormed off.

Emily stroked my hand comfortingly, venting on my behalf. "I still don't get why you agreed to this. You should've married Ryan Lewis instead. He would've joined your family. This is a nightmare."

Ryan, my college classmate, had chased me for three years. Among regular people, he was definitely a catch, talented and good-looking. But his ordinary background meant my family never took him seriously.

Whether marrying into the Lockwood family was a blessing or a curse for me, I couldn't tell yet. With his first love constantly in my face, I could endure it for now, but what about the future?

I could see Emily spiraling, already imagining my miserable future. "Seriously, Lily, what's your plan for dealing with her?

"Pay her off? Or eliminate the problem entirely?" Her voice dropped lower with each word, getting more sinister with each word.

I stared at her serious face and shook my head helplessly. "Girl, this isn't a dark romance novel. We have actual laws."

"Are you getting divorced then?" she asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I like him." The words landed between us. Emily's eyes softened with sympathy, as if my unrequited feelings were breaking her heart.

"But what about Charles? He used to keep Scarlett hidden, but now their relationship is completely out in the open. If he pushes for a divorce..."

"He won't," I said flatly. Neither the Lockwood nor Shaw families would ever allow it.

To the Lockwood family, Charles didn't need a wife. He needed someone presentable enough to stand beside him at galas.

He was the illegitimate son raised closely under Jennifer Lockwood's protection. Ambitious and capable, he fought tooth and nail to earn his place. Yet he remained subordinate to his elder brother, the perfect legitimate heir the family adored.

Charles was already stealing too much spotlight. A wife with real influence or an ambitious family was out of the question. A pretty face from a decent but unremarkable family was perfect.

Among countless heiresses, I was the one Jennifer chose—for being "just right"—not flashy enough to cause waves, not plain enough to embarrass them.

Real estate and backroom deals were propping up my family. Sure, they called us "new money," which meant we were glorified nobodies trying to break into the big leagues. If we wanted any shot at climbing the social ladder, the Lockwood family was our only ticket up.

Besides the family politics, there was the real glue holding us together—my 7% stake in Lockwood Group. If we divorced, Jennifer would snatch it back, and neither Charles nor I was about to let that happen.

And trust me, Charles didn't love Scarlett. He was just dangling fake "love" to keep her hooked, using her as bait to reel in the bigger fish swimming behind her.

*****

"So I hear you're hopelessly in love with me." Charles slurred from the couch, drunk off his ass and sounding rougher than I'd ever heard him. After vanishing for weeks, he comes back wasted.

The gossip was out there because I'd let it spread. Now I waited to see who would swim into the trap.

After that whole trending scandal, something felt off. When I pieced it all together, I realized I was inside a trap.

For someone like Charles, a rumor like that should've been squashed in minutes, but it trended all day. The man who never loses his cool publicly snapped at me. After coming home, he acted like it never happened.

A wild theory hit me—Scarlett wasn't working alone. William Lockwood, Charles' older brother, was behind her.

Knowing how scheming Charles was, I knew it was only a matter of time before the power struggle between him and William came out into the open.

To stop Charles from dumping my family once he got power, I had to keep him hooked.

I stayed quiet, grabbing a damp towel to gently wipe his face.

Charles' eyes followed my every movement, searching for cracks in my composure, but I kept my expression perfectly blank.

"You don't love me," he mumbled into the dark. I was unclear if it was a question or a statement. My hand paused. I didn't answer, but my eyes filled anyway.

The unshed tears in my eyes caught in his gaze and sent an electric shiver through him.