Chapter 2

I was considerate enough that day to give Gideon plenty of time to handle the situation, and it wasn't until 1:00 am that I slowly returned home.

But the moment I opened the door, Gideon's expression was stormy as he stared at me.

"Where did you go? I called you a dozen times."

I paused mid-yawn. "I went shopping with friends," I replied flatly.

He looked at me incredulously before he carefully studied my face. He had expected tears, a tantrum, maybe even a suicide attempt. The only thing he hadn't expected was for me to do nothing and instead go out and enjoy myself leisurely.

"What are you up to now?" he asked. "Helena's your sister, after all. Have a little heart. Don't go and hurt an innocent person."

I shook my head, my tone gentle. "She's my sister. I wouldn't do anything to her."

Halfway through, I suddenly remembered something and added, "She's not feeling well, probably from being scared. You should go check on her tomorrow."

A shocking silence fell over the room.

Gideon's voice sounded like it was being forced out of his throat.

"You… want me to go see her?"

I knew why he was so shocked. In the past, I never would've asked him to see other women; I would've interrogated him for three days straight if he'd so much as looked at another woman for a second too long.

Thinking about it now, I must have really lost my mind.

He grabbed my wrist tightly, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Ophelia Fairchild," he started, his voice carrying a slight tremor. "What on earth is going on with you?"

I brushed his hand away, my tone calm throughout. "Nothing. Don't overthink it."

I was tired after spending the whole day outside, not to mention I was carrying a baby in my belly.

Gideon's expression was livid as he followed behind me, but just as his hand reached for me, the phone suddenly rang.

As soon as it connected, Mom's shrill cry came through.

"Helena tried to kill herself! Someone leaked intimate photos of her. She had a mental breakdown and swallowed some pills!"

Gideon's gaze snapped to me, his eyes fierce and hard.

I was slightly taken aback. I had indeed done things like this in my past life, but what did it have to do with me this time?

Before I could explain, however, he dragged me into the car, completely unfazed by my resistance.

When we arrived at the hospital, Mom dropped to her knees with a loud thud.

"Please, I'm begging you," she pleaded, her face etched with desperate worry for Helena. "Let Gideon be with your sister. She's too pitiful."

I couldn't help the dull ache in my chest at her blatant favoritism. Shouldn't I be the pitiful one? I was the one who had been mistakenly switched at birth and had suffered greatly while growing up in the countryside.

By the age of four, I was climbing onto chairs so I could reach the stove to cook. If I made even the slightest mistake, my adoptive mother would slap me across the face.

At 12 years old, I dropped out of school and was sent to a textile factory by my adoptive father. Both my thumb and my index finger were crushed by a machine, leaving me with permanent disabilities.

Yet on the very first day I was brought back, Mom showed obvious disdain and suspicion.

"Is she really our daughter? Why is she so uncouth?"

Her crying snapped me out of my thoughts. I slowly turned toward Gideon, only to find him staring at me without blinking, as if he were waiting expectantly for my answer.

I smiled and looked back at Mom again.

"Of course. Other than giving her a marriage certificate, Gideon can be with Helena as much as she wants."

Her expression froze.

Gideon, however, stepped closer, grabbed my arm, and pinned me against the wall.

"You messed up, and now you're using me to pay for it? What the hell am I to you, Ophelia Fairchild?"

His roar pierced my ears, even breaking into a sob at the end.

Looking at his bloodshot eyes, I felt nothing but confusion.

"Isn't this what you wanted, though?"

All along, Gideon had been dissatisfied with our marriage, looking down on me for being low-class and rough around the edges. And even though he'd married me, it hadn't stopped him from having affairs.

So, why was he acting like this now?