Chapter 2

Chloe's POV

Silence fell over the other end of the line.

Back when I wanted to marry Ryan, my mother, Mia Bennett, insisted he wasn't the right man and refused to give her blessing.

I refused to back down, and we fought for days.

In the end, my mother laid down a wager:

I would hide my true identity for five years. If Ryan still treated me just as he did in the beginning after five years, the Vance family would reveal who I was and throw their full support behind Hayes Group and Ryan.

At the time, I agreed without hesitation.

I truly believed Ryan loved me for who I was, even if I had nothing to my name.

Now, before the five-year mark had even arrived, the outcome had been decided ahead of schedule. I had lost.

"What on earth happened?" Mom’s worry was obvious now. "Did Ryan mistreat you?"

"Mom, don't ask. As soon as I finalize the divorce with him, I’ll come straight back to be with you."

"I'll have Felix Chern fly to New York tonight! You don't have to worry about a thing; leave it all to him."

Felix Chern was one of my mother's most trusted employees.

"No need," I said. "This is my own mess. I want to handle it myself. No matter how hard it is, I have to get through this hurdle on my own."

Mom was quiet for a few seconds. In the end, she told me to stay safe and hung up.

Instead of going home, I went straight to the law firm that had worked with the Vance family in New York for years and had a lawyer draft a divorce agreement.

Once I got back to the house, I did three things.

First, I found the pill bottle and swapped out all the medication inside with vitamin tablets.

Second, I changed the admin account for all the home surveillance cameras from Ryan's email to mine.

Third, I hired someone to dig into Ryan and Wendy's entire past over the years.

After finishing that, I opened the walk-in closet and started packing.

Custom evening gowns, limited-edition handbags, jewelry boxes overflowing with pieces—every single item was proof of how Ryan spoiled his wife, something well known throughout high society.

I listed every last one of them on a secondhand marketplace app, priced uniformly at one dollar with free shipping.

I didn't need the money.

Besides, these things were completely worthless in my eyes now. Looking at them only made me sick to my stomach.

While taking inventory of the jewelry boxes, I noticed one piece was missing.

For my birthday last month, Ryan had shelled out an astronomical sum at an auction to win a ruby necklace.

The topic of Mr. Hayes splurging on Mrs. Hayes had trended on social media for half the day.

Now, that necklace was gone.

I kept listing the rest of the items.

The second the links went live, everything was snapped up, and plenty of people were messaging to ask who the absurdly generous seller was.

Not long after I sent out the courier packages, Ryan came home.

His hands were full of shopping bags, and behind him, the chauffeur carried in a massive cardboard box.

"Chloe, I bought a few more parenting books. I'm going to read through them whenever I have free time over the next few days, and you should flip through them when you're free, too."

He set the books on the coffee table and patted the cardboard box. "This is an infant car seat, custom-made. For when the baby goes out later."

Before today, seeing all this would have made me think this man loved me, loved our child, and that I had the most complete, perfect family in the world.

Now, all I felt was a bone-chilling cold.

"I'm not even three months pregnant yet. Isn't it a bit early to be buying this stuff?"

"When it comes to our child, preparing early is only right."

Ryan sat down next to me. "He's the sole heir to the Hayes family. Everything we have will belong to him one day. We need to start learning how to be parents now so we can raise him right. I signed you up for a prenatal class starting next week. You should go attend it."

He reached out and tapped the tip of my nose.

"You, once you become a mother, your focus needs to be on the baby. You can't be as headstrong as you used to be."

That wasn't what he had said when he was pursuing me.

Back then, he said: Chloe, as long as you're with me, you can be as headstrong as you want for the rest of your life.

Now, for the sake of his and Wendy's child, he had changed so quickly.

A dull, lingering ache spread through my chest.

I stared steadily at him. "My own flesh and blood—of course I'll cherish and love him."

Hearing that, Ryan's gaze wavered for a split second before quickly recovering.

"Of course. That goes without saying."

He walked toward the kitchen. "You rest for now. I'll make you dinner."

The day after I found out I was pregnant, Ryan hired a nutritionist specifically to teach him how to cook dinner.

He claimed it was to ensure a balanced diet for both me and the baby.

From that day on, he cooked for me every single day, trying out new recipes constantly.

If a dish didn't turn out well, he would keep making it over and over until he was satisfied.

When dinner was served, Ryan placed a piece of pan-seared salmon on my plate. "Try it. I adjusted the heat today."

I had no appetite. "It's fine."

Ryan took a bite himself and frowned. "It's still overcooked. The meat is tough. I'll shorten the time next time."

Looking at his focused profile, it suddenly hit me.

Whenever he felt a dish had been perfected, it would never appear on my dining table again.

He was using me as practice.

Once he mastered it, he could go make it for Wendy.

I spoke up, feigning nonchalance. "By the way, do you know where that ruby necklace is? I couldn't find it."

An unnatural expression crossed Ryan's face.

"Wendy has been designing a necklace lately and happened to be short on a ruby, so I let her use that one."

Wendy again.

A sharp pain pricked my heart.

Then again, I didn't care about that necklace anymore.

Even if it were still here, it would have just been listed online for a dollar. It wasn't worth being upset over.

Wait... Wendy designing a necklace?

I was a jewelry designer myself; I knew exactly what Wendy was capable of.

Wendy didn't know the first thing about jewelry design. How could she possibly design a necklace?

I kept my head down without a word and quietly pressed record on my phone.

Seeing that I hadn't lost my temper, Ryan tested the waters. "Chloe, about that 'Iris' collection you designed earlier... how about letting Wendy have it?"

I looked up in surprise. "What did you say?"

Ryan cleared his throat lightly. "You're pregnant, so you shouldn't exhaust yourself. You won't need to work from now on; just focus on raising the baby at home."

"Wendy really loves 'Iris.' Letting her submit it to the competition and win an award will make her parents happy, too. She'll definitely remember your kindness in the future."

I said nothing.

Wendy had never respected me. Over all these years, she had barely even called me by my name.

Back then, I simply thought Wendy was young and hot-tempered, so I never held it against her.

Today, I finally understood—Wendy saw me as her romantic rival.

Calmly, I pulled the divorce agreement from my purse, flipped straight to the signature page, and slid it in front of Ryan.

"Speaking of which, I've had my eye on a property and want to buy it. I need your signature."

Assuming I was tacitly agreeing to hand over "Iris," Ryan signed it without even looking.

"If you like it, buy it. I'll pay for it."

After signing, he leaned in to embrace me, but I pushed him away.

"Did you meet with a female client today? You're drenched in perfume. It's making me nauseous."

Ryan's hands froze in midair. He had just come back from Wendy's place.

He forced an awkward smile. "Right, right. I'll go take a shower right now."

Reaching the bathroom door, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked into the kitchen.

A moment later, he walked over to me carrying a glass of warm water and a single pill.

"Chloe, time for your medicine."