Chapter 2

It was the first time I'd ever seen Alexander so conflicted and vulnerable. With tears in my eyes, I nodded and agreed.

But that miscarriage really messed up my uterus.

To get pregnant again, I drank many herbal medicines every day and endured countless acupuncture needles on my stomach.

Alexander put his company on hold and stayed by my side, never leaving me alone for a moment.

Whenever Alexander was around, Emily was the picture of sunshine—bubbly, pure-hearted, with not the slightest trace of her Intermittent manic episodes showing through.

A year later, I finally got pregnant again.

But one morning, Alexander left just for a minute to grab my favorite pizza from the shop downstairs.

That was when Emily's episodes hit out of nowhere again. She suddenly lashed out and kicked me hard in the stomach.

And just like last time, the same nightmare started all over again.

After I got out of the hospital, I threw all of Emily's belongings out of the house.

I was sobbing, my hair disheveled, looking like a vengeful spirit from hell.

"Alexander, in this house, it's her or me. I can't live under the same roof with her," I cried out, my voice trembling with rage and heartbreak.

That was when Alexander finally gave in.

I thought that would finally let me escape from Emily's grasp.

But I was blindsided when I found out Alexander had secretly given Emily a spare key to the house.

The home that should have been my safest and warmest refuge became the slaughterhouse for my three babies.

When I stayed silent for so long, Alexander's eyes grew worried, his gaze searching my face for any sign of hope.

"Lillian, I love you. No matter what you say, I'll never leave you," he told me, his voice trembling with raw emotion.

I didn't look at Alexander at all. My stare was fixed on Emily, unblinking and cold.

Emily was shouting about how she wanted to die, but her whole body stayed plastered to Alexander's side, clinging to him desperately.

I easily caught a flicker of unwillingness passing over her face.

That was when everything suddenly made sense to me.

It turned out that Emily's intermittent manic episodes were targeted at me and me alone from the very beginning.

She used her episodes over and over to torment me, just to show me she was the only one Alexander truly cared about.

And with three agonizing miscarriages as proof, maybe Emily was right all along.

Blinded by fury, my hand trembling uncontrollably, I snatched the glass from the table and hurled it at Emily with everything I had.

"Emily, you did this on purpose. You murdered my babies. Fine, I'll divorce Alexander and hand him over to you. Does that make you happy now? Huh?" I screamed, my voice raw with pain and hatred.

Emily cried out in pain as the glass struck her, then stumbled to the floor in tears.

"Lillian, are you out of your mind?" Alexander screamed at me.

With a sharp crack, Alexander slapped me hard, sending me sprawling back onto the bed. My right ear rang with a deafening buzz.

When Alexander saw the blood at the corner of my mouth, a flash of regret crossed his face.

But the moment he heard Emily crying, his face turned cold again, and he barked at me.

"How could Emily ever do something like that on purpose? She's always so good when I'm around. Maybe it's something you said that triggered her, and that's why she had an episode." He shot back, his words icy and full of blame.

Alexander's words, each laced with accusation, hit me like the cruelest blade, shattering my heart into a thousand agonizing pieces in an instant.

I never would have thought that the person who had been by my side for six years would not believe me and would so readily take the side of another woman.