chapter 2

And now, Ethan actually expected me to cook for Yvonne, even though I was still recovering from a hospital stay.

I gave a dry laugh, thinking back to the email I got a few days ago.

It was a job offer from an international firm.

Before all this, I had already built a solid reputation in the domestic design industry.

However, the Quinn family only saw me as someone who should settle down, get married, and become a full-time housewife.

The company’s CEO had given me two weeks to consider the offer, and I was glad I had not turned it down right away.

Now, I was sure. This was my way out.

Ethan was standing in the kitchen like he still had something to say.

“Could you not block the fridge? Thanks.” I shoved him to the side without a second thought. Ethan’s face froze.

Just then, Yvonne’s cheerful voice called out from the living room. “Ethan, come here! I brought you a gift! I’ve been busy with my birthday ever since I got back and haven’t had time to give it to you!”

Ethan’s face lit up and he headed out eagerly.

Mr. and Mrs. Quinn said with a smile, “Yvonne, you’re always so thoughtful. You don’t need to bring gifts. We’re family!”

I kept my head down, chopping vegetables, listening to their lively conversation without a flicker of emotion.

After all, I was just the cook. They were the ones who looked like a real family.

Once I had finished preparing the five dishes and soup, I slowly set four sets of utensils on the table.

While they ate and talked, I slipped back into the kitchen to start cleaning up.

Yvonne went on and on about her time abroad and how much she had missed everyone.

Mr. and Mrs. Quinn listened with wide smiles, clearly delighted. Mrs. Quinn kept piling food into Yvonne’s plate and fussed over her. “I heard the meals abroad are barely enough to fill you up,” she said, her voice full of worry. “Look at you, you’ve lost so much weight. Eat more, sweetie.”

Ethan even brought out a box of fresh lychees he had just bought, peeling them one by one and placing them neatly into a fruit bowl for her.

From behind the kitchen door, I watched them chatting and laughing around the table.

And in that moment, it hit me, I didn’t belong. I was just extra.

That warmth and closeness. It has never once happened to me.

“Lana, aren’t you coming to eat?” Yvonne called out. “Are you still mad about the other day?”

Her voice held a touch of guilt as she added, “I know it was all my fault. I should’ve just spent my birthday alone.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Ethan and the others all turned toward the kitchen.

Mrs. Quinn’s eyes flashed sharply, her voice tinged with impatience. “Lana, are you seriously still sulking?”

Mr. Quinn chimed in, trying to back her up. “Look, we get that you had a procedure that day, but it wasn’t like it was life-threatening or an emergency. What good would we have done being there anyway?”

Yvonne reached over and gave Mrs. Quinn’s shoulder a gentle pat, the corners of her cherry-red lips lifting into a soft smile.

“It’s perfectly normal for Lana to be upset. You guys don’t need to keep picking on her.” Yvonne said.

Then she turned to look at me, and I saw it. That glint of smug satisfaction hiding behind her eyes.

When our gazes met, she did not even try to hide it.

I suddenly remembered the day of my checkup. Ethan had promised to go with me, but halfway there, he just tossed me into a cab and left to pick Yvonne up from the airport.

A few days earlier, I had overheard their phone call. Yvonne was checking flight dates, and Ethan clearly told her he would be at the hospital with me that day.

But she still chose to fly back that day, then called it a “surprise.”

That “surprise” was really just a gift wrapped in pain for me.