Chapter 2

Early the next morning, I received a call from the shop even though I had requested the day off.

Damien was throwing a fit.

When I arrived, his voice was low and threatening.

"If you can't get Chloe here, I don't mind putting you all out of work."

I paused at the door, then pushed it open.

"Don't make things difficult for them. I'm here."

He spoke coldly.

"Come here. You're coming with me."

I didn't move.

"I'm not going to say it twice."

A smile curved my lips.

"What if I refuse?"

"This time, what else do you want to take from me?"

Damien's breathing quickened. He crushed the glass in his hand.

I knew he could no longer keep up the act.

Damien and I were childhood friends.

When I was ten and my parents died in an accident, I moved into the Hunt family home.

Back then, all I did was cry.

Damien, two years older, reached out his hand to me.

That hand held mine for ten years.

His friends changed girlfriends constantly, but I was always by his side.

On my twentieth birthday, he dragged me to the civil affairs bureau first thing in the morning.

I teased him for being like an eager puppy waiting for food.

He tucked the marriage certificate against his chest.

"I've waited ten years. Can't let someone else steal you away."

"A wife should be kept close early."

At the wedding, I lifted my dress and turned around.

Damien was already crying.

He held me, sobbing as he made his vow.

"My wife, you're the only one for me. Forever."

After marriage, I loved spicy food, so he went to learn how to cook it.

I liked walking barefoot, so he carpeted the floors and walked with me.

Every morning when I woke up, I didn't even have to squeeze my own toothpaste.

Those days, I felt like I was soaking in honey.

Until he spent a month away from home for work. Worried about him, I brought him soup.

I pushed open the door.

His collar was half-open, a girl sitting on his lap.

A cigarette burned between her fingers as she brazenly kissed his lips.

I froze completely.

"Damien Hunt, what are you doing?"

He snapped to attention and stood up, taking the soup from me.

"Chloe, what are you doing here?"

My voice trembled as I pointed at the girl. "Who is she?"

"Just a buddy." He came over to take my hand.

I jerked away.

"What kind of buddy do you need to personally kiss on the lips?"

The girl laughed and approached.

"This must be Chloe? I'm Sydney Reed, just friends with Damien. Don't take it the wrong way."

"Chloe, you're so pretty. If I were him, I couldn't resist marrying you early either." She pinched my chin.

I frowned and pushed her away.

Sydney covered her mouth and laughed.

"Chloe, I just thought you were beautiful. Couldn't help myself."

"I'm into girls. You don't need to worry about me and Damien."

She pulled up photos of her "girlfriend" on her phone. I looked at Damien with doubt.

"Is she telling the truth?"

Damien smiled and pulled me into his arms.

"Of course it's true. I've known her for years. If there was something between us, would I have married you?"

"What just happened was an accident. Don't overthink it."

I looked between them and softened, choosing to believe him.

From then on, I kept seeing Sydney shoulder-to-shoulder with Damien.

Sydney would walk around naked in front of him.

I couldn't help frowning and reminding him, but he didn't care at all.

"Just a buddy. Why make such a big deal? Just think of her as a guy."

"Besides, even her girlfriend isn't complaining. What are you angry about?"

Seeing how unconcerned he was, I even started thinking I was overreacting.

Sydney often brought me gifts, calling me Chloe affectionately.

I convinced myself not to be so petty.

So I stupidly treated Sydney as a good friend.

I'd cook extra portions for her, think of her when buying things.

On her birthday, I even made her a cake myself.

Until mine and Damien's first wedding anniversary.

He'd been busy abroad negotiating contracts.

I specially bought lingerie and prepared gifts for him.

I found his friend, eyes bright, wanting to surprise him.

But when I looked up, I saw his friend looking at me awkwardly.

"Chloe, maybe you shouldn't go."

"What do you mean?" My smile froze on my face.

He took a deep breath and looked away.

"Chloe, he's been in LA the whole time. With Sydney."

I got the address and rushed over.

A magnificent palace stood before me.

The one he had once built to make me happy.

I walked closer, trembling, my legs shaking uncontrollably.

Through the crack in the door, Sydney's belly was slightly swollen. He gently rubbed her stomach.

"Our son's really active. Give him another kick."

"He's so restless. You must be exhausted."

"When he grows up, I'll transfer the company to him."

I gripped the door, my nails drawing blood.

I remembered this past year when I said I wanted a child.

He always said "no rush, no rush." Turns out he already had one.

I shoved the door open.