Chapter 2

Kaylee's words kept ringing in my ears, but I didn't feel sad at all. I'd known that all along.

A few days ago, Kaylee had asked me to meet up and slapped a photo down in front of me. In the picture, Samuel was cuddled up with another woman.

I glanced at the photo and said calmly, "That's his wife."

Kaylee's eyes practically popped out of her head as she stared at me. "You knew? And you're still seeing him? Doesn't that make you the other woman?"

I smiled and laid it all out for her.

I was not someone who always attracted scumbags. I was a Scumbag Hunter.

My job was to set up traps for scumbags, helping their unsuspecting girlfriends see the truth. I tempted the guys until they broke up on their own and revealed their real selves.

And Samuel was my latest target.

His wife found out that Samuel was pretending to be some big-shot from a rich family. In reality, he was a mess: drinking, gambling, chasing women... Plus, he was up to his eyeballs in debt.

She came to me because all she wanted was for Samuel to leave empty-handed, so she could get a clean break.

I took the job, started playing the part, got close to Samuel, and step by step made him fall for me.

Now, I was one step away from bringing him home to meet my family, get engaged, and pressure him into picking a wedding date. That way, his wife could catch him red-handed for bigamy.

But the actors who usually play my parents were out of town filming a short drama, so I had to bring Samuel to my real home. I'd been pushing and coaxing him to set the earliest possible wedding date, but he kept making excuses.

The deadline for the job was almost here, and I was starting to panic when Rosa and Kara suddenly showed up and threw a wrench in my plans.

Rosa saw Samuel clearly favoring Kara, and her smugness went up a notch. She shot me a mocking look. "Didn't I always say you can't hold onto a man? Even Lucas Bennett ended up leaving you, didn't he?"

Hearing Lucas's name made my heart tremble. He was the first boyfriend I brought home. He was gentle, classy, and he treated me so well.

But once Rosa found out, she and Kara started sneaking around, pulling all sorts of tricks to mess with us and stir up trouble.

I was a kid back then, convinced I could never outshine Kara, the gorgeous school queen. Plus, I knew Mom would never stand up for me, so I broke things off with Lucas myself.

He looked completely blindsided, clearly wanting to talk it out, but I dodged him. The next day, I heard he'd gone abroad to study, and he disappeared for years.

Rosa's words stabbed right through me like a thorn. I looked up at her with icy eyes. "Rosa, did you and Kara mess with me and Lucas back then?"

Honestly, I already knew the answer, but I still held onto a sliver of hope. If she'd admit it, maybe I could finally let go of all those years of resentment.

But she scoffed, her face full of contempt. "You can't keep a man, and that's on you. No matter how good a guy is, you'll always lose him."

She shot a look at Samuel and said, "You couldn't keep Lucas, and you won't keep Samuel either," and then strutted out with Kara in tow.

Watching them disappear through the door, the last bit of family feeling I had for her vanished for good.

The next second, a daring idea started to form in my mind.

If they were trying to win Samuel over, maybe that'd force his hand and make him commit to a wedding date sooner.

But I never expected them to act way quicker than I thought.

*****

It was the middle of the night when Mom burst into my room, her voice trembling. "Natalie, Kara tried to kill herself."

My heart dropped. I rushed to the hospital with Mom.

The room was packed with relatives, and Kara was lying in bed, her face ghostly pale.

Seeing her lying there like that, I couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted. Honestly, she was caught up in Rosa's schemes. At the end of the day, she didn't know what was really going on.

I opened my mouth, about to tell the truth about Samuel. "Actually..."

But before I could say anything, Rosa suddenly threw herself at my feet, dropping to her knees with a loud thud, her cries tearing through the room.

"Natalie, Kara's only a kid. She didn't know what she was doing. She never should've fallen for your fiancé, but I've already given her a harsh lesson. How could you push her so hard, drive her to the edge like this?" said Rosa.

Still sobbing, Rosa crawled over to Mom, grabbing her hand and pleading desperately, "Brianna, please beg Natalie for Kara's sake. I promise I'll never let her see Samuel again. She's my only daughter. You have to save her."

Watching her put on that tearful act, any sympathy I had for her vanished in an instant. All I could do was sneer.

She really played the victim card to perfection.

But before I could say a word, Margaret suddenly raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face.

She jabbed her finger at me, yelling, "You heartless brat. Are you really going to drive Kara to her death for a man? How did our family end up raising someone as cold-blooded as you?"

I clutched my cheek and shot a look at Rosa and Kara. Their eyes were filled with smug satisfaction and defiance.

Turned out, Samuel was never what they wanted. All they cared about was stepping on me and coming out on top.

Fine, if they wanted to put on a show, I'd give them the performance of a lifetime, and this time, I'd make sure they pay back everything they owed me and Mom, with interest.

Right then, Mom reached out and grabbed my arm. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

I looked up at her, my eyes welling up with tears, my voice trembling with hurt.

"Do you care if I'm hurting?" I pressed a hand to my chest. "No matter how much my face hurts, it can't compare to the pain in my heart. Samuel's my fiancé. Outsiders can tell me to let him go, but you're my mother.

"Are you really going to push me too? When I was a kid, I had to hand over all my toys, my dresses, and my prizes to her. I swallowed it all.

"But now, you actually want me to hand over my fiancé. Who's your real daughter? Me or her?

"This time, I won't hand over my fiancé. Even if it was garbage, I wouldn't give it up."

I knew that as long as I stood firm, Rosa and Kara would double down and put pressure on Samuel.

All I had to do was play the devoted fiancée who refused to let go, and they'd fan the flames for me, helping me wrap up the final hurdle of my assignment.

Margaret was visibly trembling with rage at my words, and the relatives crowded around to comfort her, sending the hospital room into chaos.

Then, Samuel walked in through the door.

He immediately spotted Kara lying in the bed, hurried over, and grabbed Margaret's hand, apologizing. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I caused all this drama, and it's because of me that Kara ended up like this. I almost hurt her badly."

Then he turned to Rosa and made a solemn promise. "Rosa, don't worry. Since I'm Natalie's fiancé, I'm part of this family now. Kara got hurt because of me, so I'll take full responsibility. I'll make sure things are settled to your satisfaction."

With that, he strode over to me, his gaze icy and devoid of any warmth. "I think we should separate for a while."