Chapter 2

"My research is done. Let's go to the conference together," I said calmly the next morning.

Ever since I found out I was nothing more than a pawn in their love story, I had stopped compromising. After all, I had spent months on this medical study, and there was no way I'd let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

Perhaps out of guilt, Jude rarely argued with my suggestions. He replied, "Alright. But let's just check in and leave early. I doubt there's anything worth sticking around for anyway…"

I noticed a flicker of panic crossing his usually composed face before he quickly regained his calm. I didn't respond and simply got in the car with him, heading to the venue in complete silence.

Thalia was surrounded by admirers as if she were royalty when we arrived. Over the past few years, people hailed her as a rising star in regenerative medicine. A few of her published papers had gained decent recognition.

"Lyra, what brings you here? I thought you'd given up research altogether. Honestly, being a stay-at-home wife suits you," Thalia said sweetly, but her face showed nothing but contempt toward me.

I ignored her and turned my attention to the large screen displaying the upcoming presentations. One title caught my eye as it was nearly identical to mine, and Thalia's name was on it.

I rushed over and read through it line by line. Every piece of data and every argument matched my paper exactly. This was clearly the result of months of my hard work!

How had it become her achievement?

She noticed my stare and came up beside me without any hesitation. "What's wrong, Lyra? Does this research look familiar to you?"

"Shameless!" I cursed harshly.

Before I could say anything else, she cried out, "Lyra, what are you doing?"

I hadn't even touched her, yet she suddenly gasped in pain, slammed into the table before collapsing to the ground, clutching her stomach.

"My baby! Oh no, my baby!" she cried and screamed.

"Thalia!" Jude's familiar voice was laced with panic I'd never heard before. He rushed over immediately, his usually calm face full of tension and worry. "Lyra, are you out of your mind? She's pregnant!"

I was speechless, just watching coldly as he cradled Thalia in his arms with unbearable gentleness. The heartbreak in his eyes was practically spilling over.

Someone murmured, "I can't believe she would do something like that..."

"Don't you know? I heard Lyra was Thalia's husband's ex-girlfriend. It's probably jealousy. Poor Thalia."

The whispers around me reached my ears and made my whole body tremble.

Jude seemed to notice my distress and stood up, walking toward me. "No matter what, you shouldn't have pushed her. She's pregnant, and that was completely out of line."

I scoffed."Out of line? Then tell me—where did she get that paper?"

His expression shifted, unease spreading across his features as he hesitated. "Regenerative medicine research is all pretty similar. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

I laughed bitterly. To protect the confidentiality of my work, I had encrypted the file with a password that only he and I knew. When I reviewed the paper earlier, I discovered he had carefully added an ending to make the research more complete.

He had indeed kept his promise to help me refine the conclusion, except it was for the woman he truly loved.

I felt nauseous and turned to leave immediately.

Jude frantically grabbed my hand. "Lyra, are you going home? Let me take you back."

Pain stabbed through my chest, and I tried to pull away. However, he held on tightly, his tone unusually guilty. "Wherever you want to go, I'll come with you. Let's leave here right now, okay?"

I thought of my plan and turned to look at him, "Sure. Let's drive out to the spot just outside the city that we used to visit."