Chapter 1
On our wedding anniversary, I came home early and caught my husband kissing my adopted sister in the kitchen.
His hand was already inside her clothes.
I backed out quietly without letting them notice me.
It was not fear. I knew there was no point in crying or making a scene.
These two, one is my husband of seven years, David King, and the other is my fragile, helpless adopted sister, Olivia Brooks.
Everyone in the family thinks she is innocent and kind, including my brother, Michael Brooks.
I am the only one who knows Olivia is a snake in the grass.
Last year, when my father had a stroke, she pushed my brother to take the resettlement apartment that was supposed to be mine.
Her excuse was that a married daughter no longer belongs to her parents' home.
My mother wiped her tears and urged me to give in to my brother.
David did not say a single word back then. Looking at it now, something was already off between those two.
I tightened my grip on the test report in my hand. It read, early pregnancy, six weeks.
This marriage has to end, but not like this.
I will make this cheating pair, along with my bloodsucking family, return everything they took from me.
I will start with this child.
*****
The test report felt hot in my hand.
Early pregnancy, six weeks.
I should have been happy.
But half an hour ago, I saw my husband David's hand slip inside Olivia's clothes.
In the kitchen.
On our seventh wedding anniversary.
I stood in the doorway like an idiot.
Then I quietly stepped back out.
No tears, no scene.
Who would I even cry for?
Right now, David is probably still holding Olivia, whispering the same sweet words he once said to me.
Olivia.
My "fragile, helpless" adopted sister.
Twenty years ago, my father, Thomas Brooks, brought her home from an orphanage, a pitiful little thing.
Now she has grown into a beautiful snake that knows how to bite.
Last year, when Thomas had a stroke, Olivia pushed my brother Michael to take the apartment that should have been mine.
It's a thirteen-hundred-square-foot apartment.
Worth over a million dollars on the market.
My mother, Sarah Brooks, cried and told me, "You're the older sister, give in to your brother."
Thomas lay in the hospital bed, unable to form full sentences, but the look in his eyes said he agreed.
And what was David doing then?
Oh, right, he said, "We're family, don't make a big deal out of it."
Now that I think about it, they were probably already involved back then.
I was such a fool.
Seven years of marriage, wasted.
I walked to the garden in our residential complex and sat down on a bench.
My hand drifted to my lower abdomen.
There is a small life here.
A child whom David and I waited three years for.
But the timing could not be worse.
My phone rang.
It was David.
"Sophie, where are you? I bought groceries. I'll cook you a big dinner tonight."
His voice was gentle enough to melt.
I used to think that was love.
Now it just makes me sick.
"Traffic's bad. I'll be home late."
My voice was so calm it surprised me.
"Okay, drive safe. I'll wait for you."
After I hung up, I let out a cold laugh.
Wait for me?
More like waiting for me to catch them in bed.
Too bad I did not follow that script.
I opened my banking app and checked our joint account.
One hundred forty-eight thousand, six hundred thirty-five dollars and twenty cents.
Everything we had saved over seven years.
The apartment was bought by David before we married, in his name.
The car was a wedding gift from Thomas, but it was registered under David.
What do I have?
A few clothes, some makeup, and the child in my belly who should not have come now.
No.
I still have my mind.
A woman pushed to the edge thinks the clearest.
I looked at the test report again.
This child.
This unexpected child might become my best card to turn things around.
But I have to plan carefully.
First, I cannot let them know I am pregnant.
Especially Olivia.
She looks fragile, but she is more ruthless than anyone.
Last year, when she took the apartment, she cried in front of my mother like a helpless victim.
She said things like, "Sophie married well, she does not need this apartment. Michael is not married yet. How can he find a wife without a home?"
My mother's heart softened. My father was too muddled by illness.
Michael, that idiot, was completely under Olivia's control.
When I signed away my share, my hands were shaking.
David held me and said, "Forget it, we can always make more money."
Thinking back now, was he already sleeping with Olivia, hoping I would leave with nothing?
I took a deep breath and got to my feet.
The divorce is a given.
But I am not letting them get away with this.
David, Olivia, Michael, and my biased parents.
Every single one of them.
Anything they took from me, they will give back.
I will start with those two.
I rested a hand on my stomach.
"Baby, I am sorry.
"But I have to win this."
I walked to a pharmacy, bought a box of vitamins, and swapped out the test report.
Then I drove home.
When I opened the door, David was in the kitchen wearing an apron, cooking.
Olivia sat at the table with a glass of water, taking small sips.
When she saw me, she smiled, all innocence.
"Sophie, you're back?"
"What brings you over today?" I asked with a smile as I set down my bag.
"David said it's your wedding anniversary, so he invited me to celebrate with you."
Olivia blinked her big eyes.
"I was bored at home anyway, so I came."
David came out with a dish, his expression slightly stiff.
"Olivia hasn't been in a great mood lately, so I asked her to join us for dinner.
"Sophie, you don't mind, do you?"
I looked at him.
The man I have shared a bed with for seven years.
Right now, he felt like a stranger.
"I don't mind.
"The more, the merrier."
I said it and walked into the kitchen to wash my hands.
As I passed David, I caught the scent.
The perfume Olivia always uses.
A faint rose fragrance.
It clung to the collar of his shirt.
I turned on the faucet and scrubbed my hands hard.
The water was scalding.
But I felt nothing.
Because my heart was colder.