Chapter 3

I was the one who fell for Derek first, but in the beginning, he didn't see me.

It wasn't until the night Sophia got married that he called and asked me to come out. I kept him company as we wandered in the night breeze together.

After that, we started getting closer, but as I thought back now, it felt like Sophia's presence was always between us.

He kept Sophia's pictures in his phone, never able to bring himself to delete them.

He refused to take me to any restaurant he'd been to with her.

While I was lying at home with a raging fever, he chose to pick up Sophia, who was drunk, because her husband couldn't make it.

I spent these years living in Sophia's shadow. After her husband died unexpectedly, Derek did everything for her. He'd try to comfort me and said, "I feel sorry for her. Emily, you're the one I care about now. I know where the boundary is."

But he broke that promise immediately.

Derek thought I was using divorce as a bargaining chip to make him call off the wedding with Sophia, and in the end, he backed down.

"The wedding with Sophia can wait," he said. "We'll do it when you're ready to accept all this."

I shot back, "Do you think your precious Sophia has enough years left for me to come around?"

"Emily!" Derek snapped.

Back in the day, Derek would never have tolerated my attitude. This time, though, he swallowed his anger and said, "Linda wants to take you out to dinner. She'd like to make amends."

I froze for a moment, hesitated, and then sneered, "Sure, I'll go. Just bring along Linda's husband and Sophia, too. I bet a crowd will make things more fun."

Derek, thinking I'd come around, lit up and agreed instantly.

The dinner was at a fancy restaurant, and Linda had booked a private room.

I was the first to arrive, followed by Linda and her husband, Mark Evans. Then came Derek and Sophia.

They all showed up in pairs, and there I was, standing alone like some random extra in their little drama.

Sophia, looking utterly fragile, said in a trembling voice, "It's all my fault. I should disappear and stop causing everyone so much trouble."

Linda, who adored Sophia, quickly jumped in, "Don't say that. You're such a wonderful person. You've been dealt a rough hand in life."

Linda was on Sophia's side, every word full of care and support.

Derek, looking all worried, grabbed Sophia's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then he said, "Don't talk like that, sweetheart."

I cleared my throat, the noise loud enough to remind them I was supposed to be the center of attention tonight.

Linda tried to play peacemaker and said, "Emily, you know we've had a bunch of misunderstandings. I never sugarcoat things. It's how I am, so don't take it to heart. I wish you could be more gracious.

"Seriously, why make things hard between us? If you were in Sophia's place, wouldn't you have done the same?"

Linda acted like she was being compassionate, but I knew the truth. She'd never thought I was good enough for Derek. All her actions reminded me that I didn't measure up.

"Right, Sophia has it tough," I sneered. "She has a serious illness, yet she still puts on flawless makeup every day. She even managed to terminate a pregnancy."

My words had barely left my lips when everyone's eyes went wide in disbelief, especially Mark, who shot straight out of his seat.

"What?" Mark shouted.

I smiled, looking at the couples in front of me. At this point, I didn't need to hide anything anymore.

I added, "The day I found out I was pregnant, I saw Sophia at the hospital terminating a pregnancy.

"And guess who was with her that day? It was Mark. So Linda, looks like your family is out here playing saints. Your brother is handing Sophia a wedding, your husband is giving her a child, and what about you?

"Are you going to throw in some unconditional support to complete the charitable picture?"

I'd been sitting on this for a long time. I'd known for ages that Sophia was a total player, and Derek was just one of her many guys.

I'd tried to tell Derek about it, but he wouldn't believe me. He said I was jealous of how popular she was among men.

"That's bullshit. You don't have any proof," Mark snapped back, denying it outright.

I shrugged and added, "I saw you pay for Sophia's procedure with your phone that day. Wanna show everyone your payment history from that day?"

Mark's face went ghost-white.

"Even if I paid, that doesn't mean the baby was mine," he insisted.

I shot a look at Linda and Derek, who were shell-shocked by the truth bomb I'd dropped.

"Yeah, maybe it's not yours. It could be anybody's. But Linda will believe you without question. She's not like me. Jealousy is not in her nature, right?" I added.

Without a second thought, Linda grabbed Mark by the collar, demanding answers.

But Mark shoved her to the ground, and that was when Derek lost it. He punched Mark right in the face.

"How dare you hit my sister!" Derek roared.

Derek and Mark started wrestling with each other, dishes and plates smashing everywhere.

Linda was sprawled out on the floor, screaming her head off and hurling insults at Mark.

Sophia froze in the corner, her eyes wide and her mind reeling, caught between the urge to run and being swept into the drama.

I turned to Sophia and sneered, "Look how warm-hearted they are. Too bad I'm not one of them. That fortune is all yours, Sophia."