Chapter 3

"What's wrong? Is there something you're afraid I'll see?"

Avery shook her head frantically. "Of course not, Elle! Please, just let me explain!"

She reached for me, but I stepped slightly to the side. Her hand missed, and she stumbled forward, nearly losing her balance.

"Avery!"

Daniel hurriedly caught her in his arms. When he turned to look at me, a trace of anger flashed in his eyes.

"Elle, what are you doing? You heard that Avery is pregnant. Can't you at least show her some consideration?"

I met his furious gaze without flinching. "Pregnant? Whose baby is it?"

The anger drained from Daniel's face, and he looked away.

"Obviously, it's her boyfriend's. I was at the hospital for therapy to help me overcome my fear of marriage, and I happened to run into Avery."

Avery immediately played along with his explanation. Forcing a stiff smile, she reached for my hand.

"That's right. What a coincidence, huh?" she said with a nervous chuckle. "Elle, please don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't deliberately hiding my pregnancy from you. Please don't be mad at me, okay?"

Seeing the uneasiness in both their eyes, I glanced at the time on my phone.

"I haven't misunderstood anything. But I need to go for my medical exam now."

They both froze for a moment before visibly relaxing. Only then did Daniel hurry after me. He quickly followed after me.

"Elle, let me go with you for your checkup."

"Don't worry about me," I replied, declining his offer.

Daniel instinctively glanced at Avery before nodding absentmindedly. "All right, Elle. Be careful."

He turned away without hesitation, and I watched him open the car door for Avery. My eyes stung so badly that it hurt.

After finishing my medical exam, I returned home to find the spacious house feeling colder and emptier than ever. There were barely any of Daniel's belongings in it.

He'd bought the house as our marital home and put the deed in my name. But because he was afraid of marriage and disliked feeling tied down, he rarely came home.

He'd once told me that even if he couldn't give me a marriage certificate, he'd give me everything else that came with being married, from our marital home and wedding dress to our wedding rings. He'd even made sure to introduce me as his wife to everyone he met.

And in his own way, he'd kept those promises. Whenever I was sick, he'd bring me a container of stew, crouch beside my hospital bed, and reassure me, "Your husband's here. You don't have to worry."

After work, he'd drive to my office and wait outside for me. Whenever he ran into someone, he'd proudly announce, "I'm here to pick up my wife."

I'd thought that was what love looked like. It had never occurred to me that his love could be nothing more than an act.

…

The next day, I received a notification that my application to join an overseas ballet company had been approved.

I was just about to accept when a message from Daniel appeared on my phone. "Elle, I was really out of line yesterday at the hospital. I've thought about it a lot, and I want us to make our marriage official."

I froze, barely able to contain my reaction.

The words I'd waited eight years to hear had finally come, yet they arrived at the very moment I'd decided to leave. It was too late now.

A loud pounding on the front door interrupted my thoughts. When I opened it, I found Daniel standing outside, his expression dark with fury.

"Eleanor Cooper, did you post those pictures of Avery and me leaving the hospital online?"

Avery stood behind him, her face so pale that she looked bloodless.

"Elle, I just want the truth. Did you really post those pictures online? Everyone is attacking me now."

She clutched her stomach, her voice weak and trembling. "I got so upset, and then the baby..."

"Avery, if it wasn't her, who else could it have been?" Daniel snapped, no longer bothering to keep the truth hidden.

"Eleanor, Avery has always put you first! She even asked me to get a fake marriage certificate just to make you happy! And what did you do? Just because I accompanied her to the hospital, you went and killed our child!"

The veins in his neck bulged as he raged. He grabbed my arm so hard that his fingernails dug into my skin, drawing blood. He didn't even seem to notice.

I didn't struggle or try to pull away. I simply looked at him.

"Daniel, so when you said you wanted to make our marriage official, that was a lie, too?"

He froze, and his grip slowly loosened. When he noticed the deep nail marks on my arm, a flicker of panic crossed his face, but anger quickly swallowed it up.

"Since things have come to this, there's no point hiding it anymore." He laid everything bare without hesitation. "Yes! Avery and I have been married for a long time. We've been keeping it from you and lying to you the whole time!"

He pointed at me, his eyes burning with hatred. "But that still doesn't give you the right to kill our child!"

Avery hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Daniel, stop! Please, I'm begging you. Don't say anything more."

Her eyes filled with desperation as she pleaded with him. "We… we'll have another child someday. But Elle is the most important friend I'll ever have."

Daniel's eyes reddened as overwhelming fury simmered beneath his gaze, barely held in check.

The next second, my parents burst through the door.

"Elle, didn't we explain everything about Daniel and Avery at the last wedding? How could you still do something like this?"

I stared at the accusation in their eyes, momentarily stunned.

Avery's father had once risked his life to save my parents, and out of gratitude, they'd adopted her.

From that day on, whenever my parents showed concern for me, they'd always check on Avery first. Whenever they bought me new clothes, they'd make sure to buy something for her before getting anything for me.

But I'd never imagined that even when it came to my own marriage, I'd still be the one who came second.

"You… you already knew?" Daniel seemed to snap out of his daze. He fixed me with a piercing stare, his voice strained as though he were forcing the words through clenched teeth.