Chapter 2

Before I could even process what was happening, Yvonne Reed pushed past Marcus, holding a young boy in her arms.

She looked at Julian, tears streaming down her face, looking incredibly pitiful.

"Julian... my mother passed away."

The boy in her arms, about three or four years old, started crying along with her, pointing at Julian.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

I stared at the boy. He looked at least seventy percent like Julian.

My brain felt like it was about to explode.

I violently pushed Julian away. I stood there, frozen for a few seconds.

Slowly, the brutal reality sank in.

The man I was marrying had already become someone else's husband five years ago.

No.

Perhaps I didn't even have the right to call Julian my husband.

In the eyes of the law, I was the homewrecker. The other woman.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. My whole body began to shake uncontrollably, and my knees buckled.

Julian rushed forward to support me.

"Chloe..."

"Slap!"

Before he could utter another word, I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

I took a deep breath, desperately suppressing the roaring emotions inside me.

"Julian, today is our wedding. The entire high society is out there. You might not care about your reputation, but I care about mine. Come out with me right now. We will announce an early end to the reception and send the guests away gracefully."

"Then, we will call both of our parents and handle this mess together."

Knowing he was entirely in the wrong, Julian took the slap without a word.

Seeing my cold expression, he tried to reach out again.

"Chloe..."

"Don't say my name!"

I cut him off sharply. Even the sound of his voice made me sick to my stomach. I lifted the skirt of my wedding gown and turned to walk out.

Julian hung his head and followed me.

But just as I was about to push the door open, Yvonne screamed behind us.

"Leo! Leo, what’s wrong?"

"Don't scare Mommy!"

I looked back.

For some reason, the little boy in Yvonne's arms had turned a terrifying shade of purple.

His body was twitching, and he quickly lost consciousness.

Julian darted past me, snatching the child from Yvonne's arms. He asked frantically, "What happened?"

"It looks like an allergic reaction! What did you feed him?"

Yvonne was sobbing hysterically, completely unable to give a coherent answer.

Beside them, Marcus suddenly remembered something.

He yelled, "Could it be that peanut pastry? On our way here, the kid said he was hungry. When we passed the dessert table, he grabbed a piece.

Maybe he’s allergic to peanuts? Should we make him throw up?"

But at this point, Julian clearly didn't care about the details. He held the child tight and rushed toward the door.

"There's no time. We have to go to the hospital right now."

He didn't even look at me. He just ran past me, disappearing down the hallway with Yvonne and the child.

I stood there in my white wedding dress, completely alone.

I stared blankly at the empty doorway. My groom had just abandoned me at our wedding to run off with his secret wife and child.

Emptiness, humiliation, anger.

So many emotions choked my throat, leaving a metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

I covered my face and wept silently, unable to even make a sound.

Until Marcus's hesitant voice broke the silence.

"Chloe... there are still so many guests outside. What should we do about the wedding?"

I forced myself to stop crying. I wiped my tears, walked back to the vanity, and applied a layer of powder to cover the tear stains.

"Tell them..." my voice cracked, "tell them Julian felt suddenly ill. The wedding is over. I'm going out to see them off."

I walked out of the dressing room, forcing a polite smile to bid the guests goodbye.

Faced with my parents' confusion, I could only offer a vague excuse.

Meanwhile, Julian's parents, Richard and Eleanor, helped me play along while offering me apologetic, guilty smiles.

So, they knew. They knew all along.

My heart shattered into a million pieces.

What was this? A family-wide conspiracy to trick me into a sham marriage?

When the last guest left, Eleanor and Richard walked up to me, looking extremely anxious.

"Chloe, Julian just called. He said he's back at your new villa, and everything with Yvonne and the baby has been settled. You two just got married.

Don't let some outsiders ruin your relationship. Go back and talk it out. Everything can be resolved."

"There's nothing a young couple can't resolve over a good talk."

I let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cole, I don't think I can carry the title of 'wife' anymore. Legally, Yvonne is Julian's wife. I, Chloe Vance, am the irrelevant outsider here."

"Since things have come to this, I think our families' business merger should be put on hold."

"I'm tired. I'm going home."

Without waiting for their hypocritical excuses, I turned and drove straight to our new villa.

The moment I pushed the door open, Julian stood up from the sofa. He had been waiting for me.

He held a stack of papers and eagerly handed them to me.

"Chloe, you're back. Today... I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Don't worry, I’ve settled everything with Yvonne. Look, this is a divorce agreement. Yvonne and I just signed it. Once we file it with the court, we will be officially divorced."

"After that, I'll marry you legally. I won't waste another second."

I looked down at the papers but didn't take them.

Instinctively, I touched my belly, intending to ask him about the child.

But at that moment, a figure wearing an apron walked out of our kitchen.

It was Yvonne.

"Oh, Miss Vance, you're back."