Chapter 2

Pregnant.

The Shaw family's heir.

When Linda said that, her face was warped with pride, almost sickening.

As if this wasn't a scandal, but some glorious achievement.

I looked at Daniel.

He didn't deny it. He lowered his head, silently admitting everything.

I couldn't feel any pain in my heart anymore.

Maybe the pain in my face was so sharp, it drowned out everything else inside.

Or maybe my heart had already died the moment he shielded Ava at the wedding.

"So what?" I asked quietly.

My calmness caught both Daniel and Linda off guard.

They expected me to cry, break down, go hysterical, but none of that happened.

Daniel looked up, his eyes full of complicated emotions as he stared at me. "Emily, I know I've let you down. But what's done is done. The baby Ava's carrying is innocent.

"How about this? When the baby's born, we'll put him under your name. You'll be his mother. As for Ava, I'll give her some money and send her away."

He said it all like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Like he was trading goods, not deciding my fate.

Linda jumped in to back him up. "That's right. Emily, don't be ungrateful. Look at how you're supposed to have kids in the future? The Shaw family needs an heir. Letting you be the mother is the best deal you'll ever get.

"And besides, men fool around, that's how it is. As long as you behave and stay Mrs. Shaw, you'll still get everything you deserve."

I listened to their back-and-forth, like I was watching a ridiculous play.

The man I'd loved for five years, the mother-in-law I'd once respected so this was who they really were.

I closed my eyes, feeling completely drained. "I'm tired. You can leave now."

Daniel thought I'd given in.

He let out a sigh of relief, and even managed a smile. "Alright, get some rest. I'll come check on you later."

They left.

The hospital room finally went quiet.

I opened my eyes, and the blinding white ceiling made my eyes ache.

I didn't cry.

I reached into the bedside table and took out my old backup phone.

This was my work phone, barely used.

I sent a message to my childhood friend, Sophie Lane, my best friend. [Sophie, help me find a lawyer. The best one, someone who specializes in divorce.]

After sending the message, I deleted the chat.

Then I switched the old phone to silent and turned on the recording function.

I slid it under my pillow.

From today on, I wasn't that naive, foolish Emily anymore.

Everything they owed me, I was going to take back, every last dollar, with interest, and then some.

That night, Daniel showed up again, like I expected.

He brought a thermos with my favorite pigeon broth.

He ladled it out, carefully blew on it to cool it down, and offered it to me. "Emily, have some soup. It'll help you recover."

He was putting on his usual act gentle, caring, just like always.

If it weren't for everything that happened today, I might've almost fallen for it again.

I didn't move. "I'm not hungry."

Daniel's patience was clearly wearing thin.

He slammed the bowl down on the bedside table, and some soup splashed out. "Emily, what do you want from me? I've already said I'll take care of you. I'll handle Ava too. What else do you want from me?"

I looked at him and suddenly asked, "When does it start between you and her?"

Daniel's eyes flickered. "It's all in the past. Why bring it up now?"

"Three years ago, right?" I said for him.

I said, "The first time you went abroad for work, you were gone for two weeks. When you came back, you brought me that necklace I loved so much.

"And that's when you started transferring a monthly payment to an account under Ava's name."

Daniel's face changed in an instant. He stared at me in shock, like he didn't even recognize me. "How did you know?"

"I know more than that. I know you used the money we saved for our wedding home to buy Ava an apartment in the west of the city.

"And the deed to that apartment has her name on it. Am I right, Daniel?"

I'd known about all this for a long time.

I kept lying to myself, always making excuses for you.

I thought that once we got married, everything would get better.

I was so naive.

Daniel's shock turned into anger. "You investigate me?"

"I don't investigate you," I said calmly. "You make it way too obvious."

The hospital room fell into a dead silence.

Under my pillow, the phone quietly recorded everything.

Daniel probably never expected that the docile little rabbit he thought I was actually knew everything.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again, his voice tired and resigned. "Alright, Emily, I admit. I buy the apartment, and I give her the money. But it is..."

"What?" I pressed.

"It is a mistake. The one I love is you. The one I want to marry is you."

He said it without even blinking.

What a good actor.

"I'm tired," I cut him off. "You can go now."

Daniel gave me a long, searching look, his eyes full of scrutiny and a wariness I couldn't read.

He didn't say another word. He picked up the thermos and walked out.

The moment he closed the door.

I took out my phone and pressed save.

This was the first piece of evidence.

There would be more to come.