Chapter 2

Hazel POV

I stumbled home in a daze.

The moment I pushed open the door, Lucky came bounding over, tail wagging.

I crouched down and hugged Lucky, remembering that winter three years ago.

That day, Adam and I found Lucky on the roadside. It was so thin its ribs showed, shivering in a cardboard box.

Adam didn't hesitate. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it up. "From now on, it's ours."

Thinking of this, a glimmer of hope rose in my heart.

Was there any chance I'd heard wrong?

Was there any chance Adam was just lying to my parents?

Five years together, so many days and nights. How could it all be fake?

I let go of Lucky, got up, and went to the study. I pulled out our marriage certificate from the back of the drawer.

I'd always kept it locked away carefully in the deepest part of the drawer.

I went online and checked the state's marriage records database, typing in my personal information.

During those few seconds waiting for the results, I clutched the certificate tightly to my chest. My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest.

It had to be real. It had to be.

The page loaded. The screen clearly displayed:

"No marriage registration data found."

I stared at those words. My vision gradually blurred.

It was fake.

I hadn't heard wrong.

I laughed. As I laughed, tears fell.

My phone suddenly lit up.

A conversation window that hadn't moved in years popped up with a message.

Seeing Winnie's profile picture, I couldn't help trembling.

Winnie wasn't just my twin sister. She was my lifelong nightmare.

At first, though my parents favored her, they weren't that bad to me.

It was Winnie who framed me again and again.

She would slap herself hard, then run crying to our parents saying I'd hit her.

She would hide her own things in my room, then find them in front of our parents.

She would eat peanuts she was allergic to until her face turned red, then say I'd tricked her into eating them.

She would roll down the stairs, sobbing uncontrollably, saying I'd pushed her.

The worst time was when we were both supposed to go to school, but Winnie came home very late that day. Her clothes were torn, she was covered in injuries, crying that I'd found several thugs to assault her and she'd barely escaped.

That day, Dad broke a clothes hanger on me. Mom stood there the whole time without stopping him once.

Frame after frame, in my parents' eyes I went from the older twin who'd stolen nutrients to a born villain who wanted her sister dead.

Winnie and I had identical faces but completely different hearts.

I thought moving out of the Jones house would let me escape this nightmare, but only now did I understand. The nightmare had never ended.

I clicked on the conversation. It was a link to a social media profile.

I clicked the link. It was Winnie's private account. The posts went back to college days.

As I scrolled through the photos, my fingers grew stiffer and stiffer.

So Winnie and Adam had known each other since college.

Adam cooked every meal for Winnie himself and wouldn't eat until she was full.

When Winnie had period pain, Adam would keep her stomach warm all night.

Every time luxury brands released new items, Adam immediately bought them for Winnie.

Everything was exactly the same as what Adam did for me.

Even many of the things Adam gave me were the same as what he'd given Winnie before.

So all his kindness to me was just skills he'd practiced on Winnie.

And what Adam did for Winnie was far more than what he did for me.

Adam personally learned to make birthday cakes for Winnie.

Adam carried Winnie on his back up a mountain for three hours just so she could watch the sunrise from the peak.

The year Winnie went abroad for treatment, he flew over dozens of times.

Adam had never done any of these things for me.

I watched and cried. As I cried, I laughed.

I turned off my phone screen. Without further hesitation, I went out early the next morning to apply for a visa.

At the end of this month, the results of the IDA International Emerging Jewelry Design Awards would be announced.

It was a competition I'd been preparing for half a year. It was crucial for my career, and I was very confident.

Once the visa came through and the competition results were out, I would leave this place.

Leave Adam. Leave Winnie. Leave all of them.

As for the baby in my belly, I hadn't decided yet.

After all, it wasn't just Adam's child. It was also the little life I'd been looking forward to.