"I have an announcement. Ivy and I got married." My husband said it at Thanksgiving dinner, with my sister's hand held gently in his. For a few seconds, I thought I had misheard him. Last night, he kissed me and promised that today he would tell everyone we had been secretly married for five years. Now he was holding Ivy's hand at my mother's table, letting everyone believe she was his wife. My mother froze with her fork halfway to her plate. Then her face lit up. "Oh, Declan. Ivy. That's wonderful." "Well, now you're married to Ivy, so we really need to find someone for Olivia. If you know any decent single men, you should introduce them to Olivia." After dinner, Declan motioned for me to follow him to the balcony. He lit a cigarette, his voice flat and detached. "Remember the papers you signed last week while you were drunk? I lied to you." "Those weren't for home purchase. Those were divorce papers." My body went cold as I forced the words out. "Why would you do this?" Declan let out a heavy sigh and ruffled my hair. "Ivy is just an adopted daughter in your family." "What if your mother forces her to marry a disgusting old man for business? I had to protect her." From inside, I heard Ivy calling for him to come home, her voice soft and needy. I watched them walk away together, then turned to my mother with tears streaming down my face. "Mom, I want to go with you. Let's relocate to Switzerland like you've been asking." My mother froze mid-step, caught off guard. She rushed over and pressed her palm against my forehead, genuinely confused. "You're not running a fever. I've been begging you for months and you kept refusing. What changed your mind so suddenly?" I'd refused before because I couldn't leave Declan behind. He had severe chronic stomach issues. Without me, he was completely helpless at taking care of himself. And besides, our five-year agreement was almost up. Once we went public with our marriage, I could move into the penthouse with him and we'd have the life I'd been dreaming of all these years. But now he'd kicked me to the curb with some pathetic excuse, choosing Ivy over me instead. My vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over. I ducked away from my mother's concerned gaze and quickly wiped my eyes, fighting to keep my voice steady. "I just need a change of scenery. I heard Switzerland is full of attractive men anyway. Maybe I'll even find you a European son-in-law." My mother stared at my red-rimmed eyes and let out the softest sigh. "Oh, sweetheart. You're heartbroken because Declan married Ivy, aren't you?" "I've known since you were children that you had feelings for him. He always took such good care of you. I never imagined he'd marry Ivy." Mom's words finally broke the dam holding back all my hurt. I collapsed into my mother's arms and let myself fall apart. She didn't know that just last night, Declan had kissed me so tenderly. She didn't know that the simple silver band on my finger, the one I never let anyone touch, was slipped by Declan. Back in my room, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Ivy had sent a series of photos, each one designed to twist the knife. The first showed her and Declan having an intimate candlelit dinner at the exact restaurant where he'd proposed to me. The second was them tangled together, completely naked, in the bed I'd spent weeks picking out. I checked the timestamp on the photo. Two years ago. My blood turned to ice. He'd been cheating on me for that long. The third photo was a group shot from years back. When I recognized the man standing beside Declan, my mind went completely blank. My hands started shaking uncontrollably and my phone clattered to the floor. A new message from Ivy popped up on the screen. "Don't you want to know why Declan was so desperate to marry you five years ago?"
Five years ago, right before graduation, Ivy suggested we go camping in the Adirondacks for one last adventure. She even brought along some guy none of us knew, called Trent. The entire hike, Trent wouldn't leave me alone. "Are you thirsty? Want me to carry your bag?" His hand kept brushing against my ass, supposedly by accident. I was terrified and kept trying to catch Declan's attention, but he completely ignored me. He was too busy crouching down to tie Ivy's shoelaces. When we were kids, a campus security guard once groped me. I didn't even understand it was sexual assault at the time, but Declan saw it happen and completely lost it. He punched the guy so hard his nose bled everywhere. Then dragged his uncle who worked on the school board to make sure the creep got fired. But now? He couldn't even be bothered to look at me. I had no choice but to stick close to our trail guide to escape Trent's wandering hands. That night, I woke up to freezing air on my chest. I opened my eyes to find Trent unbuttoning my shirt. I screamed. The guide and Declan came running. Declan immediately pulled me into his arms, whispering soothing words. I was sobbing, begging him to call the police. But Declan frowned and stopped me. "Olivia, if we report this, everyone will know. Your reputation will be destroyed." "Do you want tabloids and paparazzi turning this into a scandal for your family?" I broke down completely. Declan squeezed my hand, his voice gentle. "Don't be scared. I brought you here, so I'll take responsibility for you." Right after graduation, Declan proposed and took me to Vegas to get married. My phone buzzed, snapping me back to the present. I could practically see Ivy's smug face through the screen. "He married you because he was afraid Mom would blame me for not protecting you. And calling the police would've exposed that I was the one who hired Trent to harass you." "Declan had to shut you up somehow, and he knew you love him, so he sacrificed himself." It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. Tears splashed down onto the silver ring on my finger. The night we got married, Declan set off the most beautiful fireworks display for me. Under that cascade of sparks, he'd kissed me and made a promise. "Olivia, I'm going to love you for the rest of my life." We'd kissed so passionately that night, then checked into a hotel suite. Declan had been so gentle taking my virginity. I wanted so badly to laugh at Ivy's lies, to prove her wrong. But I couldn't find a single piece of evidence that Declan had ever truly loved me. My phone buzzed again. This time Ivy sent an audio file. My hands were shaking as I pressed play. Declan's voice came through the speaker. "Ivy, Olivia is pregnant, but don't worry. I'll take care of it." My heart felt like it was being crushed in someone's fist. Three years into our secret marriage, I found out I was pregnant. Declan had been so excited he stayed up all night with his ear pressed against my stomach. The next morning, he insisted on driving me to my checkup himself. Halfway there, the brakes failed and we slammed into a guardrail. I started bleeding immediately, soaking through my dress and onto the seat. Declan was knocked unconscious and the engine started smoking. My first instinct wasn't to call an ambulance but to smash through the window with my bare hands, and drag him out before the car exploded. By the time I regained consciousness in the hospital, our baby was already gone. Declan had knelt beside my bed, sobbing uncontrollably. I'd swallowed all my own grief just to comfort him, terrified he'd blame himself. It had all been a setup. I started laughing through my tears, then pulled out the crumpled ultrasound print. Then tore it into pieces.
