Chapter 2

Ethan didn't come back until the next morning. He brought with him the faint scent of rose body wash, and the tips of his hair were still damp.

As he took off his coat and hung it on the rack, he cast a casual glance at me.

"Why are you up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep," I replied calmly.

After a brief pause, I spoke again.

"Ethan, let's call off the wedding."

He stiffened, turning his head to meet my slightly swollen eyes.

"Are you... kidding me?"

"I played a game last night," I said, looking straight into his eyes. "A viral challenge. A space-time phone call."

Ethan’s hand froze. As he stared at me, his expression gradually shifted.

"Chloe, are you testing me?"

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. I hadn't expected that his interrogation would come even before any explanation.

"If I didn't, would I have spent the rest of my life being kept in the dark like an idiot?"

"Ethan."

My eyes turned red.

"Are you two not disgusted by yourselves?"

With a sharp *slap*, my face was whipped to the side.

I held my burning cheek, utterly stunned.

Ethan stared at his own hand, also frozen. It seemed he hadn't expected himself to actually hit me.

He pursed his lips tightly, drew his hand back, and looked down at me with a dark, warning gaze.

"Chloe, if you have bitter words, direct them at me. I won't tolerate anyone calling her names."

All the blood in my body rushed to my head.

With tears of anger in my eyes, I raised my hand and slapped him back with all my might.

"How dare you hit me!"

"Ethan, not even my parents have ever laid a hand on me since I was a child!"

But before my hand could land again, Ethan grabbed my arm in a death grip.

He let out a cold sneer. "Your parents?"

"Your parents know everything about me and Sienna. Did you know that?"

"Last Thanksgiving, when you came home, before you could even sit down, your mom rushed to take you shopping, and your dad claimed he had to go buy pumpkin pie."

He leaned down close to my face, his tone dripping with mockery.

"Your entire family was helping cover for us."

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. I snapped my head up, staring at him in utter disbelief.

He released me with a contemptuous smirk.

"Wake up, Chloe."

"If I were you, I’d use whatever guilt I still have left for you as your future husband."

"After all, even your own parents don't love you."

I collapsed heavily onto the floor, tears pouring down my face.

"Why..." I gasped, struggling to lift my head. "Why do this to me?"

"Ethan," my voice shook violently. "I'm not a desperate clinger."

"If you really wanted to be with Sienna, I could have accepted it! I could have broken up with you, cancelled the wedding, and let you marry her!"

"Why did you have to hide it from me? Why did everyone have to conspire to keep me in the dark!"

"Go be with her! Why do you still want to marry me?!"

I screamed in despair, my heart aching so intensely it felt like I was dying.

He looked down at me from his height.

After a long silence, he let out another cold laugh.

"Why else? Do you actually think it's because I love you?"

He bent down, wiping the tears from my chin, making a clicking sound of pity and disdain.

"Sienna is your older sister. She's a single, divorced mother, and she already has a hard life."

"I don't want her to suffer any judgment from others."

"If our wedding is called off and I immediately end up with her, how do you think our relatives will look at her?"

"So..." He gripped my shoulders, his voice sweet but incredibly cruel. "Chloe, I can't bear to let her suffer, so I have to make you suffer instead."

I stared at him, my whole body turning ice-cold.

"So your plan is to use our marriage as a cover-up so you can secretly sleep with my sister?"

"Smart girl," he said, playfully pinching my nose. "So you'll cooperate, right?"

I slapped his hand away violently and yelled in rage:

"Ethan, what makes you think I will just sit here and let you guys manipulate me?"

"Oh, you will," he smiled, pulling a folded piece of paper from his pocket and laying it in front of me.

"Your checkup from last week. You're pregnant."

"Chloe, this is our child. Our first baby. You conceived when you were still full of hope for our marriage, when you loved me the most."

"You wouldn't want him to grow up without a father, would you?"

"Besides, you love me so much. We’ve been together for ten years. You gave me your entire youth. Can you really bear to cancel this wedding?"

"Even if you do, who would want a single, pregnant woman?"