Chapter 2

Just as dawn broke, frantic knocks pounded on the storage room door.

My eyes were swollen and red, but I painfully got up and opened the door to see Seraphina’s irritating face.

She tilted her head slightly, glaring at me, her eyes full of displeasure.

“Caleb’s already gone to the office. You’re still asleep? Are you really treating him like a complete fool, just keeping you around?”

“Get up! I’m hungry. I want breakfast!”

The storage room was too small. I hadn’t slept well at all, so I had no energy to deal with her.

I frowned, raising my eyes sharply. “We have a housekeeper.”

With that, I tried to close the door to shut out her incessant chatter.

But she blocked the door with her foot. “Caleb told you to take care of me. If you don’t listen, I’ll tell him right away and have him come back and teach you a lesson, you little bitch!”

Yesterday, Seraphina had been so timid and demure. Today, she was a total witch, like she’d had a double shot of espresso and a side of rage. Her nagging had completely ruined my sleep. I didn’t want to argue with her, so I started walking towards the kitchen.

As I moved, she flashed a triumphant smirk. “First, pour me a glass of warm water. I’m thirsty!”

I turned back, expressionless, poured the water, and handed it to her. “Here.”

She took the glass and, without a moment’s hesitation, dumped the warm water all over my head.

The warm liquid streamed down my face and dripped onto the floor. I gasped for air, my muddled brain suddenly crystal clear.

She hooked a finger under my chin, forcing me to look at her. “You’ve occupied Mrs. Caleb’s position for so many years. I’m a little annoyed, so this is just a tiny punishment for you.”

She chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll gather the hundred million within seven days. I promise you’ll leave smoothly!”

“But you need to remember this: because of you, I was robbed of my right to be by Caleb's side. So now, even if I want you dead, you’ll have to accept it!”

I slapped her hand away without mercy, sighing at her stupidity.

“You’re pathetically foolish. If I’d known you were this stupid, even if Caleb had died right in front of me back then, I wouldn’t have uselessly given up my kidney to save you!”

Even now, she still believed everything Caleb had was solely due to his own efforts.

But how could she know that without me, his biggest shareholder, backing him from behind, he would never have become a rising star in business!

The next second, a stinging slap landed unexpectedly on my face. Caleb’s disgusted voice pierced the air. “Maya, how can you be such a malicious person!”

I was stunned, my head ringing.

In four years of marriage, Caleb’s concern for me had been rare, but he had never laid a hand on me.

“Caleb, Maya didn’t mean it.”

“She’s just upset that I’m in her master bedroom, that’s why she said those things. It’s okay…”

Seraphina’s cloying voice drifted over, her eyes red as she feigned trying to stop Caleb.

I instinctively spoke, my eyes blurred. “That’s not how it was…”

Before I could finish, Caleb’s cold voice cut me off.

“I heard it with my own ears! What more do you have to say? I can’t believe you’re so wicked you wished Seraphina dead!”

“If I hadn’t come back in time, would you have put a knife to her throat?!”

In Caleb’s eyes, Seraphina was always good and kind, and I was always malicious.

He never listened to my explanations. Every word I spoke seemed to disgust him.

I stood rooted to the spot, touching my burning cheek, silent.

As long as Seraphina was around, he would never see my disheveled state, my humiliation.

Perhaps realizing his attitude toward me was too extreme, he actually softened his expression and explained.

“I already told you Seraphina wouldn’t threaten your position. Why do you still make things so difficult for her?”

“When did you become so unreasonable?”

Suddenly, he chuckled, meeting my eyes with a scornful look. “Oh, I forgot. You’ve always been like this.”

With that, Caleb picked up Seraphina and turned, leaving me alone, bewildered.

It was only then that I understood. For him, this marriage was just a transaction, a means to keep Seraphina alive.

If there had been no Seraphina, if a kidney match hadn’t been found…

Would I not have become a sacrifice between them?