Chapter 2

The study door clicked shut in front of me, cutting off their low murmurs.

By the time I left the bedroom the next morning, the house was already empty.

Used dishes sat on the dining table alongside a half-eaten fried egg and half a glass of milk.

As always, they were left for me to clean up.

I pretended not to see them and dragged my heavy body to pack my belongings.

Inside the nursery, the tiny clothes and baby bottles and the items I had scraped together, biting my tongue after every single Blue rejection.

I packed them up and stuffed everything into my suitcase.

Once I finished, I called Samantha Wade.

Samantha was my mother's former student.

When I quit my job to become a housewife, she had tried so hard to talk me out of it.

She arrived quickly. Looking at my swollen belly and the suitcase, her brows pulled into a tight knot.

"Are you really going to take it this far?" Samantha asked, her voice heavy with concern. "Back then, you willingly handed over the Deep Blue project design to Daniel for free so he could sign the biggest client in Milan.

“Are you really ready to walk away from this marriage?"

I didn't argue. I simply handed her my phone, showing her two years' worth of allowance logs.

The endless sea of blue tags looked like the slow erosion of my dignity.

Samantha went silent.

She took my luggage and stopped at the door, turning back to look at me. "Nora, as long as you wake up, it's never too late."

A sudden tightness gripped my lower abdomen. I sat on the sofa for a while, waiting for the cramp to ease.

My phone chimed with a notification from the company's main group chat.

I didn't leave the chat after resigning, and they had likely forgotten I was still in it.

The latest post was an announcement showcasing Chloe's new design concept.

The attached drafting file made my fingertips instantly turn cold.

It was a design I had spent two grueling weeks on, a few months ago when I was planning to rejoin the creative team.

But then I unexpectedly got pregnant, and Daniel said the timing wasn't right.

So the timing wasn't right for me, but giving my work to Chloe was perfectly fine.

I typed a single line into the chat.

[When did the design drafts saved on my personal laptop become yours?]

Daniel replied immediately.

[Stop talking nonsense in the group.]

A second later, a system prompt popped up.

[You have been removed from the group chat.]

---

When I arrived at headquarters, hushed whispers followed me down the hallway.

"Look, she actually brought the drama to the office. How petty."

"She stays at home living the easy life and still can't satisfy herself. All she does is get jealous."

"Chloe got to where she is on merit. Her? Pure luck. Just because she married well!"

Ignoring the gazes digging into my back like needles, I walked straight into Daniel's office.

Chloe was inside. A form sat on his desk, and Daniel was in the middle of signing it.

I glanced down. It was a project performance bonus for a forty-thousand-dollar company car allowance.

The project hadn't even started, yet the bonus was already approved.

No color tags, no approval tiers. He signed without a second of hesitation.

Looking up and catching me staring, Daniel instinctively flipped the page over.

"Since you're here, apologize to Chloe," he said, his voice cold and commanding.

I stared at him in disbelief. "Apologize to her?"

"Nora, there's a limit to jealousy. Posting those accusations in the main group makes Chloe look bad."

I let out a harsh laugh.

"Stealing someone else's design doesn't make her look bad?

“Approving a forty-thousand-dollar car allowance before a project even starts doesn't make her look bad?"

Chloe tugged softly at his sleeve, her voice quiet. "Daniel, let's just forget the car. Don't fight because of me. I don't want Nora to resent me even more for holding up her requests."

His face hardened completely. "So this is still about money for you.

"Then let me give you a lesson you'll remember."

He pressed the intercom on his desk and ordered security to physically remove me from the building in front of the entire company.

Outside, the cold wind hit my skin, and a sharp, severe pain pulled deep in my abdomen. I quickly sat down on a stone bench near the entrance.

My phone buzzed twice in succession.

The first message was from the hospital.

[Mrs. James, your test results are in. Your risk of premature labor is extremely high. You must be admitted by the day after tomorrow at the latest to prepare for delivery.]

The second message was from Daniel.

[I've frozen your credit card. I'll unfreeze it when you apologize.]