Chapter 2

My eyes went wide. The blood in my veins turned to ice.

"What about Julian Vance?"

After a long pause, the clerk replied.

"Mr. Vance is indeed legally married. It was registered five years ago."

I collapsed onto the floor, clutching my head, frantically trying to piece together our wedding day.

Five years ago, Julian and I had walked into city hall side by side.

How could the bride on the marriage certificate possibly be Chloe?

I tore through the house like a madwoman, ripping open every drawer for our marriage documents.

All these years, I had never doubted the paperwork.

Julian had told me everything was filed and official.

After the ceremony, he locked the documents away in the safe, claiming he was terrified of losing them.

Back then, I was so drunk on happiness that I never thought twice.

It wasn't until today that I finally read the words carefully.

My name wasn't on the license at all.

Printed clearly in black ink was Chloe.

Staring at the paper that had deceived me for five long years, my vision went black.

The marriage I had fought tooth and nail to preserve was nothing more than a fraud from day one.

While my entire body trembled with cold dread, the attorney I hired to handle asset division called me back.

His tone carried unmistakable pity.

"Ms. Avery, you are not legally Mr. Vance's spouse."

My fingernails dug deep into my palms.

I remembered how Mom had insisted on handling all the paperwork for me back then.

She had claimed I was too busy helping Julian get his startup off the ground to worry about tedious bureaucracy.

From the marriage license documents to the deeds, company equity, and joint accounts, she promised she would review every single detail on my behalf.

"Focus on your career, sweetie. Leave the paperwork to Mom."

I hadn't suspected a thing.

After all, she was the person I trusted most in this world.

Once everything was filed, Mom had even made a point of telling me.

"Every place that needed your name, I made sure it was taken care of."

So all these years, I never once verified it.

Looking back now...

The name she had "taken care of" was never mine.

It was Chloe's.

I stared at the files the lawyer sent over, my fingers shaking uncontrollably.

I rasped out a thank-you. But just as I went to transfer his retainer fee via PayPal,

a notification popped up: all my bank accounts were frozen.

The only debit card I had left showed a balance of less than fifteen dollars.

Before I could even call the bank, cheerful laughter echoed from the front entryway.

My mother was smiling warmly, helping Chloe inside after her appointment, with Julian trailing close behind holding the ultrasound scans.

Surrounded by both of them, Chloe spoke with soft hesitation.

"Mom, even though Avery almost drove me to slit my wrists today..."

"Do you think having Julian freeze all her cards was a bit too harsh?"

Without a shred of guilt for faking her death, my mother peeled another apple for Chloe and scoffed.

"She only acts up because she's got too much money sitting in her pockets."

"Now you've got the baby on the way, and your name is on the marriage certificate."

"Besides, if you hadn't been so sweet and generous back then, she would never have had the chance to step between you two."

Julian went quiet for a moment, then gave a faint nod.

He gently stroked Chloe's hair, telling her not to overthink things. He would handle everything.

My nails cut so deep into my flesh that blood began to seep out.

It was all a lie.

The ten years since I had been welcomed back into this family...

Ten years of supposed happiness.

It was all an elaborate charade staged just to give Chloe a life of luxury.

Chloe was the one legally married to Julian. Chloe was the one who owned all the marital assets.

Suffocation clamped down around my throat. My knees gave out, and I stumbled, knocking over a crystal vase on the console table.

The loud crash shattered the quiet in the living room.

Julian was the first to rush over. Seeing the blood dripping from my palm, he instinctively reached for the first-aid kit to bandage me up.

Then, his eyes caught the frozen-account alert on my phone screen, and his brows furrowed with irritation.

"Avery, are you seriously throwing a fit over a credit card?"

"All you have to do is apologize to Chloe to her face, and I'll restore your limits."

Ten years of devotion. And even at this point, I couldn't get a single shred of honesty from him.

A ragged laugh ripped from my chest, tears blurring my vision. I shoved the documents I had uncovered right into his chest.

"Julian, the marriage was fake. My assets are completely wiped out."

"Ten years of love was nothing but a sham."

"You two teamed up to play me for a fool. Was it fun?"