Chapter 2

I gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Before, every time he gave me a bag or clothes, I felt it was too much of a waste.

I can't bear to use it.

Ethan then hugged me and acted like a spoiled child:

"So what? I just love it when my wife is dressed up nicely; it makes me happy."

So that's the real reason he was happy.

She can see the shadow of her first love through me.

I took a deep breath and met his gaze:

“Ethan, this isn’t about the brand or whether it’s secondhand.”

"We've been married for four years, but you've always treated me like a substitute for someone else. Have you ever shown me even the slightest bit of respect?"

Ethan chuckled.

"respect?"

He lazily raised his eyes, which were full of disdain:

"If I respected you, do you think you'd have the chance to rise above your station, marry your boss, and become my wife?"

"You should be grateful that you look somewhat like Vanessa, otherwise you wouldn't even have the good fortune to be a stand-in."

"If you don't want to stay, then get out. Today is Vanessa's welcome party, don't spoil the fun."

It felt like I'd been punched hard in the chest.

It hurt so much I couldn't breathe.

I closed my eyes and then slowly took off the dress.

All that's left are the tank top and safety shorts.

Everyone was shocked by my actions.

Ethan even furrowed his brow:

"Claire, what are you doing?"

I suppressed the stinging in my nose and spoke clearly:

“Ethan, I don’t care about this kind of good fortune.”

"Let's get a divorce."

After saying that, I turned and left.

Just as the door to the private room was about to close, Vanessa's voice came:

"Ethan, your wife seems really angry. Aren't you afraid she'll actually do something about it?"

Ethan scoffed:

"Putting aside whether Claire is willing to give up her position as my wife, the fact that she loves me to death means she can't live without me."

"Besides, who else would want a hen that can't lay eggs but me? She's just being temperamental, just ignore her."

Others chimed in:

"Yes, yes, every time you argued before, wasn't Claire always the first to apologize to Ethan?"

"She treats Ethan like a hero, lol, so corny."

Hearing the contempt in his words, the tears I had been holding back for so long finally fell.

I was just an intern at his company, but my male supervisor at the time pinned me down in the break room and started touching me inappropriately.

As someone who had just entered the workforce, I was terrified, and the other person was incredibly strong.

In my moment of despair, Ethan saved me.

He beat the other person half to death and fired him on the spot.

After that, he took good care of me in every way and taught me a lot about business.

At the time, I truly regarded him as a hero who saved people from danger. Unsurprisingly, I fell for his assertive yet romantic pursuit in private.

Later, when I was six months pregnant, I was involved in a car accident.

Not only did she lose the child, she also became completely infertile.

But Ethan never blamed me; instead, he gently hugged me and said:

"Claire, I love you for who you are, whether you have children or not is not important."

I was both touched and guilty, so I tried my best to accommodate her and be a good wife.

Looking back now, it was both his help in pursuing her and his later thoughtfulness.

It's probably all because of this face that resembles Vanessa's.

When I got home, I wanted to pack my luggage.

But I discovered that almost the entire wardrobe was made up of 'Vanessa's discarded items' that Ethan had given me.

After we got married, he took the initiative to take care of all my clothes.

I never noticed it before, but if you look closely, you can find the clues.

For example, the dress they gave me on Valentine's Day was the wrong color; it looked like it had been washed and faded.

And the earrings for our wedding anniversary this year.

On the way back, I found it on Vanessa's Weibo; it was a free gift that she didn't really want.