Chapter 3

When I dragged my suitcase out, the living room was still decorated with white drapes and fresh flowers.

Unfinished wedding favor boxes were scattered on the table, and Chloe's jacket was tossed casually over the sofa.

It was as if they couldn't wait to make this place their new home.

As I was packing, I suddenly noticed the birdcage by the window was empty.

I froze.

"Where is my pet bird?"

My mom was clearing the table outside. She didn't even look up.

"Chloe said keeping him locked up was too cruel, so she let him go."

The clothes in my hands dropped right back into the suitcase.

"She let him go?"

Chloe, sitting on the sofa, said softly, "I was just doing what was best for him. It's so sad to keep him in a cage. Isn't freedom better?"

I spun around to face her, my voice shaking violently.

"He is a domesticated parrot. He can't survive in the wild!"

She flinched as if I had terrified her, her hands immediately guarding her stomach.

"How was I supposed to know? I was just trying to be nice."

"Nice?" I glared at her. "I raised that bird for years."

I turned to my parents.

"That was the birthday present you gave me. And you just let her release him?"

My dad frowned, completely dismissing it.

"It's just a bird. It's gone. If you want another one, we'll buy you a new one later."

Buy me a new one.

I stood there, suddenly finding myself completely speechless.

I went back to packing in silence.

Seeing that I was actually leaving, my mom finally got anxious.

"Stop acting out, Elena! You just lost your job. Where are you going to go by yourself? We did all of this for your own future!"

I picked up my suitcase and looked at her.

"If this is your idea of doing what's best for me, then you should have never given birth to me in the first place."

I turned and walked toward the door.

My dad's booming voice echoed from behind. "Elena Vance, if you walk out that door today, don't you dare ever come back!"

I didn't stop.

Just as I reached the door, Liam finally spoke.

"It's still pouring outside. Don't do anything reckless."

I looked back at him.

"Liam, don't ever speak to me again."

His face turned incredibly pale.

I carried my box down the stairs, the cardboard cutting painfully into my arms.

I ended up checking into a cheap, run-down motel.

The room was tiny. The window wouldn't close properly, rattling loudly every time the night wind blew.

I barely slept that night.

I had lost my job, my home, and my boyfriend. My best friend was now his wife, my parents were on their side, and even my friends were laughing at me behind my back.

But the moment the sun rose, I forced myself up to start sending out resumes.

I had to survive.

I used to be a top performer at my old company. I thought that no matter how unlucky I was, I could at least find a decent job.

But reality was much harsher than I expected.

At the first company, the interview went amazingly well, but they suddenly called back to say the position had been filled.

At the second company, I went in person, but after the interviewer took a quick phone call, their attitude turned cold.

The third company was even more direct. They didn't even let me past the lobby.

After getting rejected repeatedly, I finally realized something was wrong.

After getting rejected repeatedly, I finally realized something was wrong.

It wasn't until I was standing outside a restroom at an office building that I overheard two girls whispering inside.

"Yeah, that's her. Vivian said she got fired from her last job for being a homewrecker."

"I heard she tried to steal someone's husband. Who would dare hire a person like that?"

I stood frozen, my blood running cold.

My cousin Vivian worked at my old company.

And she had been at the wedding reception that day.

I immediately took an Uber straight to my old office.

The moment I walked in, I noticed everyone stealing glances at me.

Some quickly pretended to be busy, while others whispered near the breakroom.

I walked straight up to Vivian's desk.

"Are you the one spreading those rumors about me?"

Vivian looked up, acting completely innocent.

"What rumors?"

"That I'm a homewrecker. That I tried to steal someone's husband. That I got fired because of it."

She leaned back in her chair and scoffed.

"I didn't lie. I just told people exactly what I saw at the party."

I laughed out of sheer anger.

"I was the one who was betrayed!"

But the moment I said that, the whispers around us only grew louder.

Clearly, nobody believed me.

Right then, Chloe walked in.

She was there to hand in some paperwork, and she stumbled right into the scene.

I stared at her, as if grabbing onto my last piece of evidence.

"Tell them. Tell them who actually stole from whom!"

"Was it you and Liam who went behind my back?"

Everyone's eyes locked onto Chloe.

Her face drained of color. She instinctively shielded her stomach, her voice barely a whisper.

"Elena, please don't do this... I'm pregnant."

With that single sentence, she sealed my fate.

The looks of disgust from the bystanders solidified.

Tears streamed down Chloe's face as she took a half-step back.

"Things are already like this. The baby needs a father. If you want to blame someone, blame me. Just stop making a scene, okay?"

I looked at her, my chest so tight I could barely draw breath.

In the end, under the judgmental stares of dozens of people, I was escorted out of the building by security.