chapter 4

It took me a long time to finally return to my room.

I sat blankly at my desk, the soup stains on my clothes still damp.

After a moment, I opened a drawer and pulled out a thick photo album.

Memories came rushing in like a tidal wave.

The first photo in the album was of me and my parents, taken back in middle school.

I used to be someone deeply loved, wrapped in my parents’ affection as I grew up.

We did not have the Quinns’ wealth, but we lived well. I was never lacking or mistreated.

The latter half of the album held snapshots of me and Ethan, fragments of our time together.

We started dating in college.

I had just won one of the top spots in the campus singing competition, and Ethan was in the audience, his eyes filled with admiration as he watched me.

That night, he arranged a heart made of fresh flowers beneath our dorm building and shouted, “Please be my girlfriend!”

I felt shy and a little embarrassed, but there was something radiant about him that made the whole world around us feel like it was glowing.

With everyone around us cheering, we hugged under the soft glow of the campus lights.

We were the kind of couple everyone envied.

Yvonne was never a secret between us.

Ethan had told me they were childhood friends who grew up together. He always saw her as a little sister, nothing more.

He said that no matter how close they were, I was the one he cared about most.

And I believed him, with all my heart.

Right after we graduated from college, my parents passed away in an accident. Ethan stood by their deathbed and promised them he would take care of me.

With unwavering resolve, he said, “Don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility for Lana for the rest of my life.”

Not long after, at Ethan’s strong insistence, I moved in with his family.

I thought I had found someone to lean on, someone who would give me the happiness my parents had hoped for.

But over time, that warmth and sincerity quietly began to fade.

After Ethan started working, he met all kinds of people, and gradually, I began to notice that, in his eyes, I seemed more and more plain and insignificant.

His parents had never truly been satisfied with me. Any occasional kindness or smiles they showed were only for Ethan’s sake. To them, I was just an orphan without parents, living under someone else’s roof.

What they really wanted was a daughter-in-law like Yvonne.

The overwhelming pressure eventually caused severe damage to my vocal cords. I gradually lost my voice. I think Yvonne’s arrival was just the final straw. The spark that pushed me over the edge. The moment I gave up completely.

Maybe trying to recover my voice was never really about healing. Maybe I was just searching for an excuse for Ethan’s indifference.

Tears slid from the corners of my eyes, landing softly on the photo frame.

Mom… Dad… you must be worried about me. I have let you down.

But don’t worry, I’ll be out of here soon.

I replied to the email, accepted the job offer, and told them I could start immediately.

Then, I pulled all my clothes out of the closet.

One by one, I folded them neatly into my suitcase. When I finished, I added my photo album, except for the pictures with Ethan. I took those out.

The response from the overseas company came almost instantly. A senior executive got in touch with me online right away.

But just as the conversation started, Ethan called.

As expected, he was calling to accuse me. “Lana, you must be happy now. You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”

I snapped back, furious. “What exactly do you think I wanted? To break off our engagement?”

Ethan did not even hear the last part. He just let out a cold, bitter laugh. “You wanted Yvonne dead. That was your goal all along, wasn’t it? I finally see you for who you really are.”