Chapter 2

2

It rarely snows this hard in Northcrest. In just a short time, a thick white blanket had covered the streets.

I pulled the car over and stepped out. Just then, I saw Lian walking back with an umbrella, carrying a bag of medicine.

When he saw me, he let out an annoyed "Tsk." He tried to walk past me like I was invisible, but I grabbed his wrist.

"Lian! Don't go... please. It's too late to find a new lawyer."

"You said it's a small case. For the sake of how well Mom has always treated you, just do it as a favor. Go help her, please!"

I was practically sobbing. I tried to use my mother's kindness to spark a shred of guilt in his heart.

Instead, his voice dripped with mockery and disdain.

"You and your mother are something else. Now you're trying to guilt-trip me? You're just jealous that I'm taking care of Shana, aren't you?"

"Don't forget, if you didn't look a bit like Shana, I wouldn't have even looked at you twice!"

"Right now, forget your mother―even the two of you combined aren't as important as her. Competing with Shana? You're not even in her league!"

"I'm making this clear. As long as she isn't fully recovered, I'm not leaving her side!"

Lian's words were final. Each one felt like a blade driven straight into my chest.

He was convinced I was just acting out of jealousy. He thought I wanted him back just to spite Shana.

He didn't realize that my love for him had been dying since the moment he skipped that trial. It was fading away, thread by thread.

Seeing his cold resolve, I reached my breaking point. I threw away my pride and sank to my knees in the freezing snow.

"Lian... please. If you save Mom, I'll give you anything you want..."

Money, the house, even a divorce―I wouldn't beg him to stay like I did years ago. I'd give it all up.

Just as long as he saved my mother.

"You..."

Lian knew that even though I loved him to a fault, I had never been this pathetic. I had never knelt before him.

His brow furrowed, and for a second, he looked almost moved. But then his phone rang.

The annoyance he felt for me vanished instantly. His voice became incredibly tender, filled with a worry he never showed me.

"What's wrong, baby? Are you feeling worse? Okay, okay, don't worry. I'm right downstairs. I'm coming up right now!"

He turned to leave. Before I could stop him, he kicked me aside into the slush.

"It's just one lost case, Aria! So she spends a few years behind bars. It's not like she's going to die!"

"If you dare disturb Shana again, I'll divorce you immediately!"

Watching his retreating back, my eyes blurred with tears. I looked up and saw Shana standing by the window.

She had a smirk on her face. Her eyes silently declared her victory.

And I was the loser who had surrendered everything.

Later, because we lacked the key evidence and had no defense attorney, my mother lost the case.

I tried to comfort her. I told her there was still a chance, that I'd find the best lawyer for an appeal and clear her name.

But she didn't wait for that day.

She died. A few days ago, she was full of life, talking about wanting to see the flowers down south. Now, she was just a cold body.

"Ms. Vance? Ms. Vance? Are you alright?"

The officer's voice pulled me back. I shook my head, wiped my tears, and stumbled out of the building.

My father died when I was young, so my mother raised me all by herself.

She didn't want me to feel unloved. Relatives tried to set her up with many men, but she refused them all.

She spent years supporting this family alone, giving me the best life she possibly could.

How could I ever accept that she was gone?

I knelt in the funeral hall, screaming until my voice broke. I slammed my forehead against the floor in front of her portrait.

I stayed there for a long time. I felt like if I stayed down there, I'd be a little bit closer to her.

My heart was shattered. Then, a sudden ringtone interrupted my grief.