Chapter 2

Ryan was completely freaking out. He grabbed my wrist hard, his panic showing in his strength.

"Emily, are you out of your mind? This is my mother's birthday celebration. Do you really have to embarrass us like this?" he snapped.

"Embarrass you?" I shook off his hand and shot back, "Am I the one causing trouble, or is it you guys making things ugly?"

"I..." Ryan stammered, glancing at Eileen for help.

Eileen finally snapped out of her shock, her face dark with anger as she pointed at my face. "You madwoman. Even if Ryan messed up, you can't air our dirty laundry in public.

"Don't you get that family business shouldn't be aired out? Are you trying to make the Carter family a laughingstock?"

I shot back, "Eileen, is this really about the Carter family's reputation right now?

"Your son was cheating on me with Chloe while I was pregnant. You expect me to take that? You're a woman too. Could you put up with something like this?"

Eileen was left speechless, just glaring at me.

Meanwhile, Chloe was sobbing so hard that she could barely stand, looking like she might collapse any second.

"Emily, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault," she choked out. "I-I fell for Ryan. It has nothing to do with him. Please don't blame him."

What a classic act, making her look so innocent.

She was piling all the blame onto herself, but in fact, she was giving Ryan a free pass, painting him as some helpless victim.

Sure enough, a few of Eileen's older relatives started whispering to each other.

"Chloe went a little too far. How could she fall for her own brother-in-law?"

"Honestly, it's because Emily's too tough. Men always prefer someone gentle."

I could barely keep from scoffing at their twisted logic.

I'd given up my career, rolled up my sleeves to cook and clean, and turned myself into the ideal wife and mother they wanted, only to be told I'm too tough?

[Detected a bitch twisting the truth. New quest: Expose her true colors. Requirement: Make Chloe's facade crumble in front of everyone.]

[Reward: 'Truth Vision' skill. Aid: A video with undeniable proof has been sent to your phone.]

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I took a deep breath and walked up to Chloe.

"So, you're saying you were the one who made the first move?" I asked.

Chloe nodded, her eyes brimming with tears. "Y-Yes. It's all my fault."

"Fine," I said, nodding. Then, without warning, I raised my hand and landed a fierce slap across Ryan's face.

The slap cracked through the hall, and suddenly, the whole room went silent.

Everyone froze, completely shocked by what I'd done.

Ryan held his cheek, staring at me in disbelief and fury. "Why did you hit me?"

"Hit you? A slap is too easy for you," I yelled, pointing at Chloe. "Did you hear her? Chloe admitted she was the one who came on to you.

"You're a grown man. Can't you even handle a little temptation? I was pregnant, and you were out chasing another woman. Do you even have shame?"

Tears started streaming down my face, though I tried to hold them back.

Ryan was left speechless, completely stunned by my outburst.

Chloe never expected I'd turn the blame on Ryan so suddenly. She rushed over and grabbed my arm. "Emily, please. Don't do this. Ryan just lost his head."

"Lost his head, huh?" I shook off her hand, shooting her a cold glare. "Chloe, stop pretending."

Seeing her still playing the innocent, I whipped out my phone.

"You think I'm making things up?" I said, tapping open the video I just got, turning the volume up, and holding my phone out for everyone to see.

The video was a little dark, but it was clearly a hotel room.

On screen, Chloe was in nothing but a bathrobe, hanging onto Ryan's neck in a soft, flirty tone. "Ryan, when are you going to divorce Emily? I don't want to sneak around anymore."

Ryan had his arm around her waist, looking totally pleased. "Soon. Once she has the baby and turns into some out-of-shape housewife, my mom will definitely force her to divorce me. Then I'll marry you."

The video wasn't long, but it exposed everything. People started to whisper.

"Unbelievable. How shameless can they get?"

"Turns out this was all planned from the start. That's disgusting."

"Poor Emily, getting set up like that while she was pregnant."

Eileen was furious. She was trembling all over, pointing at Ryan but unable to utter a single word. Her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Ryan and Chloe were stunned speechless. Never in their wildest dreams did they think the evidence of their dirty secret would be exposed to everyone by me in such a dramatic way.

[Congrats, host. Quest 'expose her true colors' completed. Reward: Truth Vision unlocked.]

When I glanced at Ryan and Chloe again, bright red tags popped up over their heads like some kind of game overlay.

Ryan's tag read: [Lie: Right now, I need to keep her under control. No way am I letting her get any of my money.]

Chloe's tag read: [Lie: As long as I stick to my story about making the first move, Ryan won't blame me, and Eileen will have my back.]

Seeing those tags pop up, I couldn't help but grin.

So this is Truth Vision, huh? Very useful.