Chapter 2

Sutton froze, staring at me in utter shock. The crowd around us gasped, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Everyone in our circle knew how deeply I loved Sutton. If he even so much as frowned, I’d rack my brain trying to cheer him up. Even when he blatantly favored Queenie under the pretense of being "siblings", I swallowed my resentment and said nothing.

Ultimately, in the end, my silence cost me my daughter’s life.

Perhaps feeling humiliated by my public defiance, Sutton raised his hand as if to strike me. I stared at him coldly, my face unflinching. “What? You’ve already killed our daughter. Are you going to kill me too?”

“What are you talking about?” His hand froze mid-air.

“Do you even know what happened to our daughter?”

Queenie sniffled, her lips trembling as she whimpered, “Brother was only celebrating my birthday. There’s no need to curse your own daughter like that.”

“Exactly,” chimed in one of Queenie’s friends indignantly. “Cheyenne, you’re going too far. Weren’t you the one who trapped Sutton into marriage by getting pregnant after he was too drunk to know better?”

Another voice joined in, seething with disdain, “Only a lowlife would stoop so low just to marry into wealth.”

Suddenly, a short-haired woman rushed forward and slapped me hard across the face. “What’s the point of showing mercy to someone this shameless? She’s just here to ruin Queenie’s birthday!”

“Where are the bodyguards? Get this filthy thing out of here!”

Despite knowing the truth, Sutton stayed silent as they humiliated me. Instead, he cradled Queenie protectively, speaking to her in a gentle voice without sparing me a single glance.

Everything changed after Queenie came back.

I still remember the night I went into labor with Celeste. My water broke early, and I was writhing in pain from contractions, but I couldn’t reach Sutton. I endured the excruciating agony alone, taking a cab to the hospital.

When the doctor said the baby was breeched for natural delivery and a family member had to sign off for surgery, I finally managed to get him on the phone.

However, instead of Sutton, it was Queenie’s teasing voice that had greeted me, “Sutton is busy brushing Baby’s fur. Do you need something?”

Through gritted teeth, I roared, “Get Sutton on the phone!”

Moments later, his icy tone came through the receiver. “Tell her I’m busy.”

‘My poor Celeste. Your father wasn’t there when you came into this world, and he wasn’t there when you left it either. It’s my fault for being so weak, for failing to win your father’s heart, and for letting you suffer his rejection too.’

The bodyguards closed in, surrounding me. Like a grief-stricken beast, I lashed out, biting and clawing to escape. I bit one man’s wrist so hard it bled, and he hissed in pain.

They hesitated, unsure whether to act against me. After all, I was still Sutton’s legal wife. Their eyes turned to Sutton, silently asking for instructions.

He looked at me deeply for a moment, then said, “Take her to the bedroom to rest. She can come out when she’s ready to apologize.”

The bodyguards restrained me and dragged me upstairs, locking me in the room. Downstairs, the music resumed, and laughter filled the air as though nothing had happened.

Curled up in the corner, hugging my knees, I stared out the window at the stars until my vision blurred.

Meeting Sutton hadn’t always been like this. Back then, security had dragged me out of an office building. One of them had even stepped on my face, shouting that if I caused any more trouble, they’d break my legs.

That was when Sutton had appeared like a god descending from the heavens. With a single kick, he had sent the security guard flying. His cold, commanding voice had silenced the crowd, forcing them to back off.

Then he had crouched down with a gentle gaze and scooped up my battered body. “It’s okay now. Don’t be afraid.”