"Nothing happened between us," she said honestly.

Liam visibly let out a breath of relief. Seeing Ethan still looking pissed, his expression dark and unreadable, he quickly added, "Yeah, bro, she just got out-I was just here to welcome her back, that's all."

Welcome her back? What, by dragging her into bed?

Seriously, could he be more obvious?

"But, if you'd shown up just a little later, maybe something really would've happened," she added calmly, like it was no big deal.

The room suddenly felt suffocating. Ethan's hand gripped the wheelchair handle so tightly his knuckles turned white, eyes locked on Celeste's indifferent face. He couldn't believe she just came clean like that. So straightforward? Really?

Liam's face turned ghostly pale. He practically jumped up. "What the hell are you saying?!"

"Wasn't that what you just said? That nothing beats dumplings when it comes to food, and nothing beats a sister-in-law when it comes to fun? You said since your brother's crippled, you'd 'perform the husbandly duties' for him. You even promised to treat me well if I gave in-what's the matter now? Getting cold feet already?"

Celeste looked a little wounded as she said it, deliberately dragging out the word "cripple" while glancing at Ethan.

Liam freaked out, stammered, "You... You... You..." Too scared to even glance at Ethan, like he was scared he'd be torn apart right then and there.

What shocked him more than Celeste's blunt confession... was how the once gentle and quiet woman could lay it all out like this-right in front of Ethan!

The post-prison version of her? Totally unhinged.

"I-I mean, I admit I had thoughts, okay? But she wasn't feeling well! We didn't actually-"

Celeste wasn't even mad. She stared him down like she'd just figured him out. So this guy only acts brave when someone's weak, huh?

All bark, no bite.

What a waste of that dangerously pretty face.

But hey, maybe this little drama would actually make her life a bit more fun.

"Get out!!" Ethan barked, voice low and shaking with rage as he rolled his chair forward.

It was terrifying-like his voice had crawled out of hell itself. Even Celeste's back went cold. No wonder she used to be scared of him-he really did give off major bomb-waiting-to-explode vibes. The deadly kind.

Liam shot her a vicious glare, cursing her silently-next time, he'd make her pay-but in front of Ethan? He didn't dare let out so much as a breath. On his way out, he even tripped, scrambling out like his butt was on fire.

Now it was just the two of them-the air thick and quiet.

"I... um..." she started, unexpectedly flustered. For some reason, her heart was pounding like crazy. Really? Getting nervous over a man in a wheelchair?

'Get it together, Celeste.'

"Hey, long time no see..." she finally blurted out. As soon as the words came out, she felt like shoving her foot straight into her mouth.

Ethan stared at her coldly, saying nothing.

That look... it chilled her all over.

Still silent?

"Well, since it's sunny out, maybe I could push you outside for a bit?" From what she remembered, he used to really want that.

But the second her hand touched the wheelchair, he suddenly grabbed her wrist hard-and then, without warning, his rough palm clamped around her neck.

The pain hit her first, then the lack of air.

Her face quickly turned red and purple.

"Cough..." She tried to pry his fingers away, but Ethan's grip was way too strong. "Let... let go..."

Ethan's words squeezed through his teeth, each one sharp and heavy. "Who told you you had the guts?"

What the hell?

"What are you even talking about? I seriously... I don't get it..."

"Heh... tried and failed to seduce me, and now you're switching to Liam because you're scared of losing the title of Mrs. Shaw?"

Her brain froze for a second, then her heart sank like a rock.

'No way. Celeste, what kind of wild stuff did you do before? You tried to seduce Ethan?!'

Even if you were lonely, you wouldn't seriously go after a man in a wheelchair, would you? Or... were you actually into the guy?

"Let me go - I can't breathe..." Her voice shook, and her eyes welled up. She smacked his arm over and over, genuinely panicking.

It wasn't until she looked like she might actually pass out that Ethan let go.

Celeste collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut, gasping and touching the marks he left on her neck.

"Cough..." Seriously? Was he trying to choke the life out of her?

Are all men this damn aggressive?

"Get lost!" Ethan barked, shoving his wheelchair back a little. Fury simmered in his voice and eyes as he glared at her.

So he's not gonna press charges?

But when she reached up and felt how close she'd come to having her neck snapped, Celeste zipped her mouth. She gave a quick "okay," climbed to her feet, and slipped out of the bedroom, carefully closing the door behind her.

The second that door clicked shut, it hit her.

With Ethan's cold and aloof nature, no way he'd let the world know if his wife had cheated on him with his own brother. That'd ruin his pride, plain and simple.

But then another reality smacked her - he kicked her out of the bedroom, so... where the hell was she supposed to sleep?

This was getting ridiculous.

She looked around and noticed a small guest room right next to Ethan's.

Celeste pushed open the door. It was modest - a small bed, a wardrobe, and a bathroom.

Whatever. Better here than risk getting strangled by a pissed-off rich guy in a wheelchair.

Night fell. The breeze was cool, and she lay under a thin blanket, but sleep didn't come easy. Her mind kept flashing with scenes that had been buried deep.

