My mother, who divorced my father fifteen years ago after he brought his mistress and illegitimate daughter into our manor, gasped in delight.

"That's good to hear, dear. Wrap up your business in Italy. I’ll send a private jet in four days."

“Okay.”

I hung up and hailed a taxi.

My chest was tight and I couldn’t think straight, so I needed a drink.

Just as I stepped into a VIP club, fate decided to twist the knife deeper.

I saw Jordan, already drunk, surrounded by his usual crowd. Adeline also sat beside him.

Her gossipy friends circled them like flies on sweetness, giggling and whispering behind their cocktails.

“Adeline,” one of the girls cooed while clinging to her boyfriend’s arm, “how did your sister’s husband end up so obsessed with you?”

Adeline laughed, pressing a hand to her chest with false modesty.

“Oh, don’t say that. He just… cares for me. Like a sister,” she said coyly. “I told him I was terrified of giving birth. I was worried that I couldn’t give Young Master Walton a child if we ever married.”

Then, with a soft smile, she added, “But Jordan said he’d make Casey pregnant soon and promised to give their first child to me. So, I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.”

A girl squealed, “Oh my god, he’s such a sweet brother!”

The air knocked out of my lungs.

So that was why Jordan suddenly pushed so hard for a baby.

Not because he wanted a family with me, but he wanted a child to hand over like a trophy to her.

I grabbed the drink the waitress just placed before me and downed it in one gulp.

But as I reached for another, a group of Young Masters slithered toward me like snakes.

“Well, well, what happened to the Ice Queen of the Stevens family?” one sneered, tapping my shoulder.

Another wrapped an arm around my waist. “Right? The Ice Queen finally thawed?”

"Bored, Casey?" the third grinned, pinching my chin. “Finally want to play with us, huh?”

“Don’t touch me!” I snapped, shoving them off with shaking hands.

My voice rose above the music, immediately caught Jordan’s attention.

His eyes sharpened the moment he saw me.

Maybe it was instinct, or guilt, he rushed over and yanked the men away, shielding me like he used to—when I was still someone he wanted to protect.

The others backed off, murmuring drunken apologies as they scattered.

Left alone with him, Jordan looked me up and down, confused. “What are you doing here, Casey?”

I let out a bitter laugh, my eyes narrowing. “Really? You ask me why I’m here?”

I stepped closer, voice cold. “Then tell me, where should I be? At the amusement park—waiting like a fool under the summer sun for hours?”

I poked his chest with my finger as I scolded him, “You promised to pick me up, but you never came.”

His eyes widened. He pressed his fingers to his temple, groaning. “I’m sorry, Casey… I forgot.”

My fists slammed against his chest, tears stinging but never falling. “You’re a bastard. I hate you!”

Then, like she had rehearsed it all, Adeline slipped between us, voice sweet.

“Please don’t punish your husband, Sister. He didn’t mean it. After helping me, he drove me to meet my friends at the club. He just… accidentally forgot.”

I opened my mouth to scream at her. But before I could speak, someone shouted, “Watch out!”

A screech tore through the ceiling.

The massive disco ball chandelier shuddered, then broke loose.

It plummeted down—straight above us.

In the past, Jordan would’ve thrown himself over me without a second thought.

But that night?

I watched as he wrapped his arms around Adeline, shielding her entirely as they dove out of harm’s way.

And me?

The chandelier struck me and darkness was the last thing I could remember.

But the pain didn’t stop there. Even in unconsciousness, they followed me into my dreams.

It was a scene from a week ago, when I had received a heartless HR notice, [Casey Stevens will be removed from her position as Vice President of Marsell Jewelry.]

Feeling confused, I stormed to the HR Director’s office.

But as my hand reached for the doorknob, I froze.

Through the narrow crack, I saw them.

Adeline Stevens—my father’s illegitimate daughter—locked in a lover’s grip with a man whose back was all too familiar.

Jordan Young.

Their mouths tangled in a slow, wet kiss, her leg hooking around his waist as he pinned her against the wall.

“Shh,” he murmured, kissing down her jaw. “Don’t make a sound. Someone might walk in.”

Adeline giggled, breathless. “Let them. I want her to see.”

She looked straight at me and smirked. “You were honest when you said you only love me, right?”

Jordan didn’t even glance up, kissing her neck. “Of course. Only you are in my heart. Casey’s nothing compared to you.”

