Chapter 2 All It Took Was Her Name

His grip was so tight, as though he were terrified that the moment he let go, I would go after Elise and try to kill her.

When his eyes met my tearful ones, he seemed pretty helpless.

Drake reached out to wipe away my tears and coaxed me gently, saying, "Layla, today is your birthday. I'll make a reservation at your favorite restaurant in a short while. I remember that was where we first met. Please stop making a scene now, okay?"

He thought he had hidden it perfectly, but I still caught the fleeting trace of disgust in his eyes.

Mom immediately smiled and chimed in, "Yes, we'll make the reservation right now. You've always loved strawberry cake since you were young, and you're allergic to mangoes. See? I remember everything about you."

Andy froze for a moment before coming over as well. He wrapped his arms around my arm, acting coy. "Mommy, you said before that you loved their cheesy shrimp balls the most. You even said you were going to learn how to make them yourself for me. It has been a long time since I last ate anything you've cooked."

Their simultaneous change in attitude sent a chill through my entire body. For a moment, I didn't even know whether I should cry or laugh.

I wanted to cry at how foolish I had been.

They clearly remembered everything I liked. They shared all the same beautiful memories with me, yet every single one of them chose Elise, leaving me with nothing.

…

Meanwhile, I wanted to laugh at how stupid I had been.

All the things I had desperately tried and failed to get back could apparently be restored simply by mentioning Elise's name.

Seeing that I had stopped moving, Drake breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he quickly seized the opportunity and pulled me into his arms. "Alright, now. No more fighting. Let's just celebrate your birthday together as a family, okay?"

I didn't answer him. My gaze simply traveled past his shoulder and landed on the piece of lingerie lying on the floor not far away.

Following my gaze, Mom reacted instantly. With one kick, she sent it underneath the bed, then looked up and gave me an awkward smile.

Drake's entire body reeked of Elise's perfume. Combined with the ingratiating smile plastered across Mom's face, it made my stomach churn violently.

I couldn't hold it in anymore.

I shoved Drake away and stumbled into the bathroom, where I began dry-heaving.

I dry-heaved until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth before I finally came back to my senses.

Hurriedly, I struggled to grab the psychiatric medication sitting beside the sink and stuffed handful after handful into my mouth. Only when that familiar numbness began spreading through my limbs, gradually suppressing the emotions surging inside my chest, did I finally manage to breathe again.

Then, I picked up my phone and sent my lawyer a message. "Draft the divorce agreement. The sooner, the better."

After doing all that, I forced myself upright and pressed the flush button. Still, even with the sound of rushing water, the conversation outside reached my ears.

Andy sighed like a little adult and said with undisguised impatience, "What's wrong with her now? Wasn't I convincing enough? I spent ages trying to memorize my lines. Why didn't they work?"

Mom also lowered her voice and complained, "Who knows why she's so difficult to deal with? I was planning to get this over with quickly so we could go celebrate Elise's birthday. She just can't stand Elise. They even share the same birthday."

Drake remained silent for a long while before finally sighing and saying, "Forget it. She always likes being the center of attention. If no one pays attention to her, she might get even crazier later. I'd better go check on her."

When Drake pushed open the door, I was staring blankly at the pregnancy test in the trash can.

The two red lines made my eyes hurt.

As he followed my gaze, his footsteps faltered. Then, as though it were nothing, he said, "A friend of mine and his girlfriend came here on a business trip a few days ago. I let them stay here for a couple of days. They probably left it behind."

I nodded, but I still couldn't stop myself from letting out a mocking laugh.

"Is that so?"

Drake's explanations were always flawless. Fortunately, I no longer needed to waste any effort figuring out whether they were true or false. After all, Elise would always deliver the answer straight to me before anyone else could.

Then, I simply handed him my phone. On the screen was a collection of photos Elise had sent me.

One showed Drake's back as he accompanied her to a prenatal checkup yesterday while I was in the hospital after slitting my wrists during a depressive episode.

Another was a photo from the day I had nearly died after getting trapped in an elevator not long ago.

In it, Drake was holding Andy's hand as the two of them walked into an amusement park with her. I didn't even have to think twice to know that Mom had taken all those photos from a third-person perspective.

In the pictures, they laughed and played together. They looked just like a real family.

At that moment, I couldn't help remembering that I had also suggested going to an amusement park twice before.

However, all I had gotten in return was his disdainful response, calling me childish.

It wasn't until that moment that I truly realized just how unwanted I was.

The instant Drake saw what was on the screen, his pupils contracted sharply.