Chapter 5

It was a beautiful wedding photo. The two people in the photo were Charlie and Eve.

I hurriedly pulled out my own marriage certificate to compare. I collapsed on the spot.

Marriage certificates are supposed to have an official seal. Mine and Charlie's didn't. It was fake.

That meant Charlie and I had never been married.

His claim that I was his legitimate wife was also a joke.

I laughed until tears came. I couldn't believe the man who'd protected me since childhood had deceived me for six years.

No wonder he refused to make our marriage public or take wedding photos with me. It was all fake.

"Do you know why Charlie used a fake certificate to deceive you?"

Eve had appeared behind me at some point. She looked at me triumphantly.

"Because he thinks you're not good enough. You're an embarrassment. So he lied to you, kept you hidden away. He never took you to meet family or friends. When people asked, he just said he took you in out of pity to work as his housekeeper."

"Jenny, your mother couldn't compete with my mother, and you can't compete with me either."

She grabbed my collar, her eyes full of malice. "Didn't you call my mother a mistress? Didn't you hate mistresses most? Look at yourself now! You're the mistress. You're the mistress between Charlie and me!"

I shoved her away, eyes bloodshot, shouting, "I'm not the mistress! I'm not! You're the mistress! You're the one who destroyed us!"

Eve laughed triumphantly. "But now the marriage certificate has my name and Charlie's. If you keep clinging to him, then you're the mistress! The mistress!"

"No, I'm not! No!"

I rushed at her like a madwoman, grabbing her clothes and shouting, "I'm not! You're lying!"

But she didn't struggle. A vicious smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "Do you know how your mother really died? Let me tell you—your mother didn't commit suicide!"

I froze, stopping my movements, my whole body trembling. "What do you mean?"

"My mother didn't commit suicide?"

She shook her head. "You're just as stupid as your mother. That day, after I cursed at her, she did try to jump into the river to kill herself. But at the last moment, she regretted it. She said she couldn't leave you behind, that she had to live for you. How could that be allowed? So I helped her along."

Eve made a pushing motion with her hands. "I just pushed her like this."

I staggered, unable to stay on my feet. "You pushed my mother? You killed her?"

She nodded proudly. "Yes, I killed your mother. So what can you do about it?"

I rushed at her like a madwoman. "I'm going to kill you to avenge my mother!"

I exploded with tremendous strength, knocking her to the ground, pummeling and biting her wildly!

Then I became more and more frenzied, eventually punching and kicking her like a beast that had lost all reason. "You killed my mother! Go to hell! Die!"

But Eve suddenly flashed me a sinister smile. "You're finished."

Then a great force struck me, and I was kicked to the ground.

"Charlie, our baby! My stomach hurts so much. Quick, take me to the hospital."

Her lower body was covered in blood. She was pregnant.

Charlie frantically picked up Eve and ordered the bodyguards behind him, "Lock Jenny up. I'll deal with her when I get back."

After Charlie left, the bodyguards locked me up and directly set a fire.

"Miss Jenny deliberately set a fire trying to escape, but ended up burning herself to death."

So this was Eve's real goal—to burn me to death.

The fire gradually grew. I struggled but couldn't untie the ropes.

I was choked by the smoke and gradually lost strength. A burning cabinet suddenly fell toward me. I closed my eyes in despair.