[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260313014099-59":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},59,11,"Chapter 11: Fractured Love and Bitter Revenge","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I stared out the window, the passing scenery a blur. It brought back a vivid memory of him in high school, a whirlwind of youthful energy in his football jersey.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Then I looked at the man in front of me now, sharp in a suit, exuding a mature aura.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Archer Edwards, I used to believe you truly loved me, and I loved you too. That's precisely why I can't accept the person you've become. I've seen you with eyes only for me; I can't settle for a love that's fractured.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Besides, Archer, the ones you love most now are yourself and your company.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Archer's voice cracked, laced with a raw despair. \"Penelope, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry about our baby...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He hung his head, a picture of helplessness. I saw the tell-tale glint of moisture gathering in his eyes.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The love we shared back then was real, and the regret he felt now was equally palpable.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It's a shame that one lifetime can't be mended by a single moment of regret.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I sat in the designated café, my phone buzzing with a message from Lilith Bishop: We need to talk.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Lilith slid into the seat opposite me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It had been over a month since we last met, and she looked undeniably worn down, her eyes shadowed with fatigue.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">From Lilith's account, I pieced together when she and Archer had actually gotten together. It wasn't as early as I'd initially assumed.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It was shortly after Archer and I got engaged.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She was the one who made the first move, who threw herself at Archer.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The reason behind it all was a shocker. It was the first time I truly understood her family background, straight from her own lips.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Lilith was the hidden, illegitimate daughter of the Bishop family. After the original Mrs. Bishop passed, her mother, Gwendolyn Bishop, finally brought Lilith into the Bishop mansion, which then led to Lilith attending the same elite private school as me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The Bishop family's social standing was decent, but her father, Philip Bishop, was a real piece of work. Lilith, for starters, had three or four half-brothers.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">When she hit marriageable age, Philip wanted to pawn her off to a business associate, some balding dude in his thirties or forties.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">No matter how much Lilith resisted, it was a lost cause. Running away from the Bishop family wouldn't have exactly paved a golden road for her.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Finally, taking her mother's advice, she seduced my fiancé, Archer Edwards, hoping to use him as an escape route from the Bishop family's clutches.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But Archer still ended up marrying me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Lilith's gaze drifted out the window, lost in a sea of memories.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"When I first started high school, I was the new kid. You know how those cliques of rich youngsters are – super exclusive. I had to play nice with them.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Later, I noticed you. You were the only one who was different. You didn't need to brown-nose anyone. You just existed, and everyone fawned over you.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"My mom told me you were the sole heiress of the Warren family, the Warrens who practically owned half the financial district in this city.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I took my mom's word for it. By getting close to you, I wouldn't have to grovel at anyone else's feet anymore.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I remembered the bruises she'd expertly hidden beneath her clothes back in high school. She'd never uttered a word of this to me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I set down my coffee cup, meeting her gaze.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Whatever your reasons, all these years we've been friends, I've always been real with you. But you never let on about what was really going on with the Bishop family.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Lilith covered her face, tears finally breaking free. \"How could I not want to tell you? Philip locked me in my room, no phone, nothing. One night, after Philip left, my half-brother Riley Bishop came home plastered. He promised to let me out, but the second he opened the door, he… he forced himself on me…\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"My father didn't give a damn. I thought about checking out. But… I wanted to live. I wanted revenge. I wanted to use Archer to get my revenge.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Riley Bishop was Lilith's half-brother.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He’d gone missing under mysterious circumstances about six months prior.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I never imagined the truth could be so twisted.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">For a moment, I was speechless.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I never thought he'd touch you, causing you to lose the baby. You did the right thing divorcing him.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I heard Lilith whisper those words.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I guess that child took the hit for me. We just weren't meant to be.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Lilith slid a USB drive across the table.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"This has all the evidence of Archer's crimes, mine included. What you do with it is up to you. The only reason I kept going was for revenge. Now my revenge is complete, but I've trashed your family in the process. I don't expect you to forgive me. I just hope you can move on and live a good life.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I didn't take it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">While I couldn't forgive them, I wasn't about to be the one to send them to the slammer myself.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Six months later, my exhibition abroad wrapped up, and I returned home. Jesse Miller was still the one who picked me up.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">On the drive, he casually mentioned that the Edwards family was in serious financial trouble.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Archer's mistress had turned herself in to the cops a week ago, confessing to murder and dragging Archer down as an accomplice. Edwards Group's stock had tanked, and the whole Edwards clan was in damage control mode.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I couldn't figure out why Lilith would suddenly confess.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It wasn't until later that the full picture emerged.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Something had gone down with the Bishop family company, and her father had once again started eyeing marriage deals.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">This time, Lilith played her hand. She publicly ratted out her own family's company for tax evasion.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Archer, seeing the Bishops in a tailspin, seized the opportunity to kick them while they were down, aiming to get Lilith thrown in jail too.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But Lilith wasn't going down without a fight. She produced evidence detailing how the two of them had murdered her older brother, Riley Bishop, all those years ago.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">A wave of melancholy washed over me. How could the two people who once whispered \"baby\" to each other end up in such a bitter feud?\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Perhaps in the face of time, feelings are just that fragile, that easily shattered.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">And I couldn't even begin to decide who was the most tragic figure in this whole mess: Riley, the deceased; Lilith, the victim; or Archer, who was staring down a prison sentence.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Compared to them, the end of my marriage felt almost… lucky.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Penelope, the interview crew is here.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Jesse knocked on my door.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My career had been on a serious upswing for the past two years. After showcasing my work both at home and internationally, I'd carved out a solid reputation, becoming a recognized emerging artist in the country.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Today, a magazine wanted to do a feature interview.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I stepped out, flashing a practiced smile for the cameras.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Hello everyone, I'm the artist, Penelope Warren...\"\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272931565]