Chapter 2After My Husband Had Her Steal My Identity

The moment Mia saw me, the triumphant smirk on her face froze. She instinctively hid her hands behind her back, but not before I saw it.

The exquisite, one-of-a-kind diamond bracelet Brian had just won at that charity auction.

“Eleanor? What… what are you doing here?” Her voice trembled.

But she recovered in a heartbeat, her expression shifting into one of weary annoyance.

“Miss Levinson, I know you’ve had a crush on my husband for a long time, but you can’t just cause a scene like this.” Her voice dripped with false pity. “No matter how hard you throw yourself at him, he’s never going to be with you.”

Hearing this, the attendants shot me looks of pure disgust.

“So she’s a pathetic homewrecker! And she tried to impersonate the real wife? God, how shameless can you get?”

The whispers started, sharp and cruel.

“This is hilarious. If you’re going to be a gold digger, at least aim within your league!”

“Miss Reed is the one Mr. Croft cherishes. Does this woman really think she can compare?”

I said nothing. I simply took out my phone, my movements slow and deliberate, and pulled up the photo on my lock screen: a picture of Brian and me on our wedding day.

“A crush on your husband?” I held the phone up to her face, my voice as sharp as broken glass. “Mia, look at this photo and tell me again. Who is your husband?”

She glanced at the screen, then looked back at me with an expression of profound disappointment.

“I know you’ve resented me ever since I started helping you with your tuition, you were always jealous of how kind Brian was to me. But really, Eleanor… resorting to photoshop? You should have more self-respect.”

With a flourish, she pulled a marriage certificate from her clutch. There, in crisp black ink, were their names: Brian Croft and Mia Reed.

“This,” she said, tapping the embossed seal, “is the real deal. It can’t be faked.”

The attendant who had been harassing me shoved me backward.

“You see that? That is the real Mrs. Croft. You’re just some ungrateful charity case who got a little help and now thinks she can seduce a real man. Pathetic!”

“Get the hell out of here before you ruin everything! If you delay Mr. Croft and Miss Reed’s anniversary party, not even ten of your miserable lives would be enough to pay for it!”

Not enough to pay?

I almost laughed. I’d like to see if Brian had the guts to make me pay for anything.

When I met him, Brian Croft was just another intern at an investment bank, wearing a threadbare shirt that had been washed one too many times. At my father’s corporate galas, he didn’t even have the standing to hand a business card to a junior executive.

It was I who defied my father, who insisted he wasn’t beneath our family. It was I who pulled him into my own project team, who coached him, who handed him the multi-million dollar deals that made him a tech mogul.

“Brian Croft wouldn’t dare,” I muttered.

The words had barely left my lips when a stinging slap cracked across my face.

The attendant glared at me, his face twisted in disgust. “What, you’re still not done with your little act? Mrs. Croft is being nice to you, and you’re still pushing it.”

He then turned to Mia, his voice instantly becoming syrupy and obsequious. “Ma’am, a woman like this who doesn’t know her place needs to be taught a lesson! Otherwise, she’ll never stop! I say we should scratch up that pretty face of hers, maybe then she’ll stop trying to seduce Mr. Croft!”

“You’re pregnant, you can’t get worked up. I’ll drag her out of here myself and show her what happens when you cross the Crofts in this city!”

He lunged for me, his thick fingers reaching for my arm.

Suddenly, a familiar, commanding voice cut through the chaos from the entrance.

“Stop this at once! What do you think you’re doing?”