A black Rolls-Royce crushed by a massive truck at an intersection, flames roaring as if the whole world was burning. Two charred bodies were pulled from the wreckage by medics.

That was her mom and dad.

The headline on a black-and-white newspaper read: [Major Crash in Yannburgh Outskirts at 5 AM-Business Tycoon Jonathan Goodwin and Wife Killed]. [Heiress Isabella Goodwin Missing... Fiancé Oliver Larson Currently in Custody and Offering a $5 Million Reward for Her Whereabouts.]

Ha... Oliver. Larson.

His name still hit sharp, like a dagger straight to the heart.

She used to be Isabella. And Oliver? The man she once loved with everything she had.

But in the end, all she got in return was betrayal. He actually wished death on her entire family.

She remembered that day clearly. She'd been running for her life, chased by a group of thugs, and only when she jumped into the sea did she finally realize - it had all been Oliver's scheme from the beginning.

He wanted her dead more than anyone.

So, Oliver, are you happy now?

You got the Goodwin fortune. You're living it up with the woman you really love.

But don't get too comfortable - I'm coming for what you owe me.

When Celeste woke up, her eyes were still wet with tears as she scanned the room. Her gaze finally landed on the clock-it was nearly ten.

She couldn't believe she'd slept that late.

Grabbing a simple set of loungewear from the closet, she pulled the collar up to hide the marks on her neck from yesterday. As she made her way downstairs, she silently prayed she wouldn't run into that disabled eldest son.

To her relief, Ethan was nowhere in sight. Liam wasn't there either.

The living room was buzzing with activity. Sophie was hovering over Grace Shaw, showing her how to make dumplings. Mr. Shaw sat on the couch, glasses perched on his nose, eyes fixed on the finance channel.

"Mom," Celeste greeted softly as she walked in.

Sophie's face immediately turned cold. She glanced at the wall clock, eyebrows raised.

"Do you even know what time it is? First day back and you're already slacking off. What, you think you're some pampered princess now?"

Grace, lazily shaping a dumpling, chimed in without looking up. "Must've been tough in prison. Poor sister-in-law's probably so wiped out, she forgot breakfast was even a thing."

Breakfast was her job?

So basically, Celeste's role in this house was daughter-in-law slash housekeeper?

"What's wrong, did jail fry your brain?" Grace smirked, arching her thin brows when Celeste stayed quiet.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Celeste offered a polite smile. "Not at all. If breakfast's what you want, I'll go make something right now. I promise it'll be just how you like it."

Ignoring the way Sophie's and Grace's expressions soured, she calmly turned and headed toward the kitchen.

"Is she for real? Totally nutty. Look at the time, who even wants her breakfast?" Grace grumbled under her breath. Before, Celeste would just silently take the hits with that pitiful, wronged look of hers.

Now she was smiling like nothing could get to her?

"Guess the prison guards knocked something loose in her head."

Sophie took one of the dumplings from Grace and frowned. "This one's a mess. You gotta fold it like this, see?"

In the kitchen, staring at the rows of oils, sauces, and veggies, Celeste's head started pounding. She seriously had no clue how to make breakfast. Back when she was living with the Goodwins, not setting the kitchen on fire already counted as a success.

Still, she bit the bullet, grabbed a steak from the fridge, tossed in some chopped scallions and an egg, and tried to fry it up. She vaguely remembered the maid used to cook it this way.

Trouble was, she totally messed up the heat. By the time she picked the steak up from the pan, it looked like a chunk of charcoal-pitch black and crispy.

Panicking, she tried to make it look better by dusting it with a little flour and covering it with some cumin and chili powder before bringing it out.

Grace took one bite, and her face instantly twisted. That delicate, doll-like expression collapsed in a second.

"Ugh!"

She spat it out like it was poison, slammed her fork on the table, and snapped, "Seriously, sis-in-law, you did this on purpose, didn't you? Trying to poison me like your whole 'accidental death' thing again, huh?"

"That bad?" Sophie looked skeptical. She had thought Celeste at least knew how to cook.

To check for herself, she picked up the knife and fork, took a bite-and her face turned from pale to purple in seconds.

Celeste looked sincerely apologetic. "Oh no... was it that bad? Sorry, I guess my hands shook a bit. Got my head bashed in pretty bad while I was locked up, needed stitches. Fingers got broken too, so maybe I went a little heavy on the seasoning."

Her tone was so genuine, like she had no idea she'd done anything wrong. No matter how furious Grace looked, Celeste kept that calm, sweet smile on her face, like a breeze on a spring day.

Sophie's eyes flickered with something unreadable.

"You totally did that on purpose! If you didn't want to make breakfast, just say so! Don't go pulling some stunt like this!" Grace practically exploded. She'd always hated how Celeste was all meek and quiet-how was someone like that even worthy of her brother Ethan?

So she didn't bother hiding the sharp edge in her words. She'd already made up her mind to kick Celeste out of the Shaw family someday.

"But Grace, that's not fair... I really tried. I just... I'm not good at this," Celeste said, eyes slightly red-rimmed as she looked like she was holding back tears.

"You-!"

Everything was about to blow up in the living room when-