Chapter 2

The cold breeze hit my face and cleared my head.

I took out my phone and dialed a number I had saved for a long time.

The person on the other end picked up quickly and said casually, “Ms. Lyon? I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

I tried to stay composed as I replied in a calm tone, “I’ve got a business proposition for you. Are you free to talk?”

The conversation ended half an hour later.

The party had already ended by then.

I stood by the curb for a long time before I managed to hail a cab.

It was already past midnight when I got home.

The living room light was still on.

Leonard sat on the couch going over work documents.

When he saw me, he put down the documents and strode over to me before pulling me into his arms and said in a low, concerned voice, “Where’d you go? I kept calling, but your line was busy the whole time.

“You had me worried sick.”

His chest was warm against me, rising and falling.

Then the reek of perfume and sweat hit my nose out of nowhere.

A wave of nausea hit me when the sounds I heard behind that door started echoing through my mind.

I pushed him off, covered my mouth, and bolted for the bathroom.

He was stunned for a moment before following after me and knocking on the door.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

The only response he received was the sound of running water.

I leaned over the sink and dry-heaved for a long time.

Instead of vomit, I could only sob uncontrollably.

When I walked out of the bathroom, Leonard was no longer in the living room.

His laptop was left on, and a video was playing on a loop.

In the video were all the people I trusted most: my best friend, my childhood friend, my classmates, my business partners, and even my parents.

They raised their glasses in a toast, saying, “To Laila and Leo. Congratulations on the baby!”

In the center of the table lay a pregnancy test report.

Below the video, Laila had posted a suggestive emoji and a message that read, [Baby daddy, we’re all waiting on you!]

I had just finished reading the message when Leonard came out already changed.

“Iris, I... I’ve got to go handle something.”

I scrolled through my phone and nodded casually.

As the door closed behind him, I opened the tracking app on my phone.

I watched the car on the map slowly leave the villa and reach its final destination: Brokestone Heights.

My heart tightened, and the pain made it hard to breathe.

Why there of all places?

Brokestone Heights was the first little home we bought together after we succeeded in building our business together.

The location was quite remote, but the neighborhood was pleasant.

He once said that no matter how many properties we would own in the future, that place would always be our home. We had weathered too many storms there for it to be anything less.

On frigid winter nights, we would simply crawl under the covers early and hold each other for warmth.

When summer brought swarms of mosquitoes, Leonard would stay awake all night to shoo them away for me.

Later, when I became pregnant, we converted the small study into a nursery.

But under the crushing pressure of work, we lost the baby.

Even after we had money and moved into a bigger house, he still insisted on taking me back there for a few days every year.

He said it was where our love story began, and that we would move back there when we grew old.

Yet before we could grow old together, I lived to see another woman walk through that door.

I stared at that familiar address on the screen for a long time, until my eyes started to sting.

Then I slowly got up, grabbed my car keys, and walked out the door.

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at Brokestone Heights.

I looked up at the window glowing with warm light, then turned off the engine and got out of the car.

Hearing the laughter through the door, I walked in and opened the door without hesitation.

My mother was placing an antique diamond bracelet onto Laila’s wrist.

That was my family’s heirloom, worth over a hundred million dollars on the market.

Laila looked shocked as she said, “Mrs. Lyon, this is way too valuable. I can’t take it!”

My mother spoke with tears in her eyes. “If it weren’t for your kidney, I wouldn’t even be alive. This is nothing compared to that.”

I touched the deep scar on my waist and felt the irony.

So Laila not only knew how to steal men, but she also knew how to steal kidneys.

“Laila, this is just a little something for the baby!”

Serena stuffed a small box into her hand, saying, “Laila, I’m still a student, so I don’t have anything expensive to give. But here, this gold cross necklace has been with me since I was a kid. I want your baby to have it.”

Everyone chuckled and clapped. For a moment, the whole room felt warm and full of love.

When they turned and saw me leaning against the doorframe, all their smiles froze on their faces.