2

In the end, the Ferrari stopped in front of a familiar restaurant.

After I paid quickly and got out, I saw Alex holding Daniel’s hand and walking into the restaurant with a bright smile.

I noticed that it was a place with a dress code.

In a hurry, I took off my apron and threw it into a nearby trash can, straightened my clothes, and rushed after them.

Because I was in such a hurry to chase after Alex, I didn’t notice a figure suddenly appearing in my path—

“Ouch!”

The woman I bumped into let out a soft cry and staggered, grabbing onto a waiter to steady herself.

“Where did this reckless woman come from? Watch where you’re going! If you ruin my dress, you can’t afford to—Jenny?”

The woman stared at me in surprise.

I finally stopped and looked at her face clearly.

“Anna?”

The person I had bumped into was my own older sister—

Anna Walsh.

“No wonder a reckless woman like this would show up in such a high-class restaurant. So it’s you, Jenny. What are you doing here?”

Anna looked at me with obvious disdain.

I hadn’t expected to run into Anna here—my sister, whom I had a terrible relationship with.

But I had no time to waste listening to her sharp remarks.

I had to find out who my husband and son were meeting.

So I just threw out a quick, “We’ll talk later,” and tried to leave.

But Anna, who usually looked down on me, suddenly seemed oddly interested in talking today.

She grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let me go.

“Why are you in such a hurry? It’s been so long since we sisters last saw each other…”

I watched Alex and Daniel’s figures about to disappear around the corner.

Panic surged through me.

I forcefully pulled my hand free and pushed Anna aside, growling,

“Don’t pretend we’re close. You slapped me and said I wasn’t worthy of being your sister, remember?”

I swore I hadn’t used that much force.

But Anna was clearly picking a fight today.

The moment my fingertips left her sleeve, she immediately went with the motion and fell backward, collapsing onto the floor like a weak willow in the wind.

“Ah—!”

Her soft cry drew everyone’s attention.

Anna lay on the floor, milking the attention for all it was worth.

 She adopted a soft, aggrieved voice and accused me: “I just wanted to catch up with my sister. Even if you’re impatient, Jenny, did you really have to be so rough?”

Before I could respond, the waiter who had been holding Anna earlier seized the chance to play hero.

“Ma’am, please don’t disturb our guests,” he said, stepping forward as if to throw me out.

“Anna!”

Alex’s voice rang out.

He didn’t see me at first—but he immediately saw Anna, who somehow still managed to look graceful even while lying on the floor.

He threw down what he was holding and hurried over to Anna, carefully slipping one arm behind her back and the other under her knees, lifting her from the floor against his chest.

I had never seen his brows knit so tightly, nor had I ever heard him comfort someone in a voice gentler than the one he used on our child. Tears slid down Anna’s face, and he wiped them away with careful fingers, helped her into a chair, then smoothed her slightly messy hair. 

My husband and my sister, their intimacy closed around my throat, suffocating me, choking the sound I wanted to make in my throat.

The waiter yanked me sharply, and I almost lost my balance. My feet scraped loudly against the floor, and the sound made Alexander turn—or maybe it was Anna’s accusing me of knocking her down that made him look—and our eyes met.

Alex was clearly shocked to see me here.

He patted the back of Anna’s hand, stood up, straightened his collar, which Anna had slightly messed up, and then walked toward me. I waited for him to say something, but he just turned to the waiter still holding me and said, “This is my wife. Let her go.”

The waiter muttered unhappily,

“Oh. I thought the lady on the floor was your wife.”

Then he stepped aside.

My face flushed bright red.

Being nearly dragged out in public was humiliating. Watching people treat my sister as if she were my husband’s real wife was bitter. But what hurt the most was that I found myself unable to retort. 

I couldn’t say I didn’t see the way he looked at Anna. I knew what the eyes of someone deeply in love looked like. 

When Anna stood beside me, all eyes fell on her, all ears leaned to her, but even in my worst dream I never thought my husband would be one of them.

I must have looked awful, Alexander noticed. He took my cold hand, about to ask me with his usual concern.

When a crying little girl’s voice interrupted him.

A little girl about the same age as Daniel, wearing a pink-and-blue dress, ran out of the restaurant.

Daniel followed behind her.

The girl ran straight toward me, hit my leg hard, then turned to Alex and cried,

“Daddy! I saw that bad woman bullying Mommy!”