Chapter 2

I was happily munching away when a shadow fell over the table.

"Ms. Tate." Vivian had come downstairs at some point, dressed in a white dress with her long hair flowing over her shoulders.

She looked so delicate and pitiful, like she could break at any moment.

After everything she'd done in my previous life, I couldn't bring myself to be nice to her. "What do you want?"

"I'll be staying here for the next few days. Sorry for the trouble," Vivian said.

I just gave a half-hearted "Oh," not even bothering to look up.

Vivian hesitated, biting her lower lip, looking like someone just bullied her. "Ms. Tate, I know you don't really like me.

"But don't worry, I'm just staying at Lance's place for a few days. As soon as I find a job, I'll move out."

I wasn't even paying attention to her. My eyes were glued to the crab in front of me.

I just kept munching away, totally tuning her out.

After ignoring her for a while, I suddenly looked up. "Wait, what did you say again?"

Vivian's expression soured as she repeated, "I'm afraid I'll be bothering you for a few days."

"Oh, want some crab?" I asked, waving a claw in her direction.

"No, thanks." She gave me a look of utter disdain, chin held high, and strutted off.

Mary Jenkins looked worried. "Ms. Tate, you really gotta watch out. That Vivian White was totally trying to get under your skin."

"I know," I said, not even blinking.

"Then why did you just..." Mary trailed off, clearly confused.

Once I finished off the crab, I clapped my hands. "Mary, some things are just gonna happen no matter what we do.

"As long as I'm fed, I couldn't care less about the rest."

After eating, I headed upstairs and snuggled into my comfy bed for a blissful nap.

Man, it really felt good to be alive.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I was jolted awake by a rustling sound.

I opened my eyes and saw a dark figure looming over me.

"Ah, a ghost!" I yelled, kicking out blindly. I heard a muffled grunt.

Oh, it wasn't a ghost. It was Lance.

The lights flicked on, and Lance slowly got up from the floor, clutching his waist, looking at me like he couldn't believe what just happened.

My mouth twitched in embarrassment. "Oops, my bad. I move around a lot when I sleep.

"But wait, aren't you supposed to be in your own room? Why are you here all of a sudden?"

"You're ovulating today," Lance said it so casually, like it was just another fact.

Crap, how could I forget this?

Our relationship had always been kind of lukewarm after the wedding. Lance was distant, and I was so used to getting my way that I couldn't bring myself to compromise.

So, we ended up with this weird marriage arrangement.

Most nights, we slept in separate rooms, but with both sets of parents breathing down our necks about having a baby, we'd only sleep together whenever I was ovulating.

But after all that went down in my previous life, there's no way I'm sharing a bed with him again. "Let's do this another day, I'm really not up for it tonight."

"Sure," Lance said flatly, then just walked out.

After that scare, my stomach started growling again.

I was about to head downstairs for a snack, but as soon as I opened the door, some noises I really didn't want to hear hit my ears.

"Lance, be gentle, it hurts." The voice was no doubt coming from Vivian's room.

Wait, did Lance actually go to Vivian's room?

My gut twisted for a second, but honestly, I saw this coming.

Still, I couldn't stop my heart from aching. So even back then, in my previous life, they were already getting together behind my back.

Nice one, Lance. And here I was, blaming myself for being too proud to bend.

Since things were doomed from the start, I might as well eat first and worry about divorce later.

I went down to the kitchen and just grabbed whatever snacks I could find. Might as well fill my stomach before dealing with all this drama.

After I'd filled up, I started heading upstairs, only to bump into Lance, who had Vivian in his arms, coming down the stairs.

Vivian panicked and jumped off Lance, all flustered. "Natalie, it's not what you think! Lance and I—"

"Didn't see a thing. You guys do your thing, I'm heading back up," I said, not even glancing their way.

I just held my snacks and went upstairs, leaving them alone to do whatever.

Since we're heading for a divorce anyway, I might as well score some points before it happens.

That way, when it was time to split the assets, maybe he would toss me a bigger slice so I wouldn't have to worry about starving later.

Just as I was about to crash in my room, the door suddenly swung open.

Lance appeared in the doorway, making me jump. I asked, "What do you want?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. Vivian hurt her foot, and I was just taking care of it," Lance said, sounding a little awkward.

"Hey, I'm not gonna misunderstand. Whatever you two wanna do is your business. I'm not gonna interfere at all," I said, already nudging him toward the door.

He grabbed my hand. "Natalie, are you just being petty right now?"

"Seriously? You're reading way too much into this," I muttered, already stuffed and ready to crash.

I didn't have the energy to argue. If he wanted to stand there, fine. I just ignored him and went back to bed, out like a light.

Lance called my name a couple of times, but when I didn't respond, he just stood there, totally speechless.