Chapter 2My Husband Is The Rival

Leaving the Hart family meant resigning my position at Hart Memorial Hospital.

Three days later, as I was finishing my exit paperwork and carrying a box of my personal belongings toward the elevator, I ran into Lucy. She was there for a "check-up," looking every bit the pampered heiress.

She leaned against the wall, watching me with a smug smile. "Isabel, remember three years ago? When you made sure my reputation was trashed in med school? When you made sure no residency program would take me? Did you ever think you'd end up like this?"

"I can't be a doctor, but so what? I can still get you fired from your own family's hospital."

I looked at her, seeing the smallness beneath the designer coat.

Three years ago, we were both grad students under the same mentor. She had been desperate for a shortcut, secretly buying substandard reagents to pad her research results. It resulted in an entire batch of experimental drugs being compromised.

She tried to pin the blame on me since we shared the lab shift. But the digital trail of her purchases cleared my name. She was blacklisted from the research community for wasting a year of the institute’s funding. And she had hated me every second since.

"I didn't realize your man was so easy to catch," she continued, moving closer so she could whisper in my ear. "A few 'accidental' run-ins, a little vulnerability, and he thought it was fate. He used to complain about how boring you were, always stuck in the lab. He said you didn't know how to... give him what he really needed."

She pulled aside her silk scarf, revealing a cluster of faint bruises on her neck. Her eyes were a challenge.

"I asked Alex how many kids he wanted. Want to guess what he said?" She leaned in. "He said as many as possible. Because he’s going to love our children more than anything in this world."

She waited for the tears. She waited for me to collapse. Instead, I let out a dry, hollow laugh.

"Is that so? Well, I wish you both a very busy nursery. May you be locked together forever."

Lucy’s face contorted with rage. She raised her hand to strike me.

I moved to block her, but someone grabbed me from behind, yanking me backward so violently my neck snapped. A stinging slap landed across my face, nearly knocking me off my feet.

My mother—or the woman I used to call mother—stared at me with pure venom.

"Isabel, stay the hell away from my daughter. If you breathe near her again, I will make sure the Hart family ruins what's left of your miserable life!"

I touched my burning cheek. The irony was a physical weight in my lungs.

Six months ago, this woman was dying of liver failure. There were no compatible donors on the registry. I was the one who went under the knife. I gave her a portion of my own liver to keep her alive. I nearly died on that table from a massive hemorrhage.

When she woke up, she held my hand and called me her "angel." She promised that even if they found Lucy, I would always be her daughter.

How quickly the "angel" became the "trash."

"I’ve already had you scrubbed from the family trust," she spat. "You have no connection to the Harts anymore. I won't let you hurt my daughter or my grandchild!"

I froze. "Grandchild?"

Lucy smoothed her dress over her stomach. "Didn't you know, 'Sister'? I’m three months pregnant."

Alex was standing by the clinic doors, his expression unreadable. So that was it. That was the resolve that led to the secret marriage.

"Congratulations, Mr. Cross," I said, my voice cold.

My mother raised her hand again. "You still have the nerve to flirt with him in front of us? Do you think we’re blind?"

This time, I didn't let her hit me. I caught her wrist in a vice grip, squeezing until she let out a sharp cry of pain.

Lucy scurried into Alex’s arms. "Alex, is she doing this because I took over the new drug research project? Isabel, if that's what this is about, just take the project! Just don't hurt Mom!"

Her eyes, however, were dancing with malice.

It was almost funny. They really had no idea.

The "New Drug Project" was my brainchild. I had only offered it to Hart Pharmaceuticals to bolster my family’s standing in the biotech market. But if they wanted to play games, the game was over.