Chapter 2

Philip showed up at the hospital the next day.

"Claire's situation was urgent yesterday, so I didn't have time to come see you," Philip said.

Philip kept an eye on Emily's mood as he spoke.

"What happened yesterday was an accident. Claire was worried you'd be upset, so she bought you some cookies," he added.

Then Claire handed Emily a beautifully wrapped gift box.

Every cookie bore a bright red heart.

It was a symbol of happiness.

Emily looked at the box of cookies and let out a cold snort.

"Are these supposed to be for celebrating my miscarriage?" she sneered.

Claire took a step back with a pitiful look on her face and grabbed Philip's hand tightly.

"Philip, I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I told the shop assistant to get the chocolate cookies Emily likes, but somehow they gave me those cookies instead," Claire said.

Philip quickly stepped in front of Claire, shielding her behind him.

"Emily, Claire didn't mean any harm. Do you have to be so nasty about it? She was trying to be thoughtful. It's fine if you don't care, but do you have to be so mean?" Philip snapped.

"You can always get pregnant again. Why are you blowing this out of proportion? It's not your first time, anyway," he said coldly.

Emily stared at Philip, whose face was always cold whenever he looked at her, but now, because of Claire, it was suddenly full of emotion and intensity.

She should have seen it coming. Philip's moods were always about one person.

And that person was always Claire.

Emily first met Philip at a high-society matchmaking event.

Philip, thirty-four years old, was dragged there by his family.

He always had that guarded, unreadable look, especially around women.

But Emily fell for the ice-cold Philip the moment she saw him, boldly declaring she'd make him hers, no matter what.

Frank had tried to talk her out of it.

Among the elite, Philip was known as someone unshakable, detached from all the chaos around him, as if nothing could ever touch him.

On top of that, he'd taken in a girl as his niece, no blood relation at all, and she was only nine years younger than him.

People in their circle always whispered that something was going on between the two of them. Some said Philip avoided women all these years because of her, and a few went to joke that he was creepily obsessed with his niece.

Emily tore into those people, calling them out for their twisted minds.

Just like that, Philip popped the question.

Emily was on cloud nine.

There was no wedding or ring, only a marriage certificate to show for it.

Philip posted their marriage certificate on his social media, and Emily thought she'd won him over.

But looking back now, she realized Philip had only married her to quiet the gossip.

After they got married, Emily pulled out all the stops to get Philip's attention, but he never looked her way. They always slept in separate rooms.

Still, every month, there came nights when Philip would storm into her room, bringing no warning, no tenderness, and no feeling. To him, she was merely a lifeless doll, there to satisfy his needs.

Emily kept reassuring herself, trying to believe it was all okay.

She told herself that it was fine, and that if she kept trying, maybe one day she would break through his icy shell.

But then she stumbled upon the secret Philip kept hidden in his private retreat.

Philip never let anyone into that room, but on their wedding anniversary, Emily wanted to give him a surprise and hid herself in the closet inside his private retreat.

What she saw was something she wished she could never see.

Philip had edited Claire's and his own faces onto the actors in adult videos, using them to fuel his private fantasies and satisfy desires he'd never dared to show.

In that instant, everything Emily had ever believed in came crashing down.

Philip wasn't some emotionless saint, nor was he uninterested in women. The truth was, the only person he'd ever loved was Claire.

In order to restrain his overpowering feelings, he adopted a composed, detached demeanor, striving to cleanse his heart of the love he could never reveal.

Emily stared at Philip with a cold, emotionless gaze.

"Not anymore," she said, her voice flat.

Philip froze, caught off guard.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, his voice tight.

"No more kids," Emily replied.

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her eyes were icy cold.

Philip met Emily's gaze. Something about the way she looked at him made his skin crawl, and he couldn't explain why, but a sudden sense of unease crept over him.

Seven days after Emily got out of the hospital, she went straight to the embassy to start her immigration process.

Back when she secretly married Philip without telling her family, her parents were livid, calling her crazy for chasing after him and marrying into his family.

Now she'd snapped out of it. She was about to leave, for good.

"It'll take about ten business days to process everything," the embassy staff member said.

Emily took the receipt from the staff member and was about to leave when she heard a familiar voice.

"Emily, don't tell me you found out Philip is taking me abroad and came here for your visa too? Why do you keep clinging to us like some annoying sticker?" Claire sneered.

Emily turned around and saw Claire sitting in the waiting area, shooting her a look full of disgust.

Philip was walking over with two passports in hand, and when he spotted Emily, a flicker of annoyance crossed his face.

"What are you doing here? Are you following me?" Philip said.

Emily let out a cold laugh.

"What, I'm not allowed to take care of my own stuff? Does the whole world have to revolve around you, Philip?" she snapped.

Philip noticed the hospital wristband Emily hadn't taken off yet and remembered she'd gotten out today. His face eased up a bit.

"Claire's birthday is in about ten days. She's always wanted to check out Andorra, and I already promised I'd take her," Philip said.

"Philip is taking me by myself, without a third wheel," Claire said, all smug.

Claire stood up and clung to Philip's arm, grinning.

"I see," Emily said, her tone icy and indifferent.

Emily stuffed the receipt into her bag, ready to leave, but Claire grabbed her wrist.

"Hand over your receipt. Did you get a visa for Andorra as well? Are you trying to sneak along and wreck my trip with Philip?" Claire snapped.

As she spoke, Claire lunged for Emily's bag, trying to yank it out of her hands.

Emily's gaze turned icy.

"Let go. I don't care where you two are off to. If you keep making a scene, don't blame me if I stop playing nice," Emily snapped.

But Claire wouldn't let go, clutching Emily's bag with a death grip.

"You shamelessly chased after Philip to marry him, and now you're pretending like you're some victim? If you hadn't gotten in between Philip and me, none of this would have happened," Claire spat.

Before Claire could finish, Philip jumped in, a bit rattled.

"Claire, Emily is my wife. You're the junior here. Show some respect when you talk to her," Philip said.

Claire froze, tears brimming in her eyes, her voice choked with sobs.

"Philip, are you going to take her side and scold me? You promised you'd always put me first, that I'd be the only one you ever cared about. Is it all because of her?" Claire whimpered.

Philip's expression shifted, struggling to keep his emotions in check as he gazed at Claire with obvious affection.

"Claire, it's not like that. There's a reason I married her," Philip began.

He didn't finish his sentence. He lowered his head, fists clenched so hard that his knuckles stood out.

Emily didn't need him to spell it out. She knew what he wanted to say

She was nothing but a convenient cover for Philip, someone to shut people up and keep the rumors at bay.

The only one he ever cared about was Claire, his so-called niece. He was terrified that if he spent too much time alone with her, he'd lose control.

That's why he hid a bunch of deepfaked clips in his private retreat, swapping his and Claire's faces onto the actors. Whenever he couldn't fight it anymore, he'd use those videos to get his fix.

Emily glanced at the two of them, acting like star-crossed lovers, and let out a self-mocking shake of her head when she walked away.

As Emily was about to step out the door, Claire came tearing out after her, losing it.

"I'm not done yet. Who said you could walk away? This is all your fault, you bitch! Why don't you drop dead already? If you were gone, nobody would ever get between Philip and me again," Claire shrieked.

Out of nowhere, Claire shoved Emily with all her strength, sending her crashing down the whole flight of stairs.

"Ah!" Emily screamed.

The whole place erupted in chaos, people screaming and shouting all around.

Instinctively, Emily reached out, her hand instantly slick with bright red blood. A wave of dizziness crashed over her, and she blacked out, falling into a pool of blood.