Chapter 2
I knew he was allergic to peanuts, and we never had them in the villa. So where the hell did he get them? And where the hell did he learn to lie like that?
Turns out, he wasn‘ t just lying for fun. The brat wanted to ruin me! He wanted to trash my name so I’d step aside and let Leanne take my place!
That Leanne didn’t give a damn that my son almost died. And this kid knew I was the one who rushed him to the hospital to save him. But still, he went around telling everyone I fed him peanuts on purpose- that I almost killed him.
As I snapped back to the present, there was no anger in me anymore–just disappointment in him.
I just said, “I’ll be there on time.”
Then I shot a quick text to my three adopted kids: [Phase one begins.]
1/6
Chapter 2
Saturday came, and I walked in at the hot spring hotel looking sharp. My eyes landed on a group of faces I’d never forget.
My step–sister Leanne. My ex–husband Harlan. And my so–called parents.
Dennis, my father, cheated on my mom while she was alive. Knocked up his mistress, Jocelyn Rising, and she gave birth to Leanne, who was two years younger than
- me.
When my mom passed away from her illness, my father wasted no time bringing his mistress into the house. Suddenly,
Jocelyn was the new lady of the Barrymores.
And this lady was cunning and manipulative. She saw the Hannigans thriving and kissed enough ass to get on their good side. That‘ s how she got the Hannigans and Barrymores to publicly announce their plan to wed her precious daughter to Harlan.
2/6
Chapter 2
But just when everyone thought Leanne‘ s marriage to a wealthy family was a sure deal, the Hannigans‘ investments tanked. It left them with unsold goods and major cash flow problems.
The Hannigans were in serious need of financial support, so they asked the Barrymores for help.
But Jocelyn convinced my father to turn them down on the grounds of “tight cash flow.”
In the end, Hannergy Technologies went bankrupt after they ran out of funds.
But since the wedding between the two families had been announced so publicly, they didn’t want the media to accuse them of breaking promises or ruining their reputation.
That made them force me to marry Harlan instead.
He was drowning in debt at the time. I stuck by his side, selling goods on the
3/6
Chapter 2
street stall, wearing cheap clothes from street markets, and buying discounted food. at the market just before closing. We lived in a tiny, crappy apartment.
And then the media got wind of it and plastered photos of us everywhere with headlines like: [Once a CEO, Now a Poor Street Vendor Struggling to Survive].
The whole Internet mocked us as the
“bankrupt couple.”
But we didn’t quit. Every day, we woke up before sunrise to stock up on inventory, stayed out running the stall until night, and then dragged our exhausted bodies home.
I worked so hard that I dropped 20 pounds. Harlan couldn’t even hug me without feeling my bones. He cried one night, swearing he’d give me a better life one day.
Things got better, little by little. I was thrilled when I found out I was pregnant- with twins.
Chapter 2
We couldn’t stop smiling, and Harlan busted his ass after that to give us a future.
But when I went into labor, I had a difficult delivery. I was in pain for over a day and eventually passed out on the hospital bed before they had to rush me into surgery to save me and the twins.
I kept up with the latest news and trends, spotted a chance in the solar energy industry, and convinced Harlan to invest in it. We bet everything we had and managed to ride the wave of the industry boom, climbing back to the top.
I thought we’d finally made it. But then I found out that Harlan was screwing Leanne behind my back. Even worse, my own kids were helping them cover it up.
When my father and stepmother found out, they actually tried to talk me into accepting it.
“Leanna, Leanne can’t have kids. Her body just isn’t built for it. She won’t find
5/6
Chapter 2
We couldn’t stop smiling, and Harlan busted his ass after that to give us a future.
But when I went into labor, I had a difficult. delivery. I was in pain for over a day and eventually passed out on the hospital bed before they had to rush me into surgery to save me and the twins.
I kept up with the latest news and trends, spotted a chance in the solar energy industry, and convinced Harlan to invest in it. We bet everything we had and managed. to ride the wave of the industry boom, climbing back to the top.
I thought we’d finally made it. But then I found out that Harlan was screwing. Leanne behind my back. Even worse, my own kids were helping them cover it up.
When my father and stepmother found. out, they actually tried to talk me into accepting it.
“Leanna, Leanne can’t have kids. Her body just isn’t built for it. She won’t find
5/6
Chapter 2
another good man like Harlan. Don’t forget -she was supposed to marry him in the first place. The Hannigans are doing great again, and the kids like her, too. We‘ re all family here, right? Why don’t you just step aside and let them be together?”
You might also like
He Is Not My Knight in Shining
