Chapter 2

"Anya, are you really sure I don't need to stay? Your health..."

Liam held my hand, his brow furrowed, his face etched with worry and reluctance.

"I'm fine. And Mom and my mother will both take care of me. You go, don't worry."

I shook my head, my voice hoarse, "Besides, how important is this project? It's the result of countless all-nighters you and Chloe pulled. We're so close to the finish line; how can we let it be delayed because of me?"

Liam's mom patted his shoulder, "Exactly! Anya's right! You and Chloe have both lost weight because of this project. It's about to succeed, so hurry up and get ready to leave."

My mom quickly echoed, "Yes, Liam. Chloe's only been with your company for a year, and she's already helping you shoulder such an important project. It's all thanks to your guidance."

"We've got Anya covered here. You two just go, don't worry."

Liam leaned down and pressed a kiss on my forehead, his voice gentle, "You focus on recovering. We'll bring back good news."

I nodded obediently, watching him and my sister, Chloe, leave the hospital room.

My dear sister and husband, in this life, I'll grant your wish. May you be a cursed pair, bound even in the afterlife.

Half an hour later, Chloe's SnapChat updated.

She leaned intimately against Liam's shoulder, their heads close as they looked at documents, a palpable intimacy between them.

The caption was a brutal stab to my heart: "My hard work and my love are both by my side. How incredibly lucky I am!"

I stared at that photo, my stomach churned violently.

A year ago, Chloe graduated from college and joined Liam's company.

I never imagined that, under the guise of work, the two would spend their days and nights together. The office, hotels, the car, even the marital bedroom Liam and I shared—all had borne witness to their intimate moments.

For the sake of this family, I swallowed my pain and tried everything to win my husband back.

Thinking about it now, it was utterly ridiculous. How could someone whose heart had already changed ever want to come back?

In my last life, I deliberately stood in a heavy rain to get a high fever, stopping my husband and sister from going on that business trip to the border.

I succeeded, but I didn't foresee Chloe choosing to go alone.

Nor did I foresee that the project was a vicious, predatory scam that devoured people whole.

When the news came that my sister had died in a foreign land, I lived in endless self-blame and guilt.

I thought I had killed her, that my pathetic selfish desire had destroyed her life and their shared career.

It wasn't until the day before I was due to give birth that I discovered a recording of my sister and husband plotting to kill me after they returned. Only then did I see their true faces!

My emotional agitation from the recording led to a difficult labor.

And my husband seized the opportunity to personally send me and my unborn child to the chopping block.

Starting over, I only wish that despicable pair, so consumed by their twisted 'love', may they be a cursed pair, eternally bound even as ghosts in the afterlife!

My phone screen lit up again. Chloe sent a SnapChat message, her tone innocent: "Sis, guess what surprise brother-in-law has prepared for me tonight?"