Chapter 3

Clara's POV

The day their biological daughter returned after twenty years, the Gray household descended into utter chaos.

Evelyn broke down in uncontrollable sobs, clutching Chloe tightly. Thomas stood by, wiping his tears, his hands trembling so violently he couldn't even hold his coffee mug.

Ethan stood by the entrance, staring at Chloe. The look on his face changed instantly.

I stood around the corridor corner holding a bowl of fresh clam chowder, completely out of place.

The steam slowly drifted away, leaving a thick, cold film over the surface of the soup.

I didn't immediately volunteer to give up everything I had built over the years.

Chloe felt overwhelmed after two days, so they sent her to a private country estate to rest and recover.

From that day forward, Ethan turned completely cold toward me.

Our wedding date was pushed back again and again.

The first time, he claimed he was too busy with his company's IPO. The second time, he said it wasn't right to hold a lavish wedding while Chloe was still struggling to adjust. The invitations were printed and locked away in a drawer, never to be sent.

He stopped picking me up. The passenger seat in his car was pushed all the way forward, and he stopped opening the door for me.

Even on my birthday, the moment Chloe called claiming she was lost, he abandoned me without hesitation.

I endured it for an entire year.

Every single day, I invented excuses for him in my head.

Chloe just came back, so he's overwhelmed. He's busy at work. He's just exhausted.

I repeated those excuses like a mantra, desperate to avoid facing the glaring, undeniable truth.

I still ironed the ties hanging on the left side of his closet every day.

Even though he hadn't touched that side of the wardrobe in over six months, I kept repeating the routine mechanically.

I also learned to stop texting him first.

I would type out messages, edit them, delete them, and eventually send nothing more than a dry, lifeless "Okay."

Ethan took longer and longer to reply—from a few hours to two or three days of complete silence.

I would watch my phone screen go dark, tap it awake, and watch it fade to black again.

A while ago, news reached the house that Chloe had fallen ill and was living in terrible conditions.

Thomas and Evelyn wept in each other's arms in the living room. Evelyn grabbed my hand, practically begging me to go bring her home.

So I went.

I trudged through the mud into Chloe's moldy rented room. I packed her bags, took her to see a doctor, gave her medicine, and cleaned her up.

Chloe held my hand and thanked me profusely. I naively thought she would appreciate what I did.

The only reason I agreed to bring her back was to keep one final card in my hand: I was the one who brought her home. For that alone, Ethan might look at me with warmth again.

The day I brought Chloe back to the villa, I stood at the turn of the stairs.

Ethan shoved the front door open and burst inside.

The moment his eyes landed on Chloe, he froze as if struck by lightning.

I knew that look all too well.

It was the exact look I had spent years desperately wishing to see in his eyes just once.

Ethan took long strides toward Chloe. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides. His Adam's apple bobbed, yet he couldn't manage a single word for a long time.

Leaning against the freezing wall, my fingers slowly released their grip on the banister.

Every ounce of patience, care, and tenderness he had ever shown me was never meant for me at all.

They were all just gifts he had been holding in escrow for someone else.

Now that the true owner had returned, the imposter holding the spot naturally had to leave.

The very next afternoon, I met with a lawyer in private.

I signed the severance agreement and the paperwork to call off the engagement without hesitation. I also filed for an expedited departure.

Across the desk, the lawyer looked at me and asked, "Miss Brooks, are you sure you don't want to negotiate with the Vance family first?"

I shook my head.

"No."

"I've spent years talking to them. And in all that time, not a single one of them ever truly listened to a word I said."

I was just waiting for the paperwork to clear before leaving.

Unfortunately, that positive pregnancy test arrived before my visa did.