Chapter 2

2

The next day.

I handled Nina’s final arrangements all by myself.

The funeral, the cremation.

I watched as the little girl who used to follow me everywhere turned into a small wooden box.

Ignoring the stares of strangers, I held the urn and sobbed until my chest felt like it was ripping apart.

Nina and I were all we had. We had survived together since we were kids.

Everything changed in college when I started dating Scarlett. Our tiny family finally felt happy.

Nina loved Scarlett. She used to follow her around, calling her “big sister.”

Scarlett seemed happy too. She always said she’d be the best sister-in-law in the world.

On graduation night, she confessed her love to me in front of everyone.

Looking into her eyes full of hope, I said yes without a second thought.

But that same night, I was dragged into a dark alley on my way home.

After a brutal beating, a boy grabbed me by the hair and slapped me repeatedly.

He mocked me, saying I could never give Scarlett the life she deserved.

He used a dark secret from Scarlett’s childhood to blackmail me into leaving her.

“If you don’t agree, I’ll tell everyone what happened to her.”

“Do you think Scarlett can handle the dirty whispers and the way people will look at her?”

I had no choice. The next day, I broke up with her.

I used the excuse of finding a rich sugar mommy to cut her off completely.

She wouldn't give up. She searched for me for three years until she found me kneeling in a hospital, begging a doctor to save Nina.

“I guess karma is real. You left me just to kneel before others?”

Scarlett appeared beside me, looking down at me like I was dirt.

“Marry me, and the two million on this card is yours.”

She had a malicious smile on her face, her voice dripping with contempt.

The scars on her own wrists were a silent, screaming reminder of what she had been through because of me.

Two million was an impossible number for me back then.

With that money, Nina could have her surgery. She could live.

I weighed the cost and I agreed.

She laughed suddenly. “My mother was right. You really are a money-hungry piece of trash!”

I didn't expect that right after the wedding, Scarlett would reveal her true plan.

She started bringing men home, over and over again.

Over the years, I was humiliated in front of her friends and her endless string of boytoys.

Her hatred for me made her lovers even more bold.

They mocked me, ordered me around, and shamed me.

None of them knew that Scarlett and I had once deeply loved each other.

To make up for my “betrayal,” I endured it all.

Until Caleb Montgomery showed up. The moment I saw him, I remembered the boy who had gripped my hair in that alley.

Many times, I wanted to open my mouth and tell her everything.

But I was scared. I was scared of ripping open Scarlett’s scars. I was scared she would be hurt again.

I sat there holding Nina’s ashes, my heart throbbing with pain.

After burying my sister, I went back to the house like a ghost.

When I walked in and flipped the light on, the two people on the sofa jumped.

Scarlett glanced at me and went into the bathroom.

Caleb adjusted his silk robe and looked at me with a haughty gaze.

“I warned you back then, yet you still used every trick to marry her. You’re quite the professional gold-digger.”

He let out a short, nasty laugh.

“If I’d known, I would’ve made sure your sister died on the spot. Then you’d have no excuse to stay here.”

Rage boiled over. My vision went white, and I wanted nothing more than to kill him.

I balled my fist and slammed it into Caleb’s face as hard as I could.

He didn't dodge. He didn't fight back. He just suddenly put on a pathetic, victimized face.

I didn't even have to look back to know that Scarlett was behind me.