Chapter 3

A woman who'd lost all hope didn't fear anything anymore.

Valda's wails brought Emily and Eugene running from upstairs.

Emily glared at me like I was filth. She said coldly, "Get her out, Austyn. I won't let my daughter live under the same roof as that woman.

"If you don't kick her out, I'm taking my home. I don't need your help raising a child. You can keep that bastard in this house."

Cradled in Austyn's arms, Valda lifted her face just enough to flash me a secret smile.

Austyn stayed silent for a long time. Just when Emily thought her threats had worked, he let Valda go, walked over, and stood beside me.

Austyn said firmly, "I'll never kick my wife out. If you want, Emily, take Valda home with you for now."

Valda burst into another fit of tears, screaming and clinging to him.

It wasn't until Eugene stepped in to smooth things over that she finally calmed down and agreed to stay.

My room, once the best in the villa, was stripped from me and replaced with a dark, cramped storage room downstairs.

Austyn said it was for the sake of Valda's child. That he could only ask me to put up with it for a while.

Austyn said, "Rayne, I promise before you give birth, I'll move you to a better room."

But I no longer cared where I lived. A child nobody wanted—I had no intention of bringing it into a world that would only make it suffer.

Maybe it was Austyn's orders, but Valda didn't pick fights anymore. She treated me like I didn't exist, even when we crossed paths.

Every day, I tried to figure out how to reach someone outside.

Eventually, my eyes turned toward Valda. But she never gave me the chance.

She said, "If Austyn didn't let you out, why would I betray him and help you?

"Rayne, you don't get it. You don't understand what we have. Just like Austyn does everything for me, I'd do anything for him."

For the first time, I saw something firm and serious in her eyes.

Maybe I really had been wrong. Between Austyn and Valda, there was a trust nobody else could break.

Therefore, Austyn sacrificed his wife and child to protect the girl he grew up with.

Every night when he came home, Austyn read bedtime stories to Valda's baby.

It was already past ten when he finally knocked on my door. I opened it, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.

I turned and lay back down on my bed. I caught the shimmer of tears in his eyes before he wiped them away.

My room wasn't even as good as the maid's quarters. Just a bed. Nowhere to sit.

Every other room in the house had been claimed by Valda. One as a nursery for her baby. Another as her music room. The rest for her things.

Even Austyn now lived with her, just to make sure she was comfortable.

Austyn stood by my bed, pulling out a cigarette. But when he realized the room had no windows, he put it back.

I sighed in frustration. "What do you want, Austyn? I'm trying to sleep."

Austyn's eyes dropped, his voice heavy with pain. "Rayne, do you really want to end our baby's life? Do you really not believe I love you?"

It was the first time Austyn had ever said those words.

But I didn't know if he meant them—or if it was just another way to convince me to keep the child.

I closed my eyes, two tears sliding down my face. "I'll have the baby. Just give me back my phone. You know I don't have anyone to call anyway."

Austyn pulled me into his arms, his voice breaking with emotion. "Alright. Whatever you want, I'll do it."