Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

"Get her outta here."

Ethan had just walked in, and I was dead serious.

I was at my wit's end.

"Cut it out."

Ethan came closer, trying to hug me.

I shoved him away, my anger boiling over.

"I'm not kidding. She needs to move out. Rent her a place, buy her a house, hire a nanny, whatever. I can't live with her anymore."

The room was so quiet, we could hear each other breathing.

Ethan stared at me, his brows furrowed.

"Don't push her. Faye's a bit unhinged. She might do something crazy."

My heart ached, and my voice shook. "Aren't you worried I'll do something crazy?"

Ethan sighed, looking down. "You won't."

I laughed bitterly. "Why do you think that? Because I'm not dramatic enough? Not fragile enough?"

Ethan put his hands on his hips, biting his lip. After a while, he finally said, "It's just a cat, right? I'll get you a new one tomorrow."

I scoffed. "You can't just replace it. You get attached over time."

"Ethan, Emily, what's going on?" A timid voice came from the door.

Ethan hadn't closed the door, so Faye must've heard everything. Yet she acted clueless, asking what was wrong. She must be loving this.

Ethan turned to me, his face cold, and raised his voice.

"Emily, if you have something to say, just say it. Stop beating around the bush."

He didn't care about my feelings in front of Faye, so I didn't care anymore, either.

"Why do you think that? Feeling guilty 'cause you know you're the type to ditch the old for the new?"

Ethan tilted his chin up, his brows furrowed. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, almost helpless.

"Why make things so hard? Emily, remember when I said you were simple, not like other women with all their drama? That's why being with you was so easy. Why make it hard now?"

I remembered. The night before we got our marriage license, I asked him why he chose me, and that's what he told me.

I looked at him sadly. "Now, being with me is hard, so you regret it?"

Ethan bit his lip. After a long while, he said, "Let's calm down."

With that, he turned and walked away.

I listened to his footsteps going downstairs, the door closing, and the car starting. I stood there, motionless.

Faye was still at the door. Now that Ethan was gone, she didn't bother pretending anymore. She crossed her arms and looked at me triumphantly, like she'd won.

I walked over and slammed the door shut, blocking out her smug face.

After a moment, I heard her footsteps moving away.

Finally, it was quiet. I took several deep breaths before heading to the bathroom to take a shower.

After my shower, I crawled into bed, ready to sleep. My phone rang.

Ethan had sent a text message, just one sentence.

After thinking for a moment, I replied with a single sentence as well.

After sending the message, I curled up in bed and slept more soundly than I had in days.

According to physiology, it should be because the argument had expelled the toxins from my body, improving my sleep quality.

I woke up to some noise and saw it was daylight. I could hear singing. I got up, opened the door, and it got clearer.

At the top of the stairs, I saw Faye on the couch, strumming a guitar and singing passionately.

I went downstairs, but she didn't notice me. She was holding Ethan's guitar-the one he once got really angry about me touching. "You'd better not touch that guitar," I said.

The guitar and singing stopped abruptly. Faye gently stroked the guitar in her hands, smiling brightly and smugly.

"I know, Ethan hasn't picked up this guitar for a long time because of Fiona. Have you ever seen him play? I have, and he looks so cool."

I remained calm, reminding myself not to let her provoke me easily.

Faye probably noticed my lack of reaction and continued to attack me with words.

"I heard you're on your second marriage. Ethan must be with you out of pity."

Sharp and cutting, this was the real Faye, right?

Because Ethan wasn't here, she showed her true colors, just to provoke me.

I took a few deep breaths, lightly curled my lips, and looked at her as if she were a clown.

She was slightly taken aback, probably not expecting this reaction from me.

I couldn't be bothered with her and turned to the kitchen to make breakfast.

There were some takeout on the coffee table, which she must have ordered for breakfast. When I sat at the dining table to eat breakfast, she came over and sat across from me.

I kept eating my breakfast, acting like she wasn't even there.

"I threw your cat out," she suddenly said.

I looked up, anger flaring inside me.

