Chapter 2
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I didn’t see Luke and Tyler’s messages again until a day later.
Lena and I had already left for another island overnight. We were currently watching the news while applying face masks and drinking wine.
On the news screen, Tyler looked pale and somber, while Luke’s eyes were red–rimmed. They were sitting together in a car.
The reporter spoke into the camera:
“Breaking news: renowned designer Zoe Witt and her sister Lena Witt have gone missing during their island vacation and are presumed dead. Their husbands–Luke Watts, CEO of Watts Group, and Tyler Booth, Chairman of Booth Group–are now rushing to the island to personally join the search and rescue efforts.”
Lena curled her lip:
“All that urgency won’t help. Since they dared to cheat, they should have expected we’d leave eventually.”
I nodded in agreement. With a swipe of my finger, the next news story began:
“Shocking! Tyler Booth, Chairman of Booth Group, suspected of having an affair. His mistress has been seen flaunting their
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illegitimate child in public!”
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This was a video from a gossip account. In the footage, Tyler stood with a young woman, and they were holding hands with a little girl.
The video was posted a week ago, but the view count had suddenly skyrocketed.
The top comment was about Lena and me being missing:
[Am I the only one who thinks this timing is suspicious? His illegitimate child gets exposed and suddenly his wife goes missing?]
Below were a string of replies:
[That makes total sense. The world of rich people is way too complicated.]
[Are we already spreading rumors? These videos are all fake!]
Almost everyone was speculating about the situation, offering various theories, with occasional comments about beach safety tips mixed in.
Seeing Lena’s expression darken, I turned off my phone.
She stared at the screen, then downed an entire glass of wine in one gulp, looking dejected.
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Chapter 2
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After a moment, she looked at me with watery eyes and said glumly:
“Zoe, how did we end up like this?”
I couldn’t help but sigh, gently stroking her head:
“Maybe it’s just the nature of men.”
Lena fell silent for a few seconds, then buried her head in my
arms:
с
“Zoe, Tyler is such a good actor. Even now, I still feel a little heartbroken. I actually thought he truly loved me.”
Her voice was muffled, making my heart ache for her.
Remembering how Zara had answered when I called Luke that day, I felt even more disgusted with these two scumbags.
“Lena, men aren’t worth our tears. Let’s just enjoy our vacation from now on. The money I’ve made from my designs over the years is enough for us to live happily for thirty years. Are you really going to let one man ruin your mood?”
I knew Lena’s personality well. She’d always loved money since
childhood.
But back then, she chose to be with Tyler when he was kicked
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out of his family and left with nothing.
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During their hardest times, they only ate two meals a day, both consisting of instant noodles. But Lena never complained.
Later, Tyler founded Booth Group and gradually devoured his father’s business empire. He finally achieved his goal.
After a few peaceful years, a mother and daughter suddenly appeared out of nowhere–it was like ripping Lena’s heart out and stomping on it.
But fortunately, both Lena and I had the means to walk away.
In the days that followed, we traveled everywhere, seemingly forgetting all our troubles.
Occasionally, we’d catch news reports showing that Luke and Tyler were still searching for us.
From the initial search and rescue efforts to later scouring the globe, neither of them seemed ready to give up. They even announced they wouldn’t stop looking until they found us.
This wasn’t what I had originally expected.
They already had new lovers–they should have given up by now. What was this all about?
