Chapter 3

The moment I finished speaking, everyone at the table reacted differently.

"Emily, what's gotten into you now?" My dad was the first to stand up, slamming his hand on the table.

"Yeah, why all of a sudden?" Linda shot me a sharp look. "You're overreacting. Ryan brought Chloe over for dinner. Even if you're jealous, you can't make such a scene!"

The guilt in her eyes was impossible to miss.

I didn't bother explaining. I turned to Ryan, keeping my voice steady. "Ryan, today I only want one honest answer from you. Do you dare swear to God that there's nothing between you and Chloe?"

A flicker of panic crossed Chloe's face, and she immediately glanced at Ryan.

Ryan frowned and lifted his hand with a casual air. "I swear to God, if I've ever had any feelings for Chloe or had an affair with her, I'll get hit by a car the moment I walk out that door."

He said it without raising his eyes, as calm as if he were reading from a script.

But after knowing him for over twenty years, I knew his tells. Whenever he lied, his gaze would always drift upward.

"That's enough!" My dad slammed his fork down on the table. "Emily, if you keep acting like this, I'll have you sent to a mental hospital. Have you forgotten what's wrong with you?"

How could he say that? I was enraged.

Two years ago, he listened to Ryan, kicked me out of the company, locked me up at home, brought in a shrink and a fortune-teller, and forced me to sleep with Ryan.

When I threw up all over the floor right in front of him, all he did was frown and say I was hopeless. Now he had the nerve to mention that again.

I slammed my phone down on the table, screen facing up. The photo of Ryan and Chloe kissing in the office break room lit up the screen for everyone to see.

"Dad, open your eyes and look! He's cheating on me with my best friend. How can you blame me instead?" I snapped.

My angry words made the whole table go silent.

Ryan stared at the photo, his face going pale.

Chloe's fork dropped to the floor with a thud.

"Come on, this photo has to be fake!" Linda was the first to react and snatched the phone away. "There are so many AI apps out there now. This is definitely a deepfake. Ryan would never do something like this."

However, Ryan kept silent.

Chloe glanced at him and didn't dare to say a word.

Ryan's parents kept up their act, saying, "The photo's fake," "Chloe's only his secretary," "Don't let others come between you two."

I looked at my parents. My dad sat there with a deep frown, staring at the phone, while my mom clutched the tablecloth. Neither of them said a word.

"Jeff is right," my dad finally spoke up, his voice rough and flat. "Let's eat. That's the end of it."

He slid the phone toward me, as if the photo meant absolutely nothing to him.

My fingers started to tremble. "Dad, whose side are you on? Him or me?"

"Are you done with your drama?" My dad didn't even look up. "If you don't stop, just get out."

Seeing us arguing, my mom dragged me aside. "Emily, stop it. This is on you. Divorcing Ryan is out of the question, understand?"

"Why?" I stared at my mom, who now felt like a stranger. "He's cheating on me, Mom. Don't you see?"

She slapped me hard on the shoulder, making me stumble.

She lowered her voice, her eyes full of disgust. "Don't you realize you're frigid? Who would ever put up with you? Listen, even if Ryan really had the other woman and kids out there, just turn a blind eye, okay?"

I couldn't believe it. Those words actually came from my own mom.

She saw me crying, but instead of comforting me, she just said, "You deserve it."

Suddenly, I remembered a summer night at sixteen. Curled up with cramps, my mom got up to make me ginger tea. Holding my hand by the bed, she whispered, "Emily, if your future mother-in-law ever treats you badly, just come home."

But now I felt like my family had already abandoned me.

Strangely, even though I felt like I was about to fall apart, not a single tear would come.

I turned and headed straight for Ryan's study.

I was going to expose who he really was. Without another word, I stormed straight to the study.

When Ryan saw where I was heading, his face changed in an instant. "Emily!" He jumped up to block me, but I'd already pushed open the study door.

The white sheet in the study was still hanging where I'd pulled it halfway down that morning.

I walked over and pulled out the remaining thumbtacks one by one. The sheet dropped to the floor, and the nude portrait was revealed in full view under the lights.

I carried the framed portrait out and propped it up right next to the dining table, making sure everyone could get a good look.

"See for yourselves," I said, my voice unnervingly calm. "A married man paints his wife's best friend nude and hangs it in his study. Do you really think that's okay?"

Chloe shrieked and rushed over, yanking off her coat to cover the portrait.

Ryan stood there, his face stormy. The first words out of his mouth weren't regret but blame. "Did you break into my study?"

My disappointment was beyond words. And that was the man I once loved.

With all the proof of his affair laid out for everyone to see, the first thing Ryan did was turn around and blame me for calling him out.

My parents darkened their faces, but they didn't say a word.

Ryan's parents stared at the portrait, half-hidden under Chloe's coat, completely speechless.

"Divorce is out of the question," my dad finally spat out.

At that moment, I knew I'd lost my family for good.

"Fine. None of your business. I'll handle the divorce myself," I snapped, grabbing my phone and running out.

That night, after I ran out, nobody came looking for me.

I stayed at the bar all night, getting totally wasted.

Eventually, I crashed right there on the table.

I woke up, only to find I was lying in a strange bed, with no idea where I was.