I stumbled back, dizzy.

I returned to the office I once called my sanctuary. The shared space Jordan and I once filled with laughter.

He said he liked it. “Same house, same room, same office,” he told me.

Now, it was suffocating.

His laptop sat open and a message popped up on WhatsApp Web.

[Rudy: You really are amazing, Mr. Walton. Pretending to be just an orphan, marrying that Ice Queen Casey just to take over Marsell Jewelry, and get close to your real crush, Adeline. Bravo!]

[Jordan: Adeline’s always been the bullied illegitimate daughter. She protected me thirteen years ago. Now it’s my turn. Marsell Jewelry is hers by right. Once she’s Vice President, I’ll divorce Casey and propose to Adeline.]

[Rudy: No need for a proposal, Mr. Walton. Just take your bride. You’ve already announced the Walton-Stevens wedding plan, right?]

My vision blurred.

Jordan Walton—the hidden heir of the Walton family, the very man my father once praised as Adeline’s future husband, was actually the soft-spoken husband who held my hand at night?

I wanted to scream. To break something. But I didn’t.

Instead, I pretended I didn’t know.

But during that week, my loyal team were fired one by one by Adeline.

Then she entered my office like a queen claiming her throne.

“As long as you won’t step down for me, sister,” she said sweetly, “I’ll keep firing your precious little army. Let’s see how long you last without them.”

I gritted my teeth and immediately confronted Jordan. “She’s firing people just because they support me!”

He didn’t even glance up. “Adeline has evidence. If they’re incompetent, they deserve it.”

“They’re not incompetent! She’s purging everyone loyal to me.”

“She’s restoring order,” he replied coldly. “Maybe it’s time for you to step back.”

The next day, without warning, Adeline fired my assistant.

Adeline always had a way to threaten me, so I sighed and said to Jordan, "Fine, I’ll step down.”

“I’ll give the Vice President seat to that illegitimate daughter and be the housewife you’ve always wanted."

“Good,” he said. “Finally, you’re acting like an obedient wife. But Casey, how many times do I have to remind you? Adeline is your sister.”

I stared straight into his eyes. “No. She’s the illegitimate daughter of the Stevens family. Nothing more.”

He sighed and rubbed his temples like I was a misbehaving child. “Casey, I know you’re angry. But this is for your own good. Once you leave, you can focus on getting pregnant. Adeline’s just worried about you.”

‘So that you can screw her without guilt,’ I sneered silently.

But outwardly, I only smiled faintly. “That’s so kind of you both.”

I pulled out a stack of papers and placed them in front of him. “Sign these. I’ll leave once I finish this last task. But Jordan…”

I leaned forward slightly, my voice low and laced with something sharper.

“…You do realize I never played a game I couldn’t win, right?”

He chuckled, completely misreading my tone, his pen moving across the page without hesitation. He didn’t even read them.

“I know. Even if you’re stepping down, the next heir of Stevens will be our son, right?” He looked up with satisfaction. “That’s why it’s best to get pregnant soon—before Adeline marries into the Walton family.”

As the last signature fell into place, I gently gathered the documents, storing them neatly into my folder.

"Yes," I said with a pleasant smile. Then I turned to leave.

Outside the door, Adeline stood waiting, arms crossed and lips curled into a venomous smirk.

As I passed her, she leaned in and whispered, “Nothing in this world is truly yours. Everything you love eventually leaves you.”

Then, I woke up.

Not without reason did I dream of that scene again.

As if my own mind whispered the cruel truth, if I had no one.

Then, as expected, I was lying on a hospital bed alone.

My head pounding fiercely from last night’s fall, but I had no intention of staying any longer.

Just as I reached for the IV to pull it out, I heard the nurses talking outside.

"Even though Ms. Casey’s the first daughter and hit her head so badly until she was unconscious for two days, she’s just in a regular room. Meanwhile, Ms. Adeline, with just a scratch, is in VIP.”

“Right? And did you see her husband? He’s been with the younger sister the whole time. Honestly, those rumors about Ms. Casey being an Ice Queen must be true. Even her husband can’t stand her.”

Two days?

So, I’d been unconscious for two days and Jordan never even came.

My lips moved with barely a breath, “This kind of humiliation… I’ll never accept it again.”

I clenched my jaw, ripped the IV from my arm, and stood up.

