Chapter 2

2

I composed myself and walked out of the lounge, only to hear the nurses gossiping.

"Dr. Miller is so good to his wife! He stayed with her through every check-up and hasn't left her side since the delivery!"

"He really is the man of the century! I heard he cried outside the OR on the day she gave birth. He almost jumped out of his wheelchair when he heard it was twins."

Following the direction of their chatter, I stopped at the door of a VIP suite.

I saw the usually cold and arrogant Nathan carefully cradling a baby.

The fatherly love in his eyes was almost overflowing.

His friend's words flashed through my mind―Serena now had a son and a daughter.

And because of that accident years ago, I would never have a child of my own.

After soothing the baby, Nathan turned to the woman in the bed with endless care.

"Serena, does your back still hurt? Tell me if you feel any discomfort."

"Thanks, Nathan. I feel much better after using that medicine you brought."

"But Elena worked so hard to find it. Will she be angry if she knows I used it…"

Serena had always been like this. She took all the benefits and then acted like a saint to make me look bad.

Nathan looked at her with pure adoration.

"She won't. If it helped you, then her hard work wasn't wasted."

Just then, a nanny arrived with a meal and pushed the door open.

When Nathan looked up and saw me, a flash of guilt crossed his eyes.

"Elena? Your arm is still hurt. Why are you out of bed?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. Serena is being discharged today, and I just came to see if she needed help."

I gripped the empty medicine box in my hand, pushing down my emotions.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to ask… how do you feel after using the medicine?"

Nathan lowered his head, unable to look me in the eye.

Instead, Serena smiled from the bed while sipping her soup.

"Elena, you're just in time. I was about to thank you."

"Thank you for going all the way across the ocean for this medicine. It works wonders!"

I had heard that Serena injured her spine during the twin delivery and was in constant pain.

That medicine was specifically for nerve and bone recovery. It was exactly what she needed.

Ignoring Serena's smug expression, I nodded as if nothing was wrong.

"As long as it's useful. I just came out for some air. I'll leave you to it."

Nathan thought I was angry and rolled his wheelchair after me to explain.

Seeing his panicked face made me want to laugh.

His legs were clearly fine, yet he used my medicine to suck up to Serena.

And now he was back to playing the devoted husband. It was disgusting.

"Relax. I'm not that petty. Go back to your work."

He visibly relaxed and pressed a warm kiss to my forehead.

"You're the best, Elena. As long as you're with me, I don't care if my legs never heal."

But Nathan, I don't want to be with you anymore.

After I got home, I took some pills and fell into a heavy sleep.

Nathan was called back to the Miller estate by his father and didn't return all night.

The next morning, he came to pick me up for Serena's welcome-home party.

The moment I stepped into the mansion, Nathan's mother's face turned cold.

"Hmph. Why did you even bother coming back? A woman who can't even produce an heir is just an eyesore."

The other family members who disliked me chimed in.

"Exactly! Both are daughters of the same family, yet the older sister is so successful and actually provides for the family legacy!"

"The younger sister not only cost Nathan his legs but is also useless in the bedroom. She's a curse on the Millers!"

This kind of malice was normal for me in this family.

Since the wedding, I had always been compared to Serena.

She was the symbol of luck, and I was the broken woman who brought misfortune.

After the wedding, there was a time when Nathan acted deeply depressed.

He had become sensitive and refused to leave the house.

So, I quit my job at the firm to stay home and help him with his physical therapy every day.

Meanwhile, Serena, my half-sister, became the head of the family business.

Now she was a successful CEO with a perfect family, and I was nothing.

This was what Nathan wanted, wasn't it? To make me a permanent shadow to Serena.