Chapter 2

I stood outside the house, looking through the window, taking in the cozy dining room.

John, my husband who'd supposedly died two years ago, was sitting in front of a birthday cake. Adaline, my dear friend who claimed she'd gone abroad for work, placed a birthday hat on him.

Greta Parker, my mother-in-law, and Henry Foster, my own son, who'd repeatedly left on trips without me the last few years, were now clapping their hands and singing the birthday song.

They looked like such a warm and loving family of four, while I stood outside in the summer night breeze, feeling chilled to the bone.

For the last two years, I'd dreamed of such a scene every night. Yet it was now right before me, mocking me cruelly.

John clasped his hands together and closed his eyes to make a wish. "I wish for our family to always be safe and happy, and I hope we will never be separated."

That was the last straw that broke me.

My birthday had turned into his death anniversary. And on his birthdays, I would drown myself in booze to numb the grief.

These last two birthdays had caused me nothing but pain, like thorns driven deep into my heart. Yet here he was, wishing for his family to be safe and happy.

Only I wasn't included in this family of his.

It felt as if something had clenched around my heart, the unbearable pain making it hard for me to breathe.

Henry was happily munching his cake while saying, "I wish I could fake my death like you did, Dad! That way, I'll get to stay with Adaline all the time, too!"

"Don't you dare!" Greta chided him at once. "You still need to inherit the family company, Henry. We can't let that damned Cecilia get everything!"

John frowned. "Mom, don't talk about Cecilia like that. She has had to manage the company on her own for the last two years while taking care of you and Henry—"

"Fine. I'll stop," Greta interrupted impatiently.

Greta had never liked me from the start, and after John's supposed death, she despised me even more. She blamed me for insisting on going to the island that day. She said I was responsible for his death.

Feeling guilty myself, I allowed her to lash out at me and hit me as she pleased. But in the end, she turned out to be the best actress in the family.

I took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock on the door. When Adaline opened it and saw me, her eyes widened in horror.

Only then did I realize that she was pregnant.

"Congratulations! You're almost due, aren't you? Why didn't you tell your best friend about your pregnancy?"

Adaline's face turned ghostly pale. Her lips parted, but no words came out.

I stepped right past her and entered the house. Everyone was thunderstruck to see me.

Smirking, I stared right at the birthday boy. "Happy birthday, my dear husband."

John was frozen stiff.

Out of nowhere, I grabbed the cake and threw it to the floor. It just so happened to fall right beside Adaline, making her jump in alarm.

John rushed over at once to steady her, looking extremely nervous.

Henry stomped on my foot angrily. "You nasty woman! How dare you bully my mom! Get the hell out of here!"

I stared at the boy who was glowering at me, his expression hostile. I couldn't understand how the son I gave birth to after much difficulty and cherished with my whole heart would end up behaving like this toward me.

Frowning, John reprimanded him. "Don't be so rude to your mother, Henry!"

His eyes flickered with remorse as he turned to me next. "Cecilia, I can explain—"

I gave him a hard slap, but at the very next moment, my own ears were ringing as my head flew to the side.

"How dare you hit him!" Greta screeched at me. "You're the one who got in between John and Addy in the first place! You're the real homewrecker!"

Eyes red, I smiled bitterly and asked, "Am I?"

John avoided my gaze, neither confirming nor denying it.

The marriage I'd cherished and devoted myself to ended up being nothing more than a joke. The marriage certificate was just a meaningless piece of paper.

Adaline abruptly dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"It's all my fault, Cece. I'm the shameless one. I betrayed our friendship…"

She kept crying, becoming increasingly agitated. The emotional distress ended up affecting her baby. Clutching her abdomen, she gasped in pain.

I instinctively reached out to help her up, only to be shoved aside. I crashed right into a flower pot and fell onto the broken shards of pottery.

John picked Adaline up in his arms and left without a second glance. Greta also grabbed Henry and rushed off behind them.

But before leaving, she jabbed her finger at me and screamed, "If anything happens to my grandson, I'll make your life a living hell!"

I sat on the pile of broken pottery shards, my blood getting everywhere. It was a devastating sight.

My eyes were fixed on the wedding portrait hung up on the wall, depicting the garden wedding ceremony John and Adaline held.

When we got married, I wanted to do it at a chapel, but John refused. I'd never seen him as adamant about something as he'd been then.

Only did it all make sense to me—Adaline was the one who had a thing for garden weddings.

The pain in my chest suffocated me.

Just then, I got a video call from the 32-year-old John. As soon as it connected, he raged at me.

"Cecilia! Why did the date for Addy and my son's birthday move up? What did you do to cause her to go into premature labor? Are you trying to ruin Addy and force her to end up like you just because you can't have children anymore?"