Chapter 2

My soul still couldn't leave. I followed him out of the private room and back home. It was midnight, but the living room lights were still on. Confused, I followed Lucas inside and saw a cold dinner spread and a droopy birthday cake sitting on the dining table. Nancy Patterson sat at the table, looking tired with her eyes closed. "Grandma?" Lucas frowned. "Why aren't you asleep yet?" Nancy woke up and looked puzzled when she saw he'd come home alone. "Where's Joanne? Why didn't she come back with you?" Lucas' expression darkened when his grandmother asked about me. "She's throwing a tantrum. Don't worry about her. You should get some sleep." "Today's her birthday. What did you do to upset her this time?" Nancy grew agitated. "Even if she had a fight with you, she wouldn't ignore my calls or texts like this! "I sent her so many messages telling her I made her favorite cake, but she won't respond. Something must have happened to her!" Seeing Nancy's hands shake with worry, my nose stung with emotion. I couldn't help floating over to try to take her hand. But then I remembered people saying ghosts carried negative energy that was bad for the living, so I instinctively stepped back. I didn't want Nancy to get sick. When the Miller family took me back from the orphanage, everyone thought I was too timid and awkward to be a proper Miller family heiress. They all preferred the well-educated, gentle, and obedient adopted daughter, Roxanne. Only Nancy was different. The moment she saw me, she grabbed my hands with tears in her eyes, saying I must have endured so much hardship. She told me about the arranged marriage between Lucas and me that had been decided before we were born. I adored Nancy and wanted to be her granddaughter-in-law. When I discovered Lucas was the same boy who'd been trapped with me in that burning house years ago, I looked forward to marrying him even more. However, the Miller family actually wanted Roxanne to marry into the Sanders family, and Lucas also wanted to marry Roxanne, the girl who'd grown up with him as his childhood sweetheart. But Nancy had insisted on me. She said I was the true Miller family heiress, which was how I became Mrs. Sanders. Seeing her so worried, I felt like someone was squeezing my heart in their fist, the pain sharp and suffocating. When they found my body, they'd probably hide it from Nancy, wouldn't they? I didn't want her health to get worse because of what happened to me. When Lucas heard Nancy's concerns, his expression grew even more mocking. "She just wants you to worry about her, and she wants to force me to give in and apologize. "What's the point of you spoiling her like this? She runs away from home over the smallest thing, not even caring if she makes you sick with worry. "Just ignore her. When she's done with her tantrum, she'll come crawling back. I'd like to see what other drama she can pull!" He then turned to head upstairs. Nancy's chest heaved with rage. "You bastard! She's your wife! That's your child in her belly!" Lucas' expression remained cold. "I never wanted her as my wife, and I don't want that child either. She's the one who shamelessly drugged me. Otherwise, I never would've touched her." After saying that, he went straight upstairs. Nancy trembled with fury, gripping her walking stick like she wanted to throw it at him. Looking at all the food on the table, her eyes filled with tears again. "Joanne would never run away just to worry me. She's such a kind young lady. You're the only one too blind to appreciate her! "Please God, keep our Joanne safe..." She shakily stood up and had the housekeeper call me again. Margaret Thompson dialed my number, and the phone rang for a long time with no answer. Margaret comforted Nancy for a while before finally coaxing her upstairs to rest. I waited until I saw Nancy take her medicine and fall asleep before floating to Lucas' room. Surprisingly, he wasn't asleep yet. He sat restlessly in his study, smoking with one hand while gripping his phone with the other. Looking at the smoke filling the room, I drifted closer to peek at his screen. It was our WhatsApp chat open. He was trying to call me, the ringtone playing for a long time with no one picking up. All these years, Lucas had never failed to reach me by phone. I'd answer when I was working, I'd answer when I was in the shower. Even if he called at 2:00 am after landing from a flight and demanded I pick him up, I'd answer instantly and jump out of bed to get ready. So his expression visibly darkened even more. He tried calling again. When I still didn't pick up, Lucas crushed his cigarette violently in the ashtray, stood up, and swept everything off his desk onto the floor. "Joanne Miller, if you don't come back right now, then don't ever come back! Don't think I'm going to grovel and beg you to come home! "If you're not here first thing tomorrow morning, we're getting divorced! I won't acknowledge that bastard you got pregnant with by climbing into my bed!" He probably thought seeing a message like that would make me come running home obediently. After all, I used to be terrified whenever he mentioned divorce. But now, looking at those words on the screen and his cold, furious face, I just wanted to slap him. It was bad enough that he hated me, but now he was calling our child a bastard too. How could I have loved such a piece of trash for so long? Lucas thought the baby was something I'd schemed to get by seducing him, a way to secure my position as Mrs. Sanders. But that night, he was the one who'd been drugged and forced himself on me. He showed me no mercy. I felt nothing besides pain. I cried and begged him to let me go, but it was useless. It was ridiculous. The only time we were ever intimate, he was calling out Roxanne's name. "Divorce? Fine, let's get divorced. I won't let you threaten me with it anymore." I stared at him calmly. "When you find me, you won't have a wife anymore either." He seemed to sense something and glanced in my direction, staring for a long moment without saying anything. I met his gaze, feeling strangely peaceful. Perhaps it was because I was already dead. Whatever he did didn't matter to me anymore. He quickly looked away and went to his bedroom to rest. But just as he lay down, his phone rang. It was Roxanne calling. He answered immediately, his voice turning gentle. "What's wrong, Roxanne?" I couldn't make out what Roxanne was saying on the other end, but I could hear her crying. Lucas clenched his fist, his face going pale. "Wait for me. I'm coming right now."