Chapter 3

I was a year older than Vivienne, but she had always been the one protecting me. We were inseparable, like real sisters.

After I started dating Lucas, I went out of my way to set her up with Zachary.

I was blind, and I dragged my best friend down with me.

In the end, we got married and even got pregnant. Yet, we were nothing but fools, played by those two men. They never truly loved us.

Vivienne suddenly let out a bitter laugh, curling up in pain. I looked up and saw her holding her phone.

It was a photo.

Lucas was covered in dirt. He had a rope tied around his waist and held Cassandra tightly in his arms. Zachary, wearing his white coat and carrying a medical kit, was rushing toward them.

For a fleeting moment, if the men in the photo weren't our husbands, I might have even envied the scene.

They shielded Cassandra like a treasure, like knights risking their lives to protect their princess.

The photo was posted on Cassandra's social media, along with a suggestive caption, "One risked his life to save me, and the other treated my wounds. Right now, I'm the happiest person in the world."

The comments section had already exploded.

"Oh my god, this is straight out of a fairy tale!"

"They love her so much! I'm so jealous!"

"Petition for the heroine to just keep both of them!"

I shook my head with a bitter smile. A sharp, stabbing pain spread through my chest when I realized the necklace around Cassandra's neck in the photo was the same one Vivienne and I had once set our eyes on.

"The salesperson told us it was a limited edition, and only one piece was available. They wouldn't let us buy it, but somehow it ended up on Cassandra's neck.

"Mandy, look at this. They give the best of everything to Cassandra. We're just fools." Vivienne's voice was thick with tears as they rolled down her cheeks once more.

I took her phone and struggled to sit up, pressing my forehead against hers. "Vivi, none of this matters anymore. We need to focus on recovering. They don't care about us, so why should we care about them?"

The more I spoke, the more suffocated I felt. Tears streamed down my face as we held each other tightly.

We were wronged so badly.

Growing up together, we thought we knew them inside out. But Cassandra—someone we never even heard of before our marriages—turned our lives into a joke.

And the most ridiculous part? Lucas had blocked me too.

"Mandy, we're such failures. We can't even contact our own husbands."

"They probably can't wait for us to die so they can make room for Cassandra."

…

After a few days of rest, we had somewhat recovered physically, but the wounds in our hearts refused to heal.

"Vivi, let's leave them. What's the point of staying with these heartless men? We don't need them, and we don't need children either."

She nodded expressionlessly, completely dead inside.

In the end, we decided to find a lawyer to handle the divorce. If we asked those men directly, they would just think we were being unreasonable.

But the lawyer came back empty-handed. "Ms. Grant, I'm sorry. I think this might be the hardest case I've ever taken. Your husband is too volatile. The moment I brought it up, he shoved me out the door and started cursing. As soon as he heard your name, he smashed a glass.

"What kind of so-called elite is this? He's just a thug! I've already refunded your fee. You should find someone else." The lawyer angrily hung up.

Seconds later, my phone rang again.

"Miranda! Are you out of your mind? I blocked you because you were interfering with my work! I didn't expect you to be this petty. You even went so far as to send a lawyer to both my workplace and Zachary's to cause trouble! What the hell do you want? We must've been blind to marry you two!"

I clenched my teeth in anger. "Lucas, you—"

"Shut up!" Before I could finish, he cut me off. "Enough already! Listen, Miranda, don't think that just because you're pregnant, I won't divorce you!"

"I know that. That's why I sent a lawyer to you." I forced myself to sound calm. "Lucas, I sincerely want a divorce. You just think I can't live without you. Oh, and pass a message to Zachary—tomorrow, the four of us will meet at the courthouse."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line.

It didn't matter. I had said everything I needed to say.

Just as I was about to hang up, Lucas suddenly roared, "Miranda Grant! Are you insane? I've told you so many times—rescue work is my job! Cass is a delicate woman, and she was terrified. She has nightmares every night now! As a friend, what's wrong with me staying by her side?"

Then, I heard Cassandra's soft sobs in the background.