Seeing my reaction, she smiled, clearly satisfied, and kept pushing.

"That beast scratched my face, so I had to teach it a lesson. Wanna know where I threw it? Just in the little river up ahead. Can it swim? If not, well, tough luck."

In this weather, even if it didn't drown, it would freeze in the river. Imagining Scruffy struggling in the water made my heart ache.

I held back the urge to slap her, just slamming my utensils on the table.

I smiled, but it was a cold smile.

"Listen, life's like a play, and you're overacting. Without a script, you might wanna tone it down. If things get too wild, the ending might surprise you. Watch yourself." Her face froze, looking a bit bewildered.

I couldn't be bothered with her anymore. I went upstairs, changed my clothes, grabbed my bag, and left the house.

A blue car was parked across the street. I walked straight over, opened the passenger door, and got in.

"Emily, what's up? Calling me so early, are we doing some undercover work?"

Bella, who was in the driver's seat, looked bored but perked up as soon as she saw me.

I was still fuming from my run-in with Faye, staring at the house's entrance. "Pretty much like undercover work."

"Is that bitch up to something again?" Bella asked.

Before I could answer, I saw Faye coming out of the house with her bag.

A taxi happened to pass by, and she flagged it down and got in.

I pointed at the taxi. "Bella, follow it."

Bella gave me a suspicious look but quickly started the car, keeping a safe distance behind the taxi.

"What's going on? Is she involved with Ethan or something?"

I told her what had happened over the past few days.

After hearing it, she was furious. "I can't believe that bitch is so shameless, unbelievable."

The taxi stopped in front of a high-end restaurant, and Bella parked at a distance.

Faye got out and walked straight into the restaurant.

I rolled down the window and saw a man coming out of the restaurant, saying to Faye, "Mr. Windsor has been expecting you."

Bella was shocked. "Damn, is she really meeting Ethan here?"

I clenched my bag tightly and smirked, "She's meeting Victor here."

"What? Are you sure?" Bella's jaw practically hit the floor.

I glanced at her. "Why don't we go in and find out?"

We got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. As soon as we entered, I spotted Faye heading up the spiral staircase, so I tugged Bella along to follow her.

The second floor was filled with luxurious VIP rooms, way quieter than the bustling lobby below.

"Ms. Taylor, please come in."

The guide stopped at a room and gestured for Faye to enter.

As soon as she went in, the door closed behind her.

Bella crossed her arms and said, "These are VIP rooms. We can't know what they're talking about. If I knew you had this plan, we should have borrowed some waiter uniforms and snuck in as staff." I said, "Don't worry. We can get in, but not now."

I turned my head and saw someone coming up the stairs, heading our way. I quickly pulled Bella to hide around the corner.

Bella, curious, peeked out until she saw the person enter a room. Then she asked me, "Who was that?"

"Victor," I said.

"But they didn't go into the same room."

I didn't explain but brought up another matter.

"If I told you Faye is actually a pawn of Victor, sent here to cause trouble, would you believe it?"

Bella's eyes widened in surprise, then she cursed, "If that's true, then Victor is too despicable. What's wrong with you that he dislikes you so much?"

I shrugged. "I want to know why too."

"So now what?" Bella was smart. From her expression, she already had a guess.

I said, "I had a big fight with Ethan yesterday. Faye must be here to report and take credit today."

Bella scolded, "Why did you fight with Ethan? You knew it was a trap, and you still fell into it?"

I didn't explain. Bella, still puzzled, said, "But they didn't go into the same room. Is it to avoid suspicion?"

She squinted at me. "You seem to know everything. Spill it, what's going on?"

I glanced at the closed door of the VIP room and said, "Wait a bit."

After about ten minutes, the door to Faye's room opened, and a man I didn't recognize walked out.

After he left, the door closed again.

Soon, I saw a waiter carrying drinks towards that room.

I walked over and said to the waiter, "I'm going in anyway. Let me take it."

The waiter handed me the tray, politely thanked me, and stepped back.

I carried the tray and pushed open the door to the VIP room.