Chapter 4

After leaving the banquet hall, Lynette sank into a gazebo. She mindlessly pressed her nails into the flesh of her wrist, seeking a release from the internal pressure. It was a familiar, terrifying spiral—her illness was resurfacing. She told herself she didn't care, but every time something like this happened, her condition only worsened. Lynette rummaged through her bag and pulled out her antidepressants and psychotropics. Before she could take her medications, Charmaine snatched them away, sneering, "No wonder Zachary calls you a lunatic every time he sleeps with me—you really drive him mad. Turns out, you really are crazy." Lynette's stomach churned. So, they had been sleeping together. The vulnerability she once shared with Zachary had become a weapon, twisted into mockery and betrayal. Charmaine smirked at her shock. "Oh, you didn't know? Do you know how he helped me recover? In bed. Every time I had an episode, he slept with me. Over the last three years, we've probably been together more times than he's even looked at you. "Lynette, I was the one Zachary loved back then, and I'm the one he still loves now. What right do you have to cling to the title of Mrs. Wright?" Lynette's mind reeled with Zachary's past promises—his vows never to cheat, to love only her. Promises spoken by him, but believed only by her. She wanted to slap Charmaine, but her frail body betrayed her. All she could do was glare and warn, "Charmaine, don't push me." Charmaine laughed, unafraid. "Push you? This isn't the first time. You stopped being the formidable Sterling heiress long ago. Now you're just the daughter of a convict. "Oh, and I almost forgot—back then, I drugged your father and stole his sperm. I was Zachary's first love. If I hadn't gone abroad to marry someone else, he never would've settled for you. As long as I'm alive, he'll protect me. "Who would've thought he'd even send his own father-in-law to prison for my sake? Lynette, look at yourself. What makes you think you can fight me?" Lynette broke down, tears streaming. The Sterlings and Wrights had been close for generations. She had loved Zachary in secret since childhood, planning to confess at 18. But on her 18th birthday, Zachary confessed to Charmaine instead. Just as Lynette was about to give up, Charmaine left him to marry abroad. During Zachary's darkest days, Lynette stayed by his side, believing her sincerity had moved him. She never imagined she was only his second choice. Lynette couldn't take it anymore. Rising to her feet, she raised her hand to strike. But before she could, Zachary rushed in, slamming her to the ground. "Lynette, you're trying to hurt Charmaine again! Wasn't it enough that your father humiliated her back then? You keep targeting her. Will you only be satisfied once your whole family drives her to death?" Her head whipped to the side from the blow. Everyone around them saw her humiliation. For someone who had always cared about appearances, this was the first time she looked truly deranged in public. Her face twisted as she roared, "I'm hurting her? Zachary, are you blind? My mom is dead, my dad is in prison, and I've been driven insane by all of you. Meanwhile, she's standing here perfectly fine. Tell me, who is hurting whom?" The truth was plain, yet Zachary never asked, never listened. He only blamed her. His voice was cold, merciless as he loomed over her. "You all brought it onto yourselves." The tears came with such force that she could barely breathe. She remembered being young, once fighting another rich girl. Their parents were called in. Even though the other girl had been beaten worse, Zachary had stood firmly by Lynette's side, insisting the other girl deserved it. Zachary had always been biased. But when the choice was between Lynette and Charmaine, he never hesitated—Charmaine always won. Now Lynette was the one broken, beaten, and scorned. Yet Zachary refused to see it. At the end of it all, love wasn't defined by passion or promises, but by the quiet verdict of one's own conscience.