The next morning, Declan showed up at our door carrying expensive supplements. When he saw the moving boxes in the living room, his brow furrowed. "Eleanor, are you moving?" I answered before my mother could. "No, just clearing out some old junk." Declan glanced at me, then walked straight to the fridge like he owned the place and stored the supplements inside. "Eleanor, Ivy asked me to bring these tonics for you. She's been dealing with morning sickness and couldn't come." The words hit me like a physical blow. I knew Declan had been cheating for years, but my heart still twisted painfully in my chest. Just last month, I'd casually mentioned wanting to see the Northern Lights in Norway, and he'd cancelled a ten-million-dollar deal without hesitation. Last week when someone at work gave me a hard time, he had bought into the company just to threaten the executives. Declan's love was apparently infinite enough for two women. After tucking me into bed each night, he still had energy left over to go see Ivy. My mother shot me a quick glance before responding. "Tell Ivy to rest and not worry about me." Declan nodded, then pulled out a thick stack of files from his briefcase. "By the way, Eleanor, these are profiles of quality single men from my company." "Take a look and see if any of them might be good for Olivia. " My eyes landed on the first profile. Trent Lawson. Nausea surged through me and I bolted for the bathroom. My mother rushed after me, panicked, patting my back. "Is your stomach acting up again? You've been throwing up for days now." Declan's gaze burned into me, his eyes narrowing slightly. While my mother went to get stomach medicine, he walked over and grabbed my wrist hard. "You're pregnant." I jerked my hand away in disgust. "No, I'm not." But he stared at my stomach with cold certainty. "You haven't had your period in two months." My heart felt like it was being ripped apart. I screamed at him and shoved him hard. "That's none of your business! You're Ivy's husband now. She's the one you should be worried about!" Before Ivy showed up, Declan used to follow me around everywhere. He knew I loved spicy food but hated sweets, knew I never wanted cream on bagels. He even tracked my irregular periods better than I did. Every time I got cramps so bad I couldn't get out of bed, Declan would skip hanging out with his friends after school. Instead, he'd go home and take care of me. His mother used to tease me about it, saying she'd never seen Declan care so much about any other girl. She'd even jokingly asked my mother if we should arrange an engagement. But then my mother adopted Ivy from the orphanage. She was so tiny and fragile that a strong wind could knock her over. During morning track practice one day, Ivy collapsed and fell into me. We both got hurt, but Declan didn't hesitate for a second before picking her up and running to the nurse's office. After that, I stopped being the one Declan protected. I cried about it. I even told him we weren't friends anymore. He just patted my head and said Ivy was an orphan and needed more help. Strong people should take care of weak people. So Declan forced me to take care of Ivy too. When my mother sent new clothes to school, Declan made Ivy pick first. When my mother packed identical lunches for both of us, Declan would take all the meat from mine and give it to Ivy. He could protect Ivy all he wanted, but why did he have to use me as a stepping stone for their love? Footsteps approached and I frantically wiped away my tears. For just a split second, I thought I saw something like pain flash in Declan's eyes. But it vanished instantly. Right before my mother walked back in, he leaned close to my ear. "Get an abortion." "Ivy has always been sensitive. If she knows about this, she'll think there's still something between us." I'd said those exact same words to him once. When we were camping and setting up tents, I'd told Declan I felt insecure and wanted to sleep near him. He'd refused, saying he needed to stay with Ivy. After my miscarriage, I'd begged him to stay with me at the hospital. He said it was Ivy's birthday and she'd be hurt if he missed it. When I got jealous and demanded to know what his relationship with Ivy really was, he'd looked at me like I was insane. "Olivia, you're being ridiculous. I only see Ivy as a sister." I wasn't being ridiculous. He was just covering his cheating tracks. He has no right to demand that I abort my child. I laughed coldly and pushed him away. "This is my business. It has nothing to do with you."
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