Chapter 2

I threw his hand off and looked down, laughing at myself.

A marriage this sick, one where I didn't even count as a real wife. What was left to want?

I should have ended it long ago.

The stone in my chest dropped all at once. I lifted my eyes to Austin and slapped him across the face.

"The bridal photos can be my gift to celebrate your affair."

"Austin, three years ago you started dangling that wedding in front of me. A liar's promises. Who believes those?"

I said it, ignored the shock on both their faces, turned, and walked out of the storage room.

My palm burned, and the bitterness of it flooded me while the tears kept sliding down my cheeks.

A clean white handkerchief appeared in front of me. Cousin Meredith gently wiped my tears away, then patted my back to comfort me.

"Claire, before you got here, I happened to see Austin acting close with your adopted sister. I wasn't sure if I was reading too much into it..."

I buried my face against her, my voice muffled. "Meredith, Sylvia's child is Austin's."

The next moment, my cousin, who now understood everything, hurled the handkerchief to the floor, blazing with anger. "Austin knew exactly what your life at home was like, and he still slept with your adopted sister! It's disgusting. I'm going to bury the both of them, that pair of dogs!"

I reached out and held her tight, shaking my head. "Meredith, I want to handle this myself."

The party was over, but my parents were still parading their grandson around, showing him off to everyone.

"My grandson's so adorable, he'll grow up gorgeous, no question. All those good genes from his mom and dad."

"And let me tell you, my son-in-law is the heir to the Quinlan Group. Trust Sylvia to know how to make a man like that love her so deeply."

The relatives all smiled and played along.

Cousin Meredith's parents had never gotten along with mine. "Sylvia this, Sylvia that, all day long. Anyone listening would think Sylvia's your real daughter."

"Isn't Claire still unmarried? Have your outstanding son-in-law introduce her to someone."

My mother's face soured, her voice cold. "Claire's slow, never been likable to begin with. Introducing anyone would be a waste."

"Besides, we've long treated Sylvia as our own daughter."

Cousin Meredith gripped my hand hard, her face flushed red with fury. "After all these years your parents still can't see straight! Not one decent person among them!"

I looked at them without expression. The stinging in my palm wasn't a fraction of what I felt inside.

When I was two, my mother's carelessness let me get lost, and my parents searched for me for two years.

In those two years, they adopted an orphan, Sylvia.

By the time I came back, Sylvia was already the treasure of the Dawson family.

She was sweet-mouthed and good with words, easy to love, and on top of that, one look at me was all it took to remind my mother of her own sin.

So whatever Sylvia wanted, she got the moment she asked for it, even things that had been mine.

But Sylvia was never satisfied. She hated that my return split away our parents' love, so she lied and said I had secretly thrown out our mother's limited-edition gemstone necklace.

That day, I defended myself as hard as I could, and what I got for it was three slaps from my mother and a day and a night locked in the pitch-black isolation room.

"I never should have brought you back! Out there you picked up every filthy habit, and now you frame Sylvia. You've truly disappointed me!"

I curled myself into a ball in the corner, until there were no tears left to cry.

Just as I was about to pass out, the door of the isolation room slammed open.

Austin held me tight, his voice frantic and aching.

"Claire, I'm sorry. I came too late."

He kept calling my name, but he never heard me answer.

"Claire, don't fall asleep. Please. How am I supposed to live without you?"

"Young Master Quinlan, you can't take Claire away. She did something wrong, and she has to be punished!"

My parents blocked Austin and me at the door, their eyes cold.

"Since when did the Dawsons get so bold! You don't want Claire, but I do! Get out of my way!"

Austin, seventeen years old, ignored my parents' obstruction and took me back to the Quinlan house.

That night, his warm tears fell on my shoulder, his arms wrapped tight around me. "Claire, I only want you. From now on, I'll be the one at your back."

After that, wherever I went, Austin followed.

He doted on me. Even if I wanted the stars in the sky, he'd find a way to pluck them down for me.

How could an Austin like that not make my heart move?

And now the person at the tip of his heart had become Sylvia, and the love that once belonged only to me had all been given to her.

Laughter in the distance pulled me back. Sylvia had taken Austin by the arm and was announcing the date of their wedding.

"Everyone's welcome to come to our wedding next week."

The staff were handing out invitations to the relatives when someone suddenly said, "How come there's no Claire's name on this invitation?"

Austin's expression stayed even, though a flicker of distaste crossed it. "Claire's personality isn't pleasant, and she doesn't like socializing, so we didn't invite her."

The boy who once had eyes only for me was now saying I wasn't worth pleasing anyone.

I laughed at myself, and I didn't stay any longer. I took Cousin Meredith's hand and left.

It was all over.

The next moment, a call flashed up on my phone.