Chapter 4

I froze completely.

I looked at Chloe, then at Ethan.

During high school, my mother remarried, only to be publicly accused of being a homewrecker.

Later, we found out the man had lied about being single. He had a wife and a daughter.

But no matter how much my mother pleaded, everyone labeled her a homewrecker.

The day the man's wife came to our door with a mob to humiliate her publicly, my mother jumped from the building. The man vanished without a trace to escape the scandal.

After that, the rumor that I was "the daughter of a homewrecker" spread like wildfire at school.

My locker was constantly filled with trash. My test papers were vandalized with red ink.

People whispered behind my back wherever I walked:

"Like mother, like daughter. She’ll grow up to be a homewrecker too!"

I fell into such a deep depression that I had to drop out of school.

It was Chloe who dragged me out of bed, washed my hair, and helped me clean up.

And it was Ethan who walked me to and from school every day, snapping at anyone who dared to whisper:

"Did you see it with your own eyes? Or did your own mother get cheated on?"

Those bullies were always left speechless, and eventually, the rumors faded.

The night we graduated high school, Ethan confessed his love to me.

Before I could even nod, Chloe was already crying tears of joy:

"Ethan, you know what Maya fear the most. Swear to me, swear you’ll never let her bear the shame of being cheated on!"

Ethan immediately went down on one knee and swore to the heavens:

"In this life, I will only love Maya. If I ever betray her, I hope I die a horrible death."

The three of us had such wonderful times. From high school to college.

We started the company together, we were inseparable, we lived in cheap basement apartments and shared expired bread.

But everything changed silently the moment Lily appeared.

I could never understand why.

Now, finally, I understood.

"So... Lily is the daughter of the woman who drove my mother to her death?"

Chloe quietly pulled Lily further behind her back:

"What do you mean 'drove her to death'?"

"Lily told me the whole truth about what happened back then."

"It was your mother who ruined her parents' marriage. She knowingly destroyed Lily’s family."

"After that, Lily had to live with different relatives for years. Her college years were a hundred times harder than yours."

My lips trembled uncontrollably:

"You felt sorry for her... so you introduced Ethan to her?"

Chloe avoided my gaze, but she didn’t deny it.

"Enough!"

Ethan stepped forward, looking at me with a cold face:

"Even if Chloe hadn't introduced us, falling in love with Lily was only a matter of time."

Looking at his determined eyes.

I suddenly laughed. I laughed so hard that tears started rolling down my face.

They looked at me defensively. The moment my hand reached into my bag.

Ethan panicked and yelled:

"Stop her! Don't let her hurt Lily!"

Several bodyguards rushed forward, pinning me brutally to the cold floor.

Fists and kicks rained down on me.

But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.

I suppressed a groan, wiping the blood from my lip:

"Ethan... I came here to give you the divorce papers."