Chapter 1

On my wedding day, my fiancé, Julian Hayes, a star scientist at DARPA, walked right past me and put the ring on my stepsister's finger.

"Someone drugged my drink three months ago, and Chloe helped me."

"She's pregnant with my child now. I have to marry her."

"As for you... Clara, you and Chloe grew up like sisters. Nothing will change if you keep living with us."

"You can even help take care of her when the baby bump gets bigger."

But Chloe was the daughter of my father's mistress, the very reason my own mother died of depression.

I lifted the cake knife and pointed it at the cheating couple. "Help take care of her? I'd rather see Chloe drop dead!"

Julian pulled Chloe back several steps and ordered security to throw me out.

Five years later, I rushed back from overseas, standing outside an auditorium in the Pentagon, ready to receive my Presidential Medal of Freedom. And who did I run into? Julian and Chloe.

The moment he saw me, his words were dripping with scorn.

"Clara, this is an award ceremony for national heroes, not a stage for your next meltdown."

"Get lost if you don't want to get hurt. You're an eyesore."

I was speechless.

How was I not worthy of entering my own award ceremony?

…

Seeing my silence, the disgust on Julian's face deepened.

"Clara, even if you've let yourself go like this to get our sympathy, you need to pick a better time and place."

"Everyone here today is a hero who has served this country."

"If you cause a scene, you'll be in a world of trouble."

He kept talking, completely ignoring the baffled look on my face.

But I'd had enough and cut him off.

"This is my award ceremony."

Julian’s brow furrowed. "Clara, I know you're trying to get my attention. But you can't just claim to be a national hero!"

I let out a weary laugh.

"Julian, could you please stop being so full of yourself? I've been married for years."

Julian froze.

I didn't want to look at these two assholes a second longer. I turned to walk into the auditorium, but Chloe ran to block my path.

Her eyes were filled with tears, her expression full of guilt.

"Clara, it was my fault that I accidentally slept with Julian and your engagement was called off."

"But you can't just give up on yourself because of my mistake!"

"You went crazy at the wedding, stabbing at people with a knife just to get Julian back. How could you possibly be with someone else so soon?"

Her passive-aggressive bullshit made me stop.

It was true that on my wedding day, faced with Julian's betrayal and the strange looks from the guests, I lost my mind and grabbed the knife.

But my goal was never to win him back.

It was to draw a final, clean line between me and those two pieces of trash.

I had no idea Julian's comprehension skills were so poor that he actually wanted me to be a nanny for him and Chloe.

I didn't want to get tangled up with those two psychos anymore. That very night, I submitted an application, and the next day I flew to the Middle East to become an independent investigative journalist in conflict zones.

Life as a journalist was dangerous, but it made me feel incredibly alive.

After five years, I never would have come back if it wasn't for the joint award ceremony for my husband and me.

Julian's self-important voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Clara, you're almost thirty. You can't be as impulsive as you used to be."

"Leave now. After the ceremony, Chloe and I will take you home."

His words almost made me puke.

"Julian, are you deaf? I told you, I'm married."

Julian's frown deepened, still refusing to believe me.

"Clara, I'm telling you one last time. This isn't the place for your tantrums."

"I'm here representing DARPA. If you lose control like last time and disturb the two heroes, making a scene…"

"You'll never set foot in our house again."

I scoffed.

If the General hosting this ceremony hadn't saved my husband's and my life, I would have loved to let Julian embarrass himself in public.

Fighting the urge to kick him out, I spoke again.

"Who do you think you are? I'm here for my own award ceremony. It has nothing to do with you."

Before I could finish, Chloe clutched her chest, looking heartbroken.

"Clara, are you still mad at me for ruining your wedding five years ago?"

"I didn't want to―but I was pregnant with Julian's baby. I had no choice."

Tears streamed down her face as if she were the one who had been wronged.

I felt nothing.

Julian's explanation back then was that he'd been drugged at a conference and that's how he ended up with Chloe.

But there were so many people at that conference, not to mention his own security detail. If he hadn't wanted to, he could have easily had someone take him to a hospital.

It was such an obvious lie, but Julian and Chloe treated me like an idiot.

Especially Chloe. On the morning of the wedding, she even had the nerve to act like she was protecting me.

"Clara, I know we don't get along. But I'm the only one who gets to bully you."

"If Julian ever wrongs you in the slightest, I'll make him pay, whether you agree or not."

Chloe, watching my reaction carefully, saw that her words had no effect on me. She reached out and tugged on Julian's sleeve.

"Julian, let's get a divorce after this is over."

"I've already hurt Clara for so many years. I can't keep doing it."

Julian, who had seemed a bit dazed, snapped to attention. He shot me a cold glare, but his voice was gentle with Chloe.

"How is this your fault? It's clearly Clara who is too vicious to tolerate her own sister."

Chloe shook her head relentlessly.

"But Clara was so angry, she had a complete mental breakdown…"

The more understanding she acted, the colder Julian’s glares became.