There was no pain stronger than betrayal.

With only two days left until everything would be finalized, I went back to the house I had once called home.

I erased every trace of myself, wiped my fingerprints from the smart lock, packed my clothes in silence, and burned every photo, note, and keepsake Jordan and I had once shared.

Just as I handed off the last package for overseas shipment, Jordan’s car rolled into the driveway.

He stepped out, surprised. “Casey? What happened? I heard you suddenly left the hospital and now you’re here, packing?”

“Just clearing out old things,” I replied, my voice dull. “They’ve gathered too much dust. And I left the hospital because I wasn’t feeling at home there.”

He nodded with barely a thought. “I see. No problem. You can always buy new ones—whatever you like.”

That was it.

Not a single question about my injuries, not even a concern about my attitude.

That night, he came out of the bathroom, hair damp, carrying that same woody musk scent that used to make my heart race.

He sat beside me on the bed and wrapped an arm around my waist, like it meant something.

“Is tonight the right time to make a baby?” he murmured against my ear.

Once upon a time, I would’ve giggled and wrapped my arms around him. “Yes! The sooner the better!”

But tonight, I didn’t even flinch.

Instead, my mind drifted to the first night we were together.

I had cried from the pain, yet I smiled through it, convincing myself that pain was part of love.

Even when it became routine, or turned into a duty, I endured it all.

But not anymore.

This marriage had died. One more night, and I would be free.

So, I let him hold me, just this once, knowing it would be the last time.

Jordan leaned in, ready to kiss me.

But the moment his scent filled my nose, I smelled Adeline. It made my mind threw back to the moment I saw them making out in the office last week.

My stomach turned violently and I jumped off the bed, rushed to the sink, retching.

“Casey? What’s wrong?” Jordan’s hands gently held my hair back, patted my shoulder, and calmed me down just like he used to.

But the nausea wasn’t from illness. It was from the sickness of being fooled.

I held the edge of the sink, breathing heavily, until a sudden thought shot through me like lightning.

Wait, I hadn’t gotten my period this month!

My eyes widened and I rushed to the bathroom drawer, fumbling through the storage box until I found the test pack. My hands trembled as I tore it open.

“Wait... are you pregnant?” he asked, voice almost breathless. “Really?”

Panic swelled in my chest, and I blurted, “I’m not sure. I just want to check.”

While waiting for the result, his eyes lit up. As if this was good news for him.

Meanwhile, I was praying for a negative result, fingers shaking as I bit down on my knuckles to stay calm.

Jordan reached out my shaky hands and said with a soft smile, “You’re always so nervous.”

“It’s okay. Whatever the outcome is… we’ll go through it together.”

Together?

How could he say those words with the same mouth that whispered to Adeline?

How could the man I believed in, the man who made me trust love again, now be the same person who ruined me this deeply?

Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn’t stop them.

I pulled my hand away sharply and stood up. “It’s time to check.”

And when the result appeared, the tears that brimmed finally fell.

Without asking, he pulled me into his arms and held me tight, misreading my tears entirely.

“It’s okay,” he whispered into my hair. “Next time, okay? We’ve waited a year… what’s a little longer?”

I couldn’t say a word. Because the test was negative.

Jordan thought I cried from disappointment. But the truth? I was relieved.

Relieved I wouldn’t have to tie myself further to a man who broke me.

After the melodrama of the night before, we spent the breakfast in silent.

Jordan finally started the conversation. “You must be sad about last night. But don’t worry… we can try again. We will.”

I didn’t respond.

He gently touched my fingers laid in the table. “How about this—let’s fly to Maldives tomorrow, okay? For our anniversary, we deserve a break.”

“But today, we still have to go to Adeline’s birthday party. Just one day, then it's just us two in paradise.”

Maldives was our honeymoon destination, where I once thought our forever began.

But that paradise meant nothing now.

Still, I forced a smile and murmured, “Sure.”

Breakfast went by with Jordan rambling about resorts and ocean villas, his voice animated as he scrolled through photos.

But somehow, Adeline kept slipping into the conversation.

"What kind of gift should we get her?” he mused aloud. “She’s into minimalism these days. Maybe that brand she likes from Paris?”

Then he chuckled. “Remember that pale pink dress she liked? That would look stunning on her.”

Of course, he knew her better than I ever did. But I couldn’t even feel angry anymore, since the exhaustion ran deeper than rage.

