Chapter 1

It had been three years since I last saw Justin Garner, yet the man standing before me felt like a stranger.

"Maxine, do you know that Justin and I have been searching for you all these years? I've been carrying so much guilt," Justin's foster sister, Clara Garner, said.

I didn't even look at her. Instead, I used every ounce of strength I had to wrench myself free from Justin's grip.

Seeing my coldness, Justin's expression darkened. His tone sharpened, laced with anger. "I'm asking you. Where is our child?"

I let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Our child? Don't you already know what happened?"

Three years ago, what should have been the happiest day of my life—our island wedding—had turned into my worst nightmare.

A man who could throw his pregnant wife to his enemies just to protect his precious sister—how could he even have the face to ask me that?

If I hadn't been reborn, I wouldn't even have had the chance to survive.

Justin's eyes flickered, avoiding mine. He reached out as if to grab my hand, but quickly pulled back.

Clara's eyes brimmed with tears as she looked at me, her voice soft but dripping with poison.

"Maxine, you were taken by those men for three years. You must have suffered so much. Your body is probably… well… but Justin and I don't care. We both understand what happens to a woman in such a place. Even if you lost your purity, it wasn't your fault."

Her tone was full of pity, but every word was laced with malice.

Justin's face went black, his dark eyes trembling slightly.

By now, the banquet guests had gathered around. After Clara's words, their gazes toward me shifted, cold and judgmental.

"So she's slept with other men? And she dares show her face here?"

"She was probably passed around so much that she's ruined. Though looking at that body… If it were me, I wouldn't mind having a turn. Hahaha…"

Justin's fists clenched tightly, like a bomb about to go off.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble? Get back home and stop embarrassing me!"

My expression hardened instantly. Home? What home?

My eyes dropped to Clara's slightly swollen belly, and I let out a mocking laugh. "Is there even a place for me in that home anymore?"

My gaze swept across the crowd. Why wasn't he here yet?

My patience was wearing thin, and I just wanted to leave this circus.

However, the two of them didn't seem to understand what I meant. Clara clutched her belly nervously and shrank behind Justin like a frightened little deer.

"Maxine, I… The baby in my belly was just an accident. The doctor said my body is weak, and if I lose this one, I might never be able to be a mother in this lifetime. That's the only reason Justin told me to keep it. Don't worry, once I give birth, I'll leave the country. I won't bother you and Justin again," she said.

If Clara hadn't inserted herself into every single date Justin and I ever had, like a third wheel, maybe I could've believed her.

However, back then, Justin always took Clara's side.

"Maxine, why are you being so petty? Clara's just a clueless little girl. If she doesn't come with me, she cries at home in secret. Does that make you happy?"

"Maxine, I only wanted to learn what it's like to date someone, that's all."

Little by little, I became numb to Clara's presence, and I stopped caring.

That was because I knew caring didn't matter.

Now, Clara's tears dripped onto Justin's shoulder, and his heart instantly softened. He pulled her into his arms without hesitation.

"The baby in Clara's belly was an accident, but I have to take responsibility. I'll marry Clara first, and once the baby is born, we'll divorce. That way, the child will be legitimate," he said firmly.

Then he looked at me with something like pity.

"Maxine, stay home these next few months and take care of Clara. After the baby's born, I'll come back to you. If you behave yourself, I'll resume your title of Mrs. Garner."

When I heard the word "divorce," I caught it—a flare of hatred burning in Clara's eyes.

In that instant, I finally understood the source of Clara's strange malice toward me.

Clara wiped away her tears and reached out to grab me.

"Maxine, just come home with us. Justin bought me lots of clothes and jewelry. I'll give them all to you, okay?"

I was about to push her hand away when I saw it on her wrist. She was wearing the emerald bracelet my mother had left me.

"Why is my bracelet on your wrist?"