Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I had heard of this Chinese actress long before-the one who had spent years clawing her way through Hollywood before finally beginning to make a name for herself.

The first time one of Lu Heran’s close friends met me, he compared me to her. “She’s pretty, sure, but her personality is too soft. She can’t compare to Shen Lan’s fire.”

That was the first time I learned the name Shen Lan.

The name Lu Heran had loved so fiercely it tore him apart-and later hated down to his very bones.

In the end, the only reason his arrogant, high-and-mighty friends could tolerate a nobody actress like me was because Shen Lan had hurt him too deeply back then.

Everyone in their circle thought he needed someone by his side to help him get over it.

The dazzling, beautiful actress came to my home with her bodyguards. She smashed my door, broke my vase, and right in front of me, threw my kitten out the window.

The cat’s shrill scream made my whole body tremble. Tears streamed down my face, but I couldn’t even get out a single complete threat.

She slowly dusted off her hands, looked me up and down with pity in her eyes, and said,

“I thought anyone Lu Heran would willingly keep around for five years must have some impressive tricks. Turns out you’re just a pushover.”

“But I suppose that makes sense. Anyone would be willing to keep a pet with no temper for a few extra years-after all, it doesn’t take any effort to coax.”

My entire body was shaking. I bit my crimson lips until they bled.

Trespassing, destruction of property, and animal abuse on top of that.

If I called the police and let this get out, it could ruin her in minutes.

Her bodyguards blocked the entrance to my home.

She seemed to see right through me. She stepped aside and cleared a path for me, saying overbearingly, “Go ahead. The police station is two hundred meters down the road once you turn right. You can go right now and see who ends up trending when the time comes.”

For her to be this brazen, she clearly had someone backing her up.

And that confidence probably came from Lu Heran.

But I didn’t think she had any right. “As far as I know, you and Mr. Lu can’t even be considered exes. May I ask what right you have to break in here?”

“Right?” She tugged at the corner of her lips mockingly, as if she’d heard a joke. “Back then, on a rainy night, he chased after me and raced across an overpass so recklessly he almost lost half his life. Tell me, what right do I need?”

“Do you know why he made such a show of keeping you by his side? It was nothing more than putting on an act for me to see, trying to force me to bow my head.” She let out a soft scoff, her tone disdainful. “You really think he actually likes obedient women?”

I clenched my fingers tight and copied her, forcing out a cold smile. “But I’m pregnant with his child. Do you really think he won’t care?”

At that, Shen Lan couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t tell me you think you can control him with one child.”

Her voice was very light as her gaze dropped to my slightly rounded belly. “Before I came back to the country, he called me and said that as long as I was willing to lower my head, he could get rid of this child.”

When she saw the color drain rapidly from my face,

the curve of her lips deepened. She said carelessly, “But what if I don’t lower my head? Miss Jiang, tell me-if next time my bodyguards get a little too rough, or if I accidentally bump into you, will Heran blame me for not knowing my limits, or will he blame the child in your belly for being too much of an eyesore?”

The setting sun shone in through the window.

The rosy glow filled the sky, reflecting the certainty of victory in her eyes.

The blood in my body seemed to freeze.

As if I had lost my voice, I couldn’t say a single word.

She carried an almost total confidence in her control.

It was something I could never possess.

Even after being by Lu Heran’s side for so long, I had never once figured out how much I truly mattered to him.

Just like when we first met, his eyes hadn’t been looking at me. They had been looking at a young actress who resembled Shen Lan.

As for why he chose me later…

Perhaps he had only wanted to use my docile softness to prove he would no longer long for that fierce, unyielding first love he could never have.

Since all he wanted was a child, then anyone would do.

So why should I wade into this muddy water at all?