I stood up slowly, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m full,” I said quietly, and walked into the kitchen, leaving his voice—and his fantasies—behind.

Finally, he left for the office.

I stood alone in the bedroom, staring at the cold space we used to share.

There was no trace of me left anymore, and yet, Jordan never noticed. Or maybe, he simply didn’t care.

I then sat at my desk one last time, picked up a pen and a paper.

This wasn’t going to be a love letter. It was a farewell.

I folded the letter and put it in an envelope, ready to give it to my lawyer friend, Leah Cortez, to attach to the divorce papers.

Before leaving, I headed to a private lounge where my closest friends waited. They deserved my goodbye.

“You’re too kind, Casey,” one of them said, raising a glass. “After everything you’ve built, how can you just give up?”

Another added, “We saw how you transformed Marsell from nothing. You built that empire with your bare hands.”

I smiled faintly and took a sip of champagne, the burn on my throat nothing compared to the ache in my chest.

“Right, right—just drink today,” Leah said, pulling me into a tearful hug. “After tonight, everything will be different.”

I knew she meant it, since my ID would never appear again starting tomorrow.

“Don’t worry,” I said smoothly. “I’m fine.”

On my way out, I passed another private box.

Laughter spilled from behind the half-open door and Adeline’s voice, unmistakable, floated out along with her friends.

“Even your sister’s husband is smitten with you,” someone teased.

“But Adeline, do you really want him?”

Her voice was light, mocking. “Of course not. I’m going to marry Young Master Walton soon.”

A giggle followed. “Then what about Jordan?”

Still holding her champagne, Adeline laughed airily. “He’s handsome. I wouldn’t mind keeping him as a little plaything. That’s not taboo anymore, right?”

More laughter erupted.

I didn’t flinch. I simply watched, through the crack in the door, as the man who shattered me was nothing more than a pretty toy in her eyes.

“I wonder how you’ll react when you hear this, Jordan,” I murmured, lips curling in a quiet sneer and I walked away.

That evening, I finished my makeup and slipped into the gown I’d prepared a year ago—meant to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

Outside, Jordan was waiting.

When he saw me, he grinned and held out his hand like some fairytale prince. “Beautiful lady, ready to dazzle the party tonight?”

I smiled, but only with my lips. My eyes stayed cold.

“Stop the sweet talk, Jordan.”

He chuckled, mistaking my icy tone for shyness, the way I used to blush at his flattery.

He rushed ahead to open the car door, expecting me to take his arm like always. But I brushed past him without a word and slid into the car.

He stood frozen for a moment, confused by the chill. Then forced a smile, pretending not to notice anything at all.

As we arrived at the banquet hall near the Grand Canal, Jordan kept glancing toward the entrance.

He wasn’t there for me. He was waiting for her.

I swirled the wine in my glass, letting out a quiet sigh.

Then they came stepping in like Venice’s royal family.

Adeline, my father, and her mother walked in perfect unity, a portrait of happiness. And I, the first daughter, was once again left out of the frame.

The sight brought back the memory that had haunted me for years, a nightmare on loop.

Fifteen years ago, my mother had begged my father to abandon his mistress. Instead of protecting her, he beat her.

Broken and hopeless, my mother finally jumped from a cliff. They called it suicide, but I called it murder by cruelty.

From that day on, Adeline and her mother slowly stole everything from me. I became a ghost in my own house.

But they never knew, someone they tried to destroy was still alive and helped me in private.

Jordan’s voice snapped me back to the present. “Adeline looks so beautiful tonight.”

Then, noticing the glare in my eyes, he added quickly, “But of course, you’re the most beautiful woman here.”

I rolled my eyes.

Around the room, guests gathered around Adeline like bees to honey.

“Happy birthday, Ms. Adeline!”

“Congratulations on becoming the new Vice President of Marsell Jewelry!”

“You truly deserve it.”

And then, the stares began.

“Such an Ice Queen, she’s clearly unfit to run the company.”

“Yes, it’s better for her not to come today.”

Adeline waltzed toward me with fake warmth and a saccharine smile, patting the back of my hand like we were loving sisters.

“Oh, sister,” she whispered, “please don’t listen to them. I’m happy you are here today”

Then, as if by accident, she bumped my other hand and the wine splashed across her pastel pink gown, making the glass shattered at our feet.

“Argh!”