Chapter 4

I let out a sigh of relief the moment I heard the police.

Julia quickly pulled Kayla back.

"That's me. I'm Winnie, and I'm the one who called the police."

When I couldn't reach Hayden on the way to the store, I chose to call the authorities.

Fortunately, they arrived in time. I didn't even want to imagine what would've happened to Lola and me if they hadn't.

Kayla's strength was frightening.

Before I could explain the situation, Kayla burst into tears and accused us of stealing. She pointed at Lola. "Officer, she tried to steal a dress from my store, and I caught her in the act! Since when is catching a thief a crime?"

"Exactly! If we hadn't caught her, our store would have lost three million," Julia chimed in.

Lola held my hand. "This is my sister's store. I didn't steal anything."

"You're lying!" Kayla snapped. "This is my husband's store!"

Under the police officers' skeptical stares, I walked over and pulled out my business registration document. Then, I recounted everything that had happened.

To my disbelief, when Hayden's name came up, Kayla broke down sobbing. "Officer, I know hitting someone is wrong, but I was hitting a mistress! She destroyed my family and seduced my husband! How could I not hit her?"

The lead officer swallowed hard, then decided to take all of us down to the station.

In the mediation room, Kayla wailed that she was innocent. "I only slapped her a few times! In the old days, women like her would've faced public humiliation!"

Having had enough, I irritably pulled out my marriage certificate to Hayden and handed it to the police.

Thankfully, I always kept it in my car and slipped it into my bag earlier.

It finally served its purpose.

"I am legally married to Hayden," I said. "Officer, I don't need to explain further. I don't want mediation. She assaulted us, so handle this however the law requires."

Just then, Kayla pulled out her phone. Brimming with confidence, she opened her photo album. "Officer, her certificate is fake. The real one is right here. Look!"

I glanced over. My heart sank.

Sure enough, she and Hayden also had a marriage certificate, as she claimed.

What was going on? Did Hayden have a twin brother?

I quickly trashed that thought. Even if he did, why would they have the same name?

Lola gripped my arm and whispered, "Winnie, what's going on? Did Hayden marry both of you?"

Even the police were baffled. They placed my certificates next to Kayla's phone on the table. "This needs to be clarified face-to-face. Call Hayden here."

Since I had presented my certificate first, they asked me to call him.

But Hayden didn't answer.

When the line finally connected, it was his assistant. "Mr. Carter is in a meeting. Please don't call again."

Then, the line went dead.

Kayla burst out laughing. Julia even flipped me off.

"So you're the one with the fake certificate. Who did you think you were fooling earlier?"

I tilted my chin toward Kayla. "Then you call him."

Kayla smirked and dialed his number. Hayden picked up within seconds.

"Honey, I was attacked," Kayla whimpered. "I'm at the police station now!"

My stomach twisted. Soon, Hayden's voice came through the phone. "Don't worry, I'll be there right away."

His familiar voice extinguished the last flicker of hope inside me. Lola shook my arm desperately. "Winnie, what does this mean?"

I shook my head.

I met Kayla's triumphant stare as the endless wait began.

Half an hour later, a familiar figure arrived.

Hayden rushed straight to Kayla, pulling her in his arms. "Kayla, are you alright? Who hurt you? I'll make them pay."

"It was me," I said coldly.

I watched as his entire back stiffened.

Slowly, he turned toward me, his face drained of color. With a trembling voice, he squeaked, "W-Why are you here?"