Chapter 2

Kathleen had known Greg for nearly 30 years. They had grown up together.

As a kid, he was the boy next door who could always talk her into eating. Years later, he was a few years ahead of her in school and somehow always seemed to be around.

By the time they eventually got married, both families couldn't have been happier with the match.

Greg had always doted on her.

In middle school, he stepped in whenever bullies gave her trouble. In college, he would cross half the campus just to model menswear for her fashion design assignments.

Kathleen had always thought their marriage would be just as easy and happy as everything that had come before.

Then came the car accident. She had protected Greg during the crash, and the injuries she suffered left her unable to have children.

Greg blamed himself and started drinking to cope. That was how he happened to run into Rita, one of Kathleen's former college classmates.

Rita had fallen on hard times and was working at a bar to make ends meet, but she was still cheerful and optimistic. She comforted Greg and helped him through it.

Little by little, the two of them grew closer.

At first, Greg was simply grateful to Rita. He bought her small gifts now and then and rented her a nicer apartment.

Later, Kathleen walked into Gilliam Mansion and caught Greg and Rita together, both of them barely dressed. She nearly clawed Rita's face off that day.

Rita immediately ducked behind Greg, cowering there as she explained, "I only moved in because I needed somewhere to stay. Greg found me a new job, and I had some questions I wanted to ask him."

Kathleen's voice trembled. "And you had to take your clothes off to ask them?"

Greg was young and hotheaded back then. He thought Kathleen was making too much of it and refused to back down. In a fit of anger, he signed the divorce papers.

But less than six months after Kathleen left, Greg missed her so badly that he practically lost his mind trying to get her back.

He swore that he and Rita were completely done and that he would never have anything to do with her again.

Kathleen had once casually told him, "Unless you can bring me a star, I'm not forgiving you."

So Greg paid to have a group of seven stars named "Kathleen's Crown." He told her their love would last as long as the universe itself.

The day Greg and Kathleen got remarried, he lifted her high into the air, grinning like an excited kid.

Kathleen didn't say anything. She only looked down at their marriage certificate. She had taken him back because she still couldn't let go of what they had.

She also knew what being Mrs. Gilliam could do for her career. That name opened doors that would have taken her years to reach on her own.

Then, not long after they remarried, Rita showed up again.

With one hand resting over her stomach, she stood in front of Kathleen and pleaded with her, "I'm pregnant with Greg's baby. Please, just let me have this baby."

Greg looked just as caught off guard. He could barely look Kathleen in the eye.

"Kathleen, I swear things between Rita and me are over. It must've happened before I ended things with her. But the Gilliam family needs an heir. Someone has to inherit everything one day."

Kathleen looked at the man standing in front of her and suddenly felt as if she barely knew him. The irony was almost laughable.

"And what if I say no?"

Greg was silent for a long time.

In the end, he turned away and walked Rita out himself.

That night, Kathleen smashed everything in sight.

Then she shut herself inside a guest room tucked away in the farthest corner of Gilliam Mansion. She sobbed uncontrollably, thinking no one would hear her there.

By morning, Greg was back. When he found Kathleen, there was blood all over her hands and legs.

"Kat!"

His heart clenched so hard he could barely breathe.

Kathleen stepped away from him, her eyes cold. "You have to choose. Her or me!"

Greg went still.

After a long moment, he said hoarsely, "Rita agreed to end the pregnancy. Once that's done, it'll really be over between us."

That was when Kathleen finally stopped fighting. At least Greg had chosen her.

But things were never the same after that.

While Rita recovered from the abortion, Greg kept sending her food and supplements to help with her recovery. After that, he spent Rita's birthday with her every year, saying it was his way of making it up to her.

Kathleen argued with him about it more than once. To her, the way Greg treated Rita had gone far beyond simple concern.

But Greg always gave her the same answer.

"I did everything you asked. I even gave up my own child! Rita and I are completely over. But she was pregnant with my baby. Am I not even allowed to care about her at all? Kathleen, you never used to be this cruel."

Cruel?

So that was what he thought of her. Apparently, refusing to make room for another woman in her marriage was enough to make her cruel.

Eventually, Kathleen grew too tired to keep fighting. She told herself that no matter how absurd things had become, surely this was as far as it would go.

Then came the alumni get-together, and Rita's drunken confession finally exposed the truth.

Greg had never stopped loving Rita. He had simply hidden it from Kathleen. And Rita had never had the abortion. They had kept the baby after all.

Whatever hope Kathleen had left was gone.

She would never cry over Greg again.