###Chapter 2
Early the next morning, as the nurse changed my bandages, she spoke gently. “Miss Solmere… your father’s body was found by a fishing boat. He’s at the morgue now.”
The last piece of hope inside me shattered. Still, I forced myself to sit up despite the sharp pain.
“You can’t get out of bed yet…”
I pushed her hand away and slid off the bed. Step by step, holding onto the wall, I made my way toward the door.
In the hallway, I saw Darren. He was holding Riley in his arms, kissing her.
His hand rested on her slim waist. She looked radiant, healthy, glowing with life. Her voice was soft and sweet.
“After the placental tissue you got for me, I feel so much better today. Thank you, Darren.”
He kissed her forehead gently. “Ten years ago, you gave me your kidney. You saved my life. I’ll spend the rest of my life taking care of you.”
“That’s because I love you.”
Ten years ago? Was it really her who gave him a kidney?
The thought was so absurd I almost laughed. I turned away unsteadily.
The clean glass in the hallway showed my reflection. My face was pale and tired. My hair was tangled. My face was twisted in pain. I looked like a walking corpse.
I stumbled into the morgue. But the moment I lifted the white sheet and saw my father’s face, I collapsed to the floor.
My sobs echoed as I called my mother, who was overseas on a business trip.
“Mom… Dad… Dad is gone…”
Suddenly, I heard the sharp sound of high heels behind me.
Riley walked in.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Vexia. I’ll help arrange a beautiful funeral for your father,” she said with a mocking smile. “But of course, it will have to wait until after my baby shower.”
As she spoke, she raised her phone in front of me. On the screen was an ultrasound photo. She was already two months pregnant.
A strong wave of nausea instantly rose in my stomach. So, that day on that deserted island wasn’t their first time.
In front of me, they acted like they hated each other. But behind my back, they had been sleeping together again and again, using betrayal as a way to “thank” me.
I couldn’t stop myself from shouting, “Don’t you feel even a little guilty?”
Three months ago, Riley was thrown out by her wealthy husband after she cheated on him. Thus, she had nowhere to go. I was the one who took her in.
Darren strongly disagreed at first, but I persuaded him. “But she has no family. She has nowhere else to stay.”
In the end, he agreed, though he looked unhappy.
I didn’t realize I was inviting a wolf into my home.
When we were teenagers, Riley used to come to school with bruises on her face. Her single mother drank too much and hit her.
She had nowhere safe to go. So, I brought her home.
My parents treated her like their own daughter.
They cooked her favorite meals. They redecorated the guest room the way she liked. They even celebrated her birthdays.
When her mother didn’t show up for her graduation ceremony, my father went in her place so she wouldn’t feel ashamed standing there alone.
You could say my family protected her entire youth.
And now, like a venomous snake, she spoke cruel things with such a soft tone.
“Your father didn’t drown trying to save me, so why should I feel guilty? And your placental tissue becoming my treatment is your honor.”
“You ungrateful snake! Evil woman!”
Rage took over. I raised my hand to slap her. But before I could touch her, a cold hand seized my wrist.
When Riley let out a sharp cry, Darren threw me to the ground and quickly held her in his arms.
“She’s pregnant! What are you trying to do to her?”
The stitches in my abdomen tore open and pain exploded through me. I looked up at him, trembling with grief and fury.
“You killed my father. You took my child!”
Blood slowly spread through my hospital gown. Darren stared at the red stain and froze for a moment.
Then, Riley began to cry in his arms.
“Darren, my stomach hurts. She hurt me…. But her father’s and her baby’s death really weren’t my fault…”
Darren immediately carried her in his arms. His eyes were red with worry.
“I’m taking you to the doctor.”
When he looked back at me, his gaze turned cold.
“Your father drowned on his own. What does that have to do with Riley? And the baby? Look at yourself, Vexia. Jealous. Bitter. Ugly. What right do you have to be a mother?”
Ten years of love turned to ash at that moment.
I watched his back as he hurried away while I lay there on the floor in a mess. With the last of my strength, I dialed a number.
My voice was hoarse, but steady.
“Marry me. Is the family arrangement still valid?”
