Chapter 3My Twin Sister Can't Have Children, So She Schemed to Frame Me as a Surrogate. Now They're Calling Me a Homewrecker?

Lucas and I have been married for five years, and there hasn't been a single day without arguments.

During these five years, Emily has become like the air in our home - everywhere and inescapable.

I developed severe depression. I toss and turn at night, unable to sleep, losing clumps of hair. But no one knows about this. After marrying me, Lucas hardly ever comes home. He leaves me alone in this house to fend for myself. Because he has to keep Emily company - I heard she developed serious depression because of what happened between Lucas and me.

Speaking of which, Lucas even got physical with me once over Emily's depression.

Because I often couldn't sleep, I developed a habit of drinking heavily. One night when I came home late, the house was dark. Suddenly I felt something yanking at me, dragging me outside. In my drunken state, I managed to open my eyes and saw Lucas pulling me by my hair.

"Lucas Parker, are you insane?" I yelled.

"If it weren't for you, Emily wouldn't be depressed and suicidal. She's in such bad shape at the hospital, and here you are partying at bars?" Lucas snarled through gritted teeth, sounding so self-righteous.

I couldn't help but laugh bitterly inside. I kicked Lucas away and finally snapped. "If you were really so great, you wouldn't have ended up in bed with me. You can act all high and mighty now, but you're only fooling those idiots out there. Lucas Parker, don't tell me you didn't recognize me that night. I may have been drunk, but you certainly weren't. Now you're acting like some chaste martyr - who are you trying to impress?"

Lucas froze. I had guessed correctly. After all these years of liking him, I finally realized he was nothing but a hypocrite in sheep's clothing. Because of my bad reputation, he had the audacity to make me take all the blame just to protect his own dark desires. On what grounds?

I had never wanted to escape this prison as badly as I did in that moment - to go somewhere far away from Emily.

I don't know if her depression is real or not. But my condition is no better than hers. It's just that I've never shown anyone my medical reports. Otherwise, I suspect she would have driven me to suicide by now.

Lucas looked a bit defeated. He stopped pulling at me and sat down on the couch, lost in thought.

To be fair, he's never actually abused me physically. I actually kicked him several times just now.

Maybe because this fight got particularly ugly, Lucas seemed to tone things down after that. He started ignoring me instead of constantly berating me like before.

I suspect it's because I called him out that night and exposed what was really in his heart. He wasn't as devoted to Emily as he claimed to be.

Lucas and Emily had been together for years without being intimate - Emily told me this herself. She used to brag about how she could keep a man completely devoted without using her body. That man was Lucas Parker.

In a way, I felt a bit sorry for Lucas. But I didn't think he was pitiable. He chose to be willfully blind in the name of love. I couldn't say anything about that - you can't wake someone who's pretending to be asleep.

I'm not sure if Emily's condition has improved. I've blocked my parents' numbers - since they wanted to cut ties, let's keep it that way.

These days, I've been thinking about what I really want. I used to want Lucas - that's been true ever since I first met him. But now I don't want him anymore.

The price I've paid for this has been too high.

But I never considered divorce. Maybe I hadn't completely given up hope yet. Sometimes I wonder, if I got divorced, where would I go? In this vast world, I have nowhere to call home.

I blocked Emily's number too, but I know she and Lucas are still in contact.

Later, I started frequenting bars, but I only drank - no flirting. The bartender at one place was quite nice. He not only mixed great drinks, but also helped me out of some sticky situations a few times. He was tall, handsome, and seemed very reliable.

Maybe because people saw him looking out for me, rumors started spreading in that bar that I was his mistress. The stories got wilder and wilder. He never explained, and I couldn't be bothered to say anything. After all, I barely knew any of them.

But you always have to pay the price for your actions. Some people will come after you even if you don't provoke them - like Emily.

The day I ran into her and Lucas, I had gone to the bar as usual and ordered a bottle. Emily walked in on Lucas's arm, appearing right in front of me. Lucas's eyes were dark and unreadable. I glanced at him once, then ignored them. Nothing good ever came from those two being together.

But Emily wasn't about to let it go. She was clearly here to humiliate me. She sat down next to me and said, "Sister, why are you ignoring me? Lucas and I - I mean, my brother-in-law and I - just happened to be passing by when we saw you drinking here."

"What, you want a drink too?" I asked Emily.

"Oh no, I can't drink. The doctor says it's not good for my health right now."

"Then hurry home and rest. You're so delicate - if you get sick again, you'll find some way to blame me, and I won't be able to defend myself."

While I was talking to Emily, Lucas hadn't come over. But I didn't care. I was already over Lucas.

The bar owner muttered to the bartender: "So that pretty regular isn't your girlfriend after all."

That comment seemed to spark something in Emily. She turned to the bartender and said, "My sister is already married. That man over there... is my brother-in-law."

I felt incredibly awkward. I had barely interacted with the bartender, but now he was being dragged into this mess.

Looking at him, I felt a bit guilty. But he didn't seem to mind. He just smiled and asked Emily, "Is that so? But what does that have to do with me? Just like how no one cares why a sister-in-law would be hanging on her brother-in-law's arm in a place like this."

"That's because you don't know why I ended up like this. If your boyfriend was stolen by your own sister, you wouldn't be saying that about me." Emily's voice got louder. The people around us immediately changed the way they looked at me. Some who had tried to hit on me before now had contempt in their eyes.

But that bartender seemed naturally unsympathetic towards women. He glanced at Lucas and said, "You two actually look well-matched. From what I can see, I don't think your boyfriend was stolen. You seem more like you're here to show off. If your boyfriend was really stolen, you should know how hurtful it is to be the other woman. But you're still interfering in their marriage. I don't think you're as innocent as you claim."

"You..." Emily bit her lip, looking a bit hurt. She turned back to give Lucas a pitiful look. Lucas was about to step in, but he was clearly annoyed too. The relationship between him, me, and Emily was supposed to be a private matter. But Emily had just aired it all out in front of so many people. Lucas had always cared about saving face - how could he not be upset?

But the bartender wasn't done. He smiled and continued, "Your acting skills really aren't very good. People who work in bars long enough have seen it all. You're living too fake a life."

With that, he turned and went into the back room behind the bar.

Emily had probably never been shut down like that before. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She turned, wanting to seek comfort from Lucas. This time, Lucas actually stepped away from her a bit.

He looked at me. I met his gaze, took a sip of my drink, and said nothing. Emily tried to say something else, but Lucas came over to me first. He grabbed my wrist and said, "You've had too much to drink. Let's go home."

I didn't protest. I left with him.

The whole way home, Emily sat in the driver's seat, chattering away about something. Lucas would occasionally respond, but not much. I don't know why he was acting so strangely today, but I couldn't be bothered to think about it. I leaned back in the rear seat and slowly drifted off to sleep.

To be honest, this was the most at ease I'd felt in a long time. At the bar, I kept wondering if that bartender would end up pointing fingers at me like everyone else.

I have to admit, Emily is very skilled. After all these years, I've grown so afraid of her taking things from me.

Lucas dropped Emily off at home first, but he didn't stay. I could tell Emily was extremely unhappy about this, but Lucas didn't give in.

It was quite novel. I didn't particularly want to watch this scene, but as we were about to drive off, Emily woke me up. She had that look on her face like she was about to cry, trying to get Lucas to stay.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and said to the lovebirds, "You two carry on. I'll take a cab home."

I was about to get out of the car when Lucas locked the doors. He said to Emily, "She's drunk. I need to take her home first. We'll talk tomorrow."

And so we drove away, leaving Emily with a resentful look in her eyes. I didn't say anything, and neither did Lucas.