Chapter 2Leaving You All Behind

The higher the elevator climbed, the faster my heart pounded. It stopped on the 26th floor.

As soon as the doors opened, I heard laughter coming from inside the condo.

"Mom, I want some watermelon."

"Okay. I'll cut some up for you."

"Chester, I found a new bag I really want. Who's going to buy it for me?"

"I will. When have I ever said no to something you wanted?"

I didn't even have to see them to picture Olivia in the middle of it all, with everyone fussing over her. It was exactly how they'd treated me on my first day with the Hortons.

Back then, Hank called just as I'd finished feeding the pigs.

I was so excited that my biological parents had finally found me that I could barely think straight. Even so, I took a shower, put on the nicest clothes I owned, and got into the car.

On the way there, I must've practiced what I was going to say hundreds of times.

But the moment I got there, Olivia screamed and threw up.

"Ugh, she smells! Did she just crawl out of a dumpster? That's disgusting."

I was wearing the cleanest outfit I owned. I'd washed it over and over with soap, and it didn't smell like the pigpen at all. But one comment from Olivia was enough to make even Mom and Dad cover their noses.

I wanted to say something, but my throat tightened, and a sour taste rose in my mouth.

Back then, Hank had stepped in front of me without a second thought and shielded me from them. But now, he had Olivia in his arms, looking at her with a gentleness I'd never seen before.

"Don't be mad, babe. I'm here to make it up to you, aren't I? Amanda's nowhere near as important as you are. Didn't you say you wanted to go to Avernia to see the snow? I already got the time off. I'll take you next week."

Babe?

Hank had never called me that. Even when we were crazy about each other, he always had me saved in his phone under my full name. After I started working, he even added my department to my name.

Once, I took his phone and changed my contact name myself. He blocked my number that same night.

He always explained it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world. "My coworkers might see it. There's no need to make our relationship so obvious."

Since when was a contact name too much?

The truth was, he just didn't want people to know what I was to him.

After we got engaged, I brought up our honeymoon more than once, but Hank always had an excuse. The weather was never right. The timing was never right. Neither was the place.

In the end, I realized I was the one who was never right for him.

And yet, in the hottest part of summer, Hank was willing to fly all the way to Avernia just so Olivia could see the snow.

I stood outside the door and suddenly couldn't bring myself to step inside.

"Amanda? Why are you here?"

Olivia's voice was barely above a whisper, and the color drained from her face.

Hank didn't even glance at me. He just pulled Olivia behind him and stood in front of her.

"Amanda, what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Hank, what are you doing here? Comforting your other wife?"

He'd just been caught cheating, but he didn't look worried at all. His first instinct was still to protect Olivia.

The way they acted, you'd think I was the one trying to tear their family apart.

"Amanda, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have come here. I just missed Mom and Dad, Chester, and Hank so much. I wasn't trying to take anything away from you."

Olivia's eyes were red, and her whole body trembled.

Chester shoved me aside and stepped over to Olivia's other side.

"Amanda, that's enough. Olivia didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who brought her here. If you're angry, take it out on me."

I hadn't even done anything. I'd only shown up, and somehow that alone was enough to make them treat me like the enemy. It hurt so much I could barely breathe.

"Why? Why are you all doing this? All because of one ridiculous phone call, you went to all this trouble to lie to me just to protect her? Hank, even you don't believe me?"

Hank and I had been together for three years, and he was the one who'd made the first move. He wasn't good at expressing his feelings, but he'd always made me feel secure.

If the water dispenser broke, he'd have it fixed by the next day. Whenever the seasons changed, he'd buy me whole new outfits. Even when he cooked, he always made everything the way I liked it.

"You even know about that phone call? Amanda, you're even more despicable than I thought. Why should I believe you won't hurt Olivia?"

I froze.

Before I could explain, the door slammed shut in my face, and a rush of air hit me. I fumbled to wipe away my tears, only to see a message from Mom and Dad.

"Amanda, Olivia is our daughter too. We're begging you, please don't go after her."

So that was why they hadn't said anything earlier. It wasn't because they believed me. They were just afraid that if they upset me, I might do something to Olivia.

Everything I'd been holding back came rushing out.

With shaking hands, I texted back, "Okay."

Then I downloaded the transfer application my manager, Ms. Parker, had sent me.

My fiancé was never really mine. The wedding was a lie, and so was the love I thought I had from my family.

So what was the point of being a Horton?

I didn't want this fake family anymore.