Chapter 2

"The rain was pouring, and David was worried I'd be unsafe alone, so he brought me here," Emily said, pulling the silk nightgown closer around herself. "My clothes are soaked, so I randomly took one from here. Hope you don't mind."

That nightgown was an anniversary gift I'd picked out for myself.

There was a white flower embroidered on the collar, and next to it hung a matching men's pajamas.

But David had never worn his. He said his assistant sometimes came over to pick up files, and if there were any couple items, people might discover our relationship.

So I hid the men's pajamas at the very bottom of the closet, and I never could bring myself to wear mine, either.

And now, Emily was wearing it.

I looked over at David. He was crouched by the entrance, drying off Emily's soaked shoes.

"She's only staying for the night," David said. "It's only a nightgown. Don't make things so tense."

Emily's eyes immediately turned red. "Sorry. I forgot it was meant for couples. I'm married, so I really shouldn't be wearing your things."

She turned around to change, but David stopped her. "No need. Sophie has never worn it, so it'd be a waste to let it go unused."

I stood by the door, my hand still on the cold doorknob.

The pain in my stomach was gone, leaving only a vague soreness I couldn't put into words.

I murmured, "No need to change."

Emily smiled again. "Sophie, I knew you were the best."

That night, she slept in the guest room.

David lay beside me and suddenly asked, "Why have you been so upset today? Is it because of the project or because I brought Emily over?"

I lay there, staring at the ceiling in the dark.

"I handled that project on my own," I said quietly. "You don't have to give me the trophy, but why did you erase my name too?"

David was silent for a moment. "I'm protecting you. You're moving up too fast. People would say it's all because of your connections.

"Emily's married, so no matter how close she and I are, nobody's going to suspect anything. Sophie, you only see what I do for her, but you never notice what I'm taking on for you."

Then he took my hand, his voice softening. "Once the company's completely stable, we'll make our relationship public."

I'd been hearing that promise for five years.

I reached for the gift box in my bag, the one I never managed to give him, but in the end, I still didn't take it out.

*****

The next morning, Emily was crying at the dining table.

She said, "My husband didn't text me back all night. Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. He'd rather spend time with someone else than see me."

I handed her a tissue. "Why haven't you divorced such a man?"

She looked up at me, her eyes still wet with tears. "Maybe it's because I still love him. I keep telling myself he's not thinking straight right now, and that he'll figure out who's really right for him one day."

Then she grabbed my hand. "Sophie, if you found out you'd been lied to, would you hate the woman he cheated with?"

I thought she meant the woman who was with her husband.

"No," I said. "The one who really deserves all the hate is the guy who's lying to both women."

Emily paused and slowly smiled. "You're right," she said.

By the time David came out of the study, Emily was back to her usual self.

He set a glass of water in front of her and reminded her to take her stomach medicine.

That was when it hit me: last night was her wedding anniversary, too, and David had stuck by her side since the company's annual party.

A ridiculous thought popped into my head, but I quickly pushed it away.

Emily was married. David had told me himself that her husband was always working in investment abroad, and her relationship with her husband was pretty strained.

I'd seen a screenshot of her chat with her husband. He was labeled as a "P" in her phone, and David's alias was Peter.

I asked David about it once. His face darkened right away.

"How many people in the world are named Peter?" he said. "You can doubt me all you want, but are you going to doubt your best friend?"

Emily's eyes filled with tears. "I'm already married. If even you think I'm a homewrecker, who else can I trust?"

In the end, I was the one who apologized to both of them.

Stuff like this happened all the time.

When Emily got sick, David would show up in the middle of the night with medicine, and I couldn't say a word about it.

If Emily had to meet a client, David would tag along, and I had to pretend it didn't bother me.

On the Family Day set by the company, David would play games with her, while I could only sit with the other employees and clap for them.

Everyone said their friendship was so pure that it made people envious.

Meanwhile, I was like some delusional girl hiding in the shadows, not allowed to show how heartbroken I was.

By the time I got back to the office after lunch, that ache in my lower abdomen was back.

Then, in the bathroom, I noticed a small stain of red blooming on my skirt.

I called David. His phone rang for so long, but he never picked up.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I spotted him at the end of the hallway, fastening the necklace Emily had won as an award around her neck.

The silver clasp slid in her hair. David kept his head down, handling it with ease, like he'd done this a thousand times before.

I leaned against the wall and called out his name.

But before I could say anything else, Emily clutched her stomach, her face going pale.

The next second, she collapsed into David's arms.

David scooped her up and rushed toward the elevator.

I tried to follow, but a sharp pain suddenly twisted in my stomach, like it was clenched by a fist.

"David, I'm bleeding, too," I called out.

He stopped for a split second.

Emily was trembling all over from the pain, her fingers clutching his collar.

"David, it hurts so much," she cried out.

When he looked at me again, there was only impatience in his eyes.

"Emily's in so much pain that she can't stand. Do you have to fight for attention right now?" he said.

The elevator doors slid shut in front of me.

Natalie Russell from the HR Department could tell something was off and caught me before I fell.

"Sophie, are you pregnant?" Natalie asked.

I didn't have the strength to answer.

She called a ride and rushed me to the nearest hospital.

After the emergency check-up, the doctor told me the embryo had stopped developing.

"The bleeding's getting worse. We need to do the dilation and curettage as soon as possible," the doctor said.

I stared at that tiny, silent spot on the screen, my ears ringing.

This morning, the doctor had said everything was fine. I never got the chance to tell its father that it had existed.

Footsteps echoed from the room next door.

The doctors said Emily had an ovarian cyst torsion and needed emergency laparoscopic surgery right away.

David was at her bedside, holding her hand tightly.

Some colleagues from the company hurried over as well.

The nurse came in with the surgery and anesthesia consent forms, looking for Emily's family.

"The patient is married. Is her husband here?" the nurse asked.

Emily slowly turned her gaze to David.

That glance was brief, but it sent a chill through me.

David reached into his briefcase and pulled out a marriage certificate. He opened it and handed it to the nurse.

"I'm her husband," he said.

I thought I must be seeing things, maybe from losing too much blood.

It wasn't until Natalie helped me get closer that I could read the names on the marriage certificate: David and Emily.

The date was May 20th, three years ago.

That day, David told me he was heading to Singerport to negotiate a contract that could make or break the company.

I waited at home for seven days.

When he came back, he gave me a ring and promised that once the company went public, he'd give me a wedding everyone would envy.

Turned out, in those seven days, he was marrying another woman.

Emily's face was pale as she whispered, "Sophie, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you so many times, but David was worried that you wouldn't be able to deal with it."

I stared at her. "The husband you've been cursing out to me every day is him?"

Tears streamed down her face. "It's never been happy between us. I never lied to you. I just didn't know how to tell you."

The nurse had no idea what was going on between us. She kept urging David to sign the papers.

David leaned over and signed without hesitation. His handwriting was neat.

When it was time for my surgery, the nurse instinctively looked over at him. "Where's this patient's family? What's your relationship with her?"

I looked at David.

I said, "The baby is yours.

"David, tell them what our relationship is."