CHAPTER 2.

Grace’s POV.

I stared at the woman, still in shock. “What? What are you talking about?”

She raised her hand proudly, flashing a diamond ring that glittered under the restaurant’s lights. Her lips curled into something between a smile and a snarl.

“I’m Ryan’s wife,” she said.

The words hit me like a punch to the chest, knocking the air from my lungs.

For a long moment, I just stood there, staring at the ring, my mind refusing to process it. Wife? Did she just say Ryan’s wife?

My heart pounded as I stared at the woman standing before me, her eyes blazing with fury, her diamond ring catching the light like a weapon. She held her hand high, triumphant, as though she’d just won a battle I hadn’t even realized I was fighting.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered, voice shaking.

She smirked and slipped her phone from her purse with the calm precision of someone who knew she had already won. A few taps, and she turned the screen toward me.

My breath caught. Right there on the screen were wedding photos of her and Ryan. She wore a white gown, Ryan, a suit, their hands linked with smiles I couldn’t tell were real or staged. The pictures screamed a truth I wasn’t prepared to face.

“This,” she said coldly, “is what I’m talking about. We’ve been married for three months now.”

A chill crept over me, numbing my skin. “That’s not true. It can’t be,” I whispered, eyes darting to Ryan.

He sat like a shadow of himself—pale, silent, refusing to meet my gaze.

“Tell me this isn’t true. Tell me she’s lying.”

He finally looked at me, shame etched across his face. That silence shattered me more than the slap had.

“Ryan,” I begged, voice breaking, “say something. Stop her. Tell me this isn’t real.”

When he spoke, his voice was low, heavy. “Grace…It’s true.”

The room tilted. My chest felt hollow, as if someone had scooped out everything inside me.

“And you didn’t see fit to let me know? Leading me on all these months after one year of being together?”

“I couldn’t,” he said quickly, voice cracking. “I Iove you, Grace. I never loved her. That marriage wasn’t my choice. It was forced, a business deal I didn’t want. I couldn’t tell you because I knew I’d lose you.”

“Oh, shut up, Ryan,” his wife snapped, slamming her palm on the table. She turned to me, venom in her gaze.

“Don’t believe him, Grace—or whatever your name is. He agreed to this marriage willingly. He chose it for the business collaboration. Don’t let him fool you.”

My throat tightened. I turned back to Ryan, searching his face for an answer, but before I could speak, she leaned closer, her words slicing through me.

“I had to follow him here to warn you. You’ve been a problem in our marriage. He won’t touch me or spend time with me, which led me to find out about your… relationship with him.”

“Stay away from him, Grace,” she hissed, voice dropping, menacing. “If you don’t, it will cost you more than your pride—it will cost you your life.”

She tugged at Ryan’s arm, and to my horror, he stood without resisting. He wouldn’t even look at me.

He hesitated, eyes flickering toward me with something like regret, but then he walked away with her, leaving me alone, drenched in spilled wine.

Every pair of eyes in the restaurant felt like a weight pressing down. Heat crawled into my bones, embarrassment and betrayal merging until I wanted to disappear.

I couldn’t move. My body felt frozen, chest aching in a way that made it hard to think or breathe.

I was still staring at the empty seat Ryan had left when a waiter appeared, impatience hardening his jaw.

“Miss, you need to settle the damages,” he said, nodding toward the broken glass and spilled wine.

“I didn’t cause this,” I whispered, shaking my head.

“That’s not our concern. You have to pay for the damages and also settle the bills before you leave.”

His words cut through me, but I had no fight left. My hands trembled as I reached into my bag, pulled out my phone, and sent the last of my money to cover the charges.

Once the payment went through, I shoved the phone back into my bag and stood, the weight of everything pressing down as I pushed the door open and stepped into the street.

The air outside hit my skin, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning inside me. I wandered aimlessly through the streetlights and noise, barely seeing any of it.

My feet carried me until I stumbled against a wall and slid down, the tears I’d been holding back spilling freely—hot, unending, helpless.

How could Ryan do this to me? How could he promise me forever, promise me love, and then marry someone else behind my back?

I thought of defending him before my parents believed our relationship was genuine. I had built my world around him. And now it was all gone.

What was I supposed to do now? Where was I supposed to start?

My phone buzzed in my bag, pulling me out of my daze. I wiped my face with trembling hands and pulled it out, thinking it might be Sarah calling to update me about her hospital appointment. But instead, it was an unknown number.

My voice shook as I answered. “Hello?”

“Is this Grace?” a firm voice asked.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“This is the police. Your adoptive mother, Sarah, has been arrested. You need to come to the station immediately.”

My heart stopped. “Arrested? For what? There must be a mistake.”

“Come to the station. I’ll send you the address.” The line went dead.

For a few seconds, I couldn’t breathe. The phone slipped from my hand as the words replayed over and over in my head.

My mother—arrested? For what? She could barely hurt a fly. What could she possibly have done?

I grabbed my bag and ran, vision blurring, questions exploding in my mind, and a cold, desperate certainty settling in. Nothing in my life would ever be the same again.