Chapter 2 No Place to Go

When I dragged my suitcase out, there were still wedding decorations hanging in the living room. Wedding favors sat on the table, and Sophia's coat was draped over the couch.

It was as if they could not wait to turn this place into their new home.

Halfway through packing, I suddenly noticed that the birdcage by the window was empty.

I froze. "Where's my bird?"

My mother was clearing the table outside and did not even look up. "Sophia said it was cruel to keep it cooped up, so she let it go."

The clothes in my hands slipped straight back into the suitcase. "Let it go?"

Sophia was sitting on the couch, her voice soft. "I was just trying to do what was best for it. Wouldn't you rather let it be free than keep it trapped in a cage?"

I turned to her, my voice trembling. "It was a pet parrot. It won't survive out there."

She looked startled, as if I had frightened her, and instinctively covered her stomach with one hand. "How was I supposed to know? I was only trying to help."

"Trying to help?" I stared at her. "That was my bird. I raised it for years."

I turned to my parents. "You gave me that bird for my birthday. And you just let her release it?"

My father frowned, clearly not taking it seriously. "It was just a bird. It flew away. So what? If you want another one, you can always buy one."

Buy another one.

I stood there, suddenly unable to say a word. I lowered my head and went back to packing.

When my mother realized I was actually leaving, she finally panicked. "Stop this nonsense. You've lost your job. Where are you going to go all by yourself? We're doing this for your own good."

I picked up my suitcase and looked at her. "If this is what you call doing what's best for me, then you should never have had me in the first place."

I walked out.

My father's voice came from behind me, low and stern. "Remi, if you walk out that door today, don't ever come back!"

I did not stop.

At the door, Zane finally spoke. "It's still raining outside. Don't do anything you'll regret."

I turned back to him. "Zane, don't talk to me."

His face slowly went pale.

I carried my suitcase downstairs, the handle digging painfully into my arm.

…

I ended up staying at a run-down motel.

The room was tiny, the window would not shut properly, and it rattled whenever the wind blew at night.

I barely slept that night.

I had lost my job. I had lost my home. My boyfriend had become my best friend's husband. My parents had taken their side, and even my friends were laughing at me behind my back.

But when morning came, I still dragged myself out of bed and started sending out resumes.

I had to survive.

I had never been bad at my job. I had always been considered one of the company's key employees. I thought that no matter how unlucky I was, I could still find a decent job somewhere.

But things turned out to be even worse than I expected.

The first company had seemed interested throughout the interview, only to suddenly tell me the position had been filled.

At the second company, I had already arrived when the interviewer took a phone call. His attitude toward me changed immediately afterward.

The third company was even more blatant. They would not even let me in for the interview.

After getting rejected several times in a row, I finally realized something was wrong.

Then one day, as I stood outside the restroom, I heard a couple of people talking in hushed voices inside.

"That's her. I heard Wendy say she got fired for being a homewrecker."

"Wasn't she the one who stole someone else's husband? I can't believe someone like that would even show up for an interview."

I stood there, ice-cold all over.

My distant cousin, Wendy Hayes, worked at my old company too. She had been at the wedding that day.

I called a cab and went straight to the office.

The moment I walked in, I saw people sneaking glances at me.

Some lowered their heads and pretended to be busy. Others gathered near the break room, whispering among themselves.

I walked straight up to Wendy's desk. "Did you start the rumors going around?"

Wendy looked up at me with an innocent expression. "What rumors?"

"That I was the other woman. That I stole someone else's husband. That I got fired because of that."

She leaned back in her chair and smiled. "I never made anything up. I just told people what I saw."

I laughed bitterly. "I was the one who got betrayed."

But as soon as I said it, the whispers around us only grew quieter. Clearly, no one believed me.

Just then, Sophia arrived. She had come to the office to take care of some paperwork and walked right into the scene.

I looked at her as if she were the last piece of evidence I had.

"Tell them the truth. Who was the other woman? Were you and Zane seeing each other behind my back?"

Everyone's eyes turned to her.

Her face went white. Her hand instinctively covered her stomach, and her voice was so soft I could barely hear it. "Please don't do this. I have a baby inside me."

With that one sentence, she sealed my fate. The way everyone around me looked at me changed instantly.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she took half a step back.

"Things have already come this far. This baby can't grow up without a father. If you need someone to blame, blame me. Just stop making a scene, okay?"

I stared at her, my chest feeling as if a stone had been lodged inside it. I could barely breathe.

In the end, I was escorted out by security while everyone watched.