Chapter 2

The door slammed shut behind Alex.

I collapsed onto the couch, completely drained.

My eyes fell on the shattered pieces scattered all over the floor.

Thinking about Alex's speech about owing my mom, I sneered.

How shameless did he have to be to throw around words that should mean so much, then act like he was completely in the right?

And how pathetic was I to have let my life come to this?

Alex really had been my mom's student.

Back then, he wasn't the Carter heir, only a broke nobody.

He grew up with his father, an angry gambling addict. Alex was sullen, his grades were terrible, and none of his teachers wanted to bother with him.

Then, my mom noticed the injuries on his body.

As his homeroom teacher, she kept visiting his home, but his father shut her out every time.

Seeing him all skin and bones, my mom often had him over for dinner.

We were in high school then, two kids from single parent families with our own problems, and we ended up tangled together.

My mom was an excellent teacher and tutored Alex herself. She turned the kid everyone had given up on into a straight A student who got into a top university.

Later, Alex followed his birth mother back to the Carter family. With his brains and degree, he finally earned his place there.

But after that, he changed beyond recognition.

I once asked Mom if she regretted helping him.

She shook her head. "At least I gave one kid a chance at a different life."

Then tears filled her eyes. "The only thing I regret is letting you marry him."

On her deathbed, she gripped my hand tightly. "If I don't make it, leave this place. Don't keep holding on because of me.

"Do whatever you want, sweetheart. You were never meant to be stuck here."

That was when I realized Mom had known everything all along.

I scrubbed my face and glanced at the message that popped up on my phone.

[Olivia, that heartless woman who always kept us apart is finally gone. No one can stand in your way anymore.]

[Your little brother is still a kid. He can't handle anything. You're my only daughter. If you come home, everything I have, including the company, will be yours one day.]

Even after all these years with no contact, my birth father was still as selfish and cold as ever.

He didn't even flinch when he heard that his first wife, the woman who had stood by him through everything, was dead. He even badmouthed her afterward.

I lowered my eyes and stared at the screen, finding it ridiculous.

Everything would be mine?

My little brother was the son he'd wanted for years, the son he'd abandoned his wife and daughter to get. There was no way he'd give me a cent of his fortune.

If I bought his crap, I'd be the biggest fool alive.

But since I had already decided to leave, there was no reason not to use the way out he'd handed me.

I smirked and replied: [Fine, I'll come back.]

*****

Alex never came home, probably thinking the silent treatment would teach me a lesson.

I didn't care. I had Mom's funeral to handle on my own.

Mom was an only child, and my grandparents were long gone. We had no other relatives, so I kept the funeral simple.

Once everything was done, I went home to pack my bags.

But as soon as I stepped inside, the smart lock beeped again.

The moment Emily and I locked eyes, I was stunned.

"How did you get in here?" I asked.

She even knew the door code? When did that happen? Had Alex given it to her?

Or while I'd been running myself ragged at the hospital, had he already been bringing her here, letting her sleep in our bed and act like she owned the place?

Just imagining what might have happened made me feel sick for a second.

"Well, Mrs. Carter. You're home?" Emily gave me a smug smile and walked in like she owned the place.

"Mr. Carter left his coat here, so I came to get it. I'm so used to letting myself in that I forgot you might be home. You don't mind, do you?" she said.

Before I could answer, she gave a little gasp. "Oh, right. I almost forgot. You're a full-time housewife. No job, nothing to do. I guess home is the only place you can be."

With that, she strutted off to the bedroom, heels clicking on the floor.

A moment later, she came back with Alex's coat.

She saw me calmly watering the flowers and ignoring her. Her taunt clearly fell flat, and her face soured at once.

"Some people spend all day fussing over a bunch of dying flowers, can't even keep their husband, and don't have a real job. That's pretty pathetic, don't you think, Olivia?" she said.

I set down the watering can, looked at her, and let out a cold laugh. "A real job? You mean like yours, someone's plaything?"

I clapped my hands hard. "Yeah, guess you really do have a knack for it. Keep your sugar daddy happy, and a job lands right in your lap."

Emily had lost her job because of me, but Alex hired her as his secretary right afterward, like a slap in my face.

Emily's face flushed bright red. She jabbed a finger at me, her voice sharp and shrill. "At least I'm not a loser like you. Top grad, but no one in the industry will touch you.

"Olivia, who in Riverdale would dare to hire you?"

My face went pale.

She was telling the truth.

The day I found out Alex was cheating, I brought up divorce.

The very next day, I got fired.

I even tried starting something of my own so I could pay for Mom's treatment.

But every project I touched either failed or fell apart for no reason, leaving me buried in debt.

Eventually, no one in the industry would hire me. No one would even give me a chance.

Then came the day I broke down because I couldn't afford Mom's treatment. Alex watched me and laughed.

"Olivia, this is what you get for bringing up divorce. Be the perfect Mrs. Carter, and you'll have whatever you want," he said.

From then on, I never dared think about divorce again.

That was when I finally saw how cold and ruthless Alex really was.

He could use his power to crush the punks who bullied me without breaking a sweat.

And with that same power, he could easily crush me and bury me alive.