Chapter 2

From the very first day Gideon stepped into Sloane Manor, I should've known that I could never win against him.

This wasn't the first time he'd sent me abusive messages. I'd even shown them to my parents before, hoping they'd finally see his true colors and stop being fooled by his meek, obedient act.

But they only looked at me with disdain.

"Ivan," Mom said. "As expected of a child raised in the middle of nowhere. To think you'd resort to such tactics to frame Gideon. It's disgusting."

Disgusting. My own birth mother had used such a word to describe me.

It wasn't until later that I learned that Gideon had long since prepared countermeasures. He'd told our parents that I'd picked up bad habits from who knew where, and that I loved making things up.

The truth was, all my parents had to do was look more closely, and they would've realized that the screenshots hadn't been edited; they were real chat records.

But they hadn't. They'd rather believe that I was making things up than accept that Gideon was capable of something like that.

Things hadn't always been this way, though.

Before Gideon came along, I was also my parents' beloved youngest son. So when exactly did my life take a turn?

It was after Gideon came into the picture and our parents took us all on a family trip. The whole way, they only paid attention to Hillary and Gideon, not noticing that I had already fallen behind.

I became lost in the unfamiliar city. A man told me he'd take me to the police station, and I believed him. But once I got into his car, my hands and feet were bound.

That was when I realized I'd run into a human trafficker.

Before I lost consciousness from the chloroform, I saw cars passing by, as well as a family of four walking past. They walked hand in hand down the street, looking extremely happy. They didn't even realize that they were missing a son.

I screamed desperately, but it was useless. They were completely immersed in the joy of being together as a family, completely oblivious to me and my predicament.

…

When I returned to our apartment, our marital home, the place was empty. I knew Lenora was still at the hospital taking care of Gideon.

Every piece of furniture in the place, down to the smallest decorative items, had been chosen by Lenora and me together.

Even though we hadn't officially moved in yet, it was already filled with memories.

I walked into the nursery.

Everything inside was soft pastel colors and filled with adorable baby items.

Lenora said she loved children and wanted to have a child of our own as soon as we got married. Compared to a child, I loved her more. I was also worried that once we had a baby, she wouldn't enjoy the same freedom she did now.

But Lenora had said that a child would be the fruit of our love.

Unable to refuse her, I had the nursery prepared in advance during the renovations. Whenever Lenora saw cute baby supplies, she'd buy them and place them inside. Over time, the room had filled up.

When we decorated this apartment together, I could clearly see the love in her eyes. So why had things turned out like this?

Suddenly, I heard the sound of the door opening. I walked out of the nursery and saw Lenora entering the apartment. She looked tired. It was obvious she'd put a lot of energy into caring for Gideon.

When she noticed how distant I looked, she walked over and hugged me.

"Ivan, Gideon suddenly fell ill today. You know he has depression. I was afraid something might happen to him, so I had to stay with him. As soon as he felt better, I came straight back."

She explained it so matter-of-factly, as if everything about the situation was perfectly normal, and I was the one making a fuss.

When she didn't hear a response from me, she realized I might be angry and quickly added, "Babe, it really was an emergency today. I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Let's pick another good date and hold the wedding ceremony then, alright?"

I looked at Lenora. The urgency in her eyes made it seem like she truly did love me.

If I hadn't known what kind of person Lenora Bennet was, I might've actually believed her. But this wasn't the first time she'd abandoned me for Gideon.