Chapter 1

I merely gazed down at the paper shreds on the floor.

I said, "The way our assets are divided is quite unfair, I suppose. Well, since Jenna is about to go into labor in the near future, I guess I can allocate more—"

"Reyna Shepherd, that's enough!" My soon-to-be ex-husband, Edwin Reeves, interjected angrily through gritted teeth.

His eyes remained bloodshot as he began approaching me.

"Three months ago, you were still clutching a jerry can of gasoline while trying to die in the blazing fire with me! Don't tell me that you've finally learned how to be gracious instead of losing your mind now that your mom is dead!"

Edwin knew that Mom had faked her death. He also knew that I had broken down and slit my wrists on the day Mom supposedly committed suicide.

Yet, back then, he kept staring at me with scrutiny in his eyes.

"Think about your mom, whom you've driven to death, Reyna. Stop messing around, okay?"

I had loved Edwin with all my heart, only to hear him using my mom's life to pressure me into yielding to him.

I took off my wedding ring while replying calmly, "I've already thought it through, which is why I decided to let Jenna marry you."

Edwin clenched his fists tightly. His expression shifted into one of disbelief as he watched me slip the wedding ring onto Jenna's finger.

"Reyna Shepherd, that is our wedding ring! You've been wearing it for the past five years! Whenever Jen tried taking it off in the past, you'd fight her tooth and nail to protect it! Yet, you're now telling me you're giving it away?"

More tears spilled down Jenna's cheeks as she shielded her ring from everyone. Immediately, she dropped to her knees and started slapping herself right before me.

"I shouldn't have seduced Edwin, driven Reyna to insanity, and killed my own mother, to begin with! I'm going to die to atone for my sins right now!"

As Jenna spoke, she struggled to rush over to the rooftop.

Edwin quickly pulled her into his arms and began to comfort her in gentle tones. "This isn't your fault, Jen. We were both drunk that day.

"I've already booked a session with the gynecologist, who's already expecting you for your next prenatal check-up. Please don't get hurt, Jen."

Then, he turned to glare at me darkly.

"Reyna, you'd better apologize to Jen right now! What happened between me and her was purely an accident. We never betrayed you, to begin with.

"Isn't it bad enough that you've driven your own mother to death? Are you trying to kill your own sister as well?"

They were still putting up an act even at a time like this.

Guilt really was a useful tool, it seemed. Not only was it capable of cleansing a cheater's reputation, but it was also effective when it came to painting a victim as the sinner.

My lips were still etched into a smile as I retorted in a cracked voice, "Edwin Reeves, is my mom really dead?"

Edwin's expression froze up slightly.

"You… already know the truth?"

I merely let out a chuckle, my eyes still boring into Edwin's. Then, I made sure to enunciate every single word of my reply properly.

"What am I supposed to know? That my very own mother faked her death so that you and Jenna can live happily ever after while I wanted nothing more than to kill myself just to keep her company in the afterlife?

"Or are you asking me if I knew all about you trying to use my guilt to manipulate me into yielding to your mistress despite knowing that I loved you to the point that I'd be willing to die for you?"

For a moment, panic took over Edwin's senses. But soon he arranged his expression into an icy one, his brows already furrowed.

"Stop assuming that there's something dirty going on between every man and woman, Reyna. Jen is pregnant with my child, you know. I can't just leave her to fend for herself. Jen's well-being is my responsibility."

The final sentence made my breakdown seem like an absolute joke.

Again with the excuses.

Even though I hadn't done anything, I was still the one in the wrong.

But what did I do wrong?

Edwin was the one who had slept with Jenna on my child's death anniversary. After Mom live-streamed herself jumping off the building, someone had edited my photo into a death portrait, which had gone viral on the Internet for three long days.

Because of that, I was forced out of the company I had helped establish. All of my friends decided to cut off all ties with me. When I headed over to the local church just to pray for my deceased child with rosary beads in my hands, people would rush over just to spit at me.

Things had worsened to the point that someone actually snatched the candle I had lit for my child's honor and blew it out. His exact words were, "Since you're the scumbag who murdered your own mother, your child definitely deserves to go to hell!"

Amid my despair, I had called Edwin 27 times. He didn't answer any of them.

Left without a choice, I could only drag my bruised and battered body to the hospital, limping all the way. But that was where I witnessed Edwin accompanying Jenna to a prenatal check-up. To make things worse, my supposedly dead mother was standing right there with them.

But as I watched them leave, I suddenly felt that I had nothing important left in this life.

Soon, I accepted a job offer from an overseas company and booked a flight that would depart in three days. Then, I called the courthouse, hoping to schedule my divorce, only to hear the staff member's confused reply.

"You must have gotten it all wrong, miss. It's true that Mr. Reeves is married, but the spouse shows Jenna Shepherd's name, not yours."