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Surprisingly, the check revealed me to be pregnant.
...
When I got back, Chloe was lounging on the couch in my pajamas, smirking.
"Lily cried all over my clothes. David told me to change into these."
I gave her a cold look.
"Like mother, like daughter. Both love stealing what isn't theirs."
Chloe's eyes darted away, and she faked sobbing, playing the victim well.
Soon, David came and shouted in a irritated voice.
"Emma, do you have to make everyone miserable?"
"It's just pajamas. Why can't you get along your sister?"
Rubbing my temples, I pulled the property settlement from my bag.
"Let's divorce."
This marriage had bored me for ages.
...
Showing up unannounced startled my mom and my stepdad.
John (my stepdad) dropped his fork and rushed out to buy my favorite roast chicken.
Mom noticed my mood instantly.
"Fight with David? All couples have rough patches..."
I cut her off. "Nothing to fight about. We're getting divorced."
Mom's eyes widened.
"Divorce? That's exactly what that b**ch and her daughter want! I won't allow it."
"I've warned you David was no good. It is you who insisted marry him anyway. You even agree to raise his kid, wasting your career."
Suddenly, she clutched her chest, sweating heavily.
Her old condition was acting up. I rushed to get her medicine, and she slowly recovered.
Years ago, Mom had been framed by Chloe's mom and driven to suicide. John saved her.
After that near-death surgery, her health never fully recovered.
Back then, not wanting her to worry, I'd picked David from a pile of blind date profiles — a divorced man with a kid.
Mom couldn't understand. She'd begged me to reconsider.
"Emma, being a stepmom is hard enough, but you agreed not to have your own children?"
"This man has nothing special."
But I'd insisted, telling her I'd marry no one else.
While my family waited for my marriage to fail, the opposite happened.
In just a few years, David's business boomed, making him a rising star.
Everyone wanted a piece of him, including my family.
Chloe schemed her way into the position of his secretary.
She was replaying her mom's playbook — get pregnant, force a divorce, and take my place.
David knew our history but chose to ignore it, keeping Chloe by his side.
Thanks to Chloe, her stepfather (my birth father) Robert's failing factory had rebounded under the support of David's company.
Back to present.
Mom hugged me, sobbing bitterly.
"Why won't those women leave us alone? They ruined my life, and now yours?"
"If I'd known, I'd have taken them down with me."
