Chapter 2

At the hospital, with his eyes filled with tenderness, Jonas took the little boy by the hand and said softly, "All these years, you've been living a life way more decent and easygoing than that so-called real daughter, Renata. But you gotta be careful. Don't let her catch on."

Evelyn snuggled coyly into his embrace, murmuring with a delicate giggle, "Jonas, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would really have been tossed in jail by that ruthless woman, Renata."

Jonas knitted his brows a bit, yet he didn't shove her aside. Merely, he swiveled his head to the little lad next to him. Then he reached out to ruffle the boy's hair and spoke up, "Forget about this. It's all that matters that Finn is alright. In a couple of days, it'll be his birthday party. Mark, Tess, and I will be there on time, using the excuse of coming to pay our respects to you."

Finn Hawkins had no clue what the grown-ups were chatting about. All he did was fling himself into Jonas' arms, whining and cuddling up to him.

The sweet and harmonious vibe of the family attracted numerous envious looks from passersby, including me.

I was on the verge of a breakdown. Leaning helplessly against the wall at the corner, my body gradually slid down until I finally collapsed on the ground, drained of all my strength.

Evelyn was never driven out of the family home, or punished, nor did she die in a car accident.

In the past five years, she had been living it up, far more content and triumphant than I, the actual victim. To add insult to injury, she even bore my husband's child.

My biological parents, my husband, and every single person close to me had all been toying with my life, all because of her.

The happiness I had always believed in turned out to be nothing more than a colossal deception.

Consumed by a sense of utter despair, I dropped to the floor, limp and defeated. Before I knew it, I picked up the ringing cell phone.

The voice of my mom, Tess Miller, came from the other end of the phone, and she said, "Renata, I heard from Bree that you went to the hospital today. You haven't had a break in days. Hurry back and get some rest. You look awful, and it makes me worried."

Just like on ordinary days, her tone was brimming with gentleness and concern.

But now that I had learned the truth, every word from her made me feel as if I was plunging into an icy abyss, and a chill ran down my spine.

She didn't actually care about my feelings. All she was worried about was that I might run into Evelyn and uncover the truth.

I uttered a few words in response, letting her know that I was at the Children's Disease Exchange Conference on the first floor.

Just as I expected, she was seized with sudden panic. She quickly urged me not to move around and instructed Jonas to come to me without delay.

Five minutes later, he showed up, gasping for air. His voice was laced with urgency and, far from sounding concerned, it carried an undertone of reproach as he blurted out, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? You've been doing surgeries these days. It's wearing you out. Look at you. You don't look so good today. Don't hang around the hospital anymore. Let me take you home and get some rest."

His eyes flitted about, and his countenance betrayed a rather conspicuous air of guilt. He grilled me and said, "There are quite a lot of acquaintances here, right? Have you bumped into any of your old classmates or friends?"

I tightened my grip until my fingernails cut into my palms, the sharp pain bolstering me to muster a smile and say, "No. I just miss you. Let's go home. Mom said she cooked up the mushroom soup."

As he heard my denial, the deep frown on his forehead instantly smoothed out.

Along the way, he talked and laughed with me. His gestures were thoughtful, and his tone was tender, making it seem as if the moment when I had witnessed him cheating just now was merely an illusion. However, not a shred of love could I perceive in his eyes any longer.

The seemingly perfect love I had once believed in turned out to be nothing but his means of atoning. Just how deeply must he have loved that family to be willing to stake his marriage on it?