Chapter 4

I looked down and sent the photo I had prepared in advance with a reply.

[Yes.]

Julian seemed relieved. He replied within seconds.

[Good. I’ll head over once I’m done. Love you, darling.]

What a hypocrite!

My lips curled faintly, but there was no warmth in my face.

All this time, he had played the role of a devoted husband and a considerate son-in-law perfectly. Every word and every gesture had seemed full of care.

Had I not noticed the gold bracelet and the couple photos, I would never have known how much deception hid behind that face.

At 6 p.m., relatives of the Holt family began arriving one after another. Nancy Holt was all smiles. She moved briskly through the crowd as she handled everything.

Her attentive and considerate demeanor gave the impression of an ideal mother-in-law.

Once, she had shown me the same careful attentiveness as a way of expressing the Holt family’s regard.

She remembered the fruits I liked and prepared them in advance each season.

When Dad’s blood pressure ran high, she specially arranged for herbal remedies to be brought from the countryside. She neatly packed them and sent them to our home.

When I caught an occasional cold, she would personally deliver soup and stay by my bedside until the fever broke.

I had once genuinely believed I had become part of a warm and caring family.

But at this moment, Julian stood beside Tessa, who wore a radiant smile. Behind them, relatives and friends gathered. She looked as though the “family” belonged to her.

Only I was an outsider, like a stranger excluded from it all. I had not realized when that had happened.

At 7 p.m., as everyone settled into their seats, Julian stood up with Tessa. He had her hand in his and raised a toast.

With tears and emotion, he recounted to his relatives how he and Tessa had met, grown close, and fallen in love.

More importantly, their love had given them a child.

He held Tessa tightly by the shoulder and declared that the child would inherit everything he owned and stand as the Holt family’s sole future hope.

The private room broke into thunderous applause. Everyone was moved by what they saw as a long-awaited fulfillment of happiness.

I sat in the adjoining room, watching this carefully staged display of emotion. I was almost tempted to applaud their “happiness” as well.

If only the man speaking so tenderly were not my husband…

Tessa spoke next. Her voice was thick with emotion.

She called Julian the best man in the world and said that when her pregnancy left her emotionally unstable, he had stayed with her. He had patiently comforted and cared for her.

“I must’ve done something truly good in my previous lives to deserve a man like him.”

Seeing them act in seamless harmony made my stomach turn.

While they were wrapped up in their sweet life together, I had been harmed. He had removed my uterus and forever stripped me of motherhood.

When they began trying for a baby, I was suffering from depression after the miscarriage. I had barely survived in the hospital room.

Even back then, when Nancy came to the hospital every day with nourishing soup, she had not come there for me.

I realized that it was only to keep me under watch, so Julian could freely go and be with Tessa, who had just found out she was pregnant.

At that moment, Julian clasped Tessa’s hand more firmly.

He pulled a velvet box from his pocket, dropped to one knee, and opened it.

Inside was a large diamond ring.

With overwhelming tenderness, he looked at Tessa and said, “Tessa, I know you don’t care about any of this, but I love you and want to give you the very best life. This family banquet is only the beginning. Once the baby is born, I’ll give you the grandest wedding and marry you with full honor and glory!”

The private room erupted in excitement, with shocked gasps all around the room.