Chapter 2
After letting her emotions out, Fiona pulled out her phone and booked a flight for seven days later.
Once the purchase was complete, her phone automatically switched back to the surveillance feed.
Perhaps it was fate’s cruel joke, but Fiona caught the exact moment when Quentin. revealed the truth he’d buried for years.
“Daisy, I regret everything,” he confessed.
“I was young and foolish back then, mistaking sand for pearls. If you’d come back
to me, I’d call off my wedding in a heartbeat.”
“And if you won’t have me, I’ll at least treat Fiona well, if only because she bears a slight resemblance to you.”
Even though she’d already made up her mind to leave…
Even though she’d witnessed his betrayal with her own eyes…
Those words still sent a sharp pain through Fiona’s heart.
Looking down at her screen, their intimate affection seemed to pour out through. the display.
Daisy, apparently tipsy, didn’t respond but lounged lazily on the sofa.
Quentin – the same man who’d just criticized Fiona Lockhart for being self-
–
destructive when drinking was now voluntarily preparing hangover soup for Daisy, patiently feeding it to her.
Daisy turned her head and playfully kicked Quentin, like a petulant child.
“As if I’d want to marry you anyway.”
Rather than getting annoyed, Quentin caught her foot and began massaging it tenderly.
Daisy’s lips curved into a satisfied smile.
“I know you can’t marry me because of your position, and I know you’ve never forgotten me all these years.”
“This marital home was decorated to my taste, the wedding ring was chosen to match my preferences, and even the heels she wears are the ones I rejected.”
1/4
02
She nestled her head against Quentin’s chest.
“It’s okay, I don’t need an official status. As long as I’m the one in your heart, that’s enough for me. I won’t leave you again. I’m willing to stay by your side, even if it means being the other woman.”
Watching this scene unfold, Fiona gripped her phone so hard her knuckles turned
white.
Her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds.
The most agonizing part was that even though she already knew the answer, a part of her still desperately hoped Quentin would maintain some boundaries at the last
moment.
But in the next second….
Quentin, who had been silent all this time, suddenly leaned forward.
His lips met Daisy’s in a kiss.
A passionate, lingering kiss that spoke of years of suppressed love.
Fiona couldn’t take it anymore.
Her whole body trembled as tears streamed down her face.
In their ten years together, every time she had tried to kiss Quentin, he had turned
his head away.
Back then, Fiona had thought Quentin was just shy and reserved.
Little did she know, he had been saving all his passionate love for Daisy.
For ten years, they had shared a bed and a life, countless intimate moments
between them.
Yet all along, Quentin had been secretly keeping his heart pure for his first love. Fiona’s nails dug deep into her palms, the pain so intense it nearly took her breath away. Her eyes dropped to the designer heels on her feet.
These were Quentin’s engagement gift to her, adorned with countless sparkling crystals. They were obscenely expensive, like something out of a fairy tale. Fional had loved them, truly.
Too bad they were a size too small, leaving her feet bloody and raw with every step
2/4
02
she took.
It took her only three seconds to make up her mind. She pulled them off and
tossed them into the nearest trash can.
“Beautiful shoes that don’t fit aren’t worth keeping,” she thought bitterly. “Just like a marriage without love isn’t worth fighting for.”
Just as she was about to hail a cab, Quentin appeared behind her, calling out her
name.
Fiona turned.
In that moment when their eyes met, Quentin instantly dropped Daisy’s hand. When he noticed Fiona’s swollen cheek, guilt flashed across his face. “Sobered up now?” he said. “I didn’t mean to hit you. I just wanted you to come to your senses before things got completely out of hand.”
Seeing Fiona’s gaze drift toward Daisy’s Lockhart bag, Quentin rushed to explain. “Don’t get the wrong idea. Daisy had too much to drink. I couldn’t let her walk home alone at night–it’s not safe. That’s why I brought her to our place.” “She’s like a sister to me. It’s only natural that I look out for her. Besides, she’s a sensible girl. She was actually insisting on leaving before you got back, worried you might misunderstand.”
Quentin, who normally barely strung two words together, suddenly couldn’t stop talking when it came to Daisy. Every single word was in her defense.
Fiona stared at this man she’d known for over twenty years, suddenly feeling like she was looking at a stranger. Weren’t they the ones who grew up together? Wasn’t she the one who stood by his side through the tough years while he built
his business? His fiancée?
How had she ended up being nothing more than a replacement?
She couldn’t understand it, and she no longer wanted to try. In seven days, she’d be gone anyway. She didn’t need to keep up appearances anymore, didn’t need to swallow her pride for the sake of harmony.
Looking straight at Daisy, she finally spoke the words she’d kept buried in her
3/4
02
for over a decade.
“She’s not my sister she’s nothing but a homewrecker’s spawn, just like her mother!”
20
