Chapter 3

Monicka looked at Landre with concern as I had yanked his hand so hard it hurt.

"We came here with the best of intentions to pay our respects to your parents.

"You should know the Fitzroy family originally didn't want your parents buried together. It was only after Landre pleaded with them that they agreed," she chided.

I only thought it was absurd.

Then Monicka suddenly grabbed my hand.

"I know love doesn't care about who came first. I met Landre Fitzroy before you did, yet you're the one who ended up with him.

"You're Mrs. Fitzroy now, so you look down on me…"

I yanked off the longevity locket my parents had given her from her neck.

"Who do you think you are?

"You must be feeling pretty smug right now. You're thinking that I'm just a Mrs. Fitzroy in name only while you're the one reaping all the benefits of the Fitzroy family?

"You've slept in the same bed with Landre Fitzroy so many times by now. You're the real Mrs. Fitzroy."

The crowd finally fell silent, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me.

My morning sickness had always been very bad.

As soon as the wedding in my previous life was over, I was immediately thrown into a whirlwind of activity, organizing my parents' funerals.

At the time, Monicka and Landre were dressed in black at the funeral, their faces etched with grief.

The three of us hugged each other and wept. We had only each other left.

Pregnant and grieving, I was physically and emotionally exhausted, but Landre practically treated me like a princess.

He went out of his way to please me, even taking me for a ride in a helicopter.

Monicka and Landre took turns persuading me to retire from boxing and focus on my pregnancy.

Landre even personally went abroad to buy a maternity bed and various specialized medical devices.

When Monicka found out I was looking for a postpartum nanny, she volunteered. "A nanny can't cook as well as I can, and she's not nearly as thoughtful."

Knowing I disliked onions, ginger, and garlic, she carefully avoided all the foods that made me feel nauseous.

I was convinced we were like true sisters.

Back then, the villa was always filled with the sound of the three of us laughing and joking around.

As Landre was about to become a father, he put his photography hobby aside and threw himself into the family business.

He used all the bonuses from his first project to book a full day of hot-air balloon rides.

For my birthday, he arranged the stubs from my match tickets into a portrait and gave it to me as a gift.

He always carried homemade candy in his pocket to help ease my morning sickness.

The love in Landre's eyes was so bold and unrestrained that I never once doubted him.

That was until one day, I pushed open the door to the boxing gym…

Clothes were scattered all over the floor.

The two of them, lost in the throes of passion and oblivious to the world around them, were completely absorbed in their lovemaking.

The camera recording the event clearly captured their images.

Clutching my pregnant belly, I slumped to the floor in a daze.

Landre and Monicka only noticed me at this point.

Monicka screamed and hid behind the furious Landre. "Don't you know how to knock? Even if you have no parents, surely you know some manners?"

Chills rippled through my whole body.

I didn't even have the strength to confront them. I just curled up in the corner and kept retching.

Eventually, I passed out in that pool of filth.

Even from a great distance, I could see the obvious contempt and disgust in their eyes.

When I finally came to, I was lying on the bed Landre had bought for me. The scented candle Monicka had picked out was placed beside me.

Monicka herself was huddling in one corner, weeping very theatrically.

"We just couldn't help ourselves. You're pregnant, and you can't… I just wanted to help him..."

She was as strong as when she was beaten by her parents and bullied by her classmates back then.

I stood up for her, but the teacher accused me of stirring up trouble, and my classmates shunned me.

I wasn't nominated for the exemplary student award, and the teacher even denied me eligibility for financial aid.

We had been through the toughest times together, so I wanted her to be happy more than anyone else.

When we won prizes at boxing matches, I always let her pick first.

At the wedding, my flower bouquet was handed to her.

Before I could say anything, someone could not bear it and said, "Enough. Don't make things difficult for her.

"We were just taking private photos. If you hadn't barged in, nothing would have happened.

"Yvonna, I've given you everything. Money, love, all of it. Can't you give me a break?"

Landre gazed at Monicka with an expression full of heartache.

I laughed bitterly while clutching my belly.

"Don't even think about using the child to threaten me.

"If it weren't for this child, you'd be nothing but a worthless boxer now," Landre said ominously.

In Landre's eyes, everything I did came across as discontent and threats.

Only after my parents were gone forever did I finally, belatedly, understand the meaning of their words.

Some people could lift you up to the heavens, but they could just as easily drag you down to hell.

And now, Landre and Monicka stopped pretending totally.

At my boxing gym, in the villa, at the office, and even in the car I rode in, the two of them were incredibly intimate.

Overcome with grief and heartbreak, I went mad. All I could think of was getting even with them.