---- Chapter 4. Just before we arrived, Levi was still trying- rather pathetically-to dissuade me from going. Thad naively assumed he was afraid I might hurt Lily. It wasn't until I stepped into the house that I finally understood what he had truly been worried about. This house-this place-had once been our shared dream. We had spent endless hours designing it, decorating it, imagining the life we would build here together. Now, everywhere I looked, it reeked of another woman's presence. Lily spotted me and her smile froze awkwardly on her face. She cast a frightened glance at Levi, like some poor little ingénue terrified of her fate. He, ever the gallant hero, offered her a reassuring ---- look right in front of me-an intimate, wordless exchange that was almost obscene in its familiarity. It stabbed me sharply, harder than I had imagined it would. I turned to Levi and said, "You should go. I want a word with Lily, alone." He hesitated, visibly torn. I smiled sweetly and asked, "What's wrong? Afraid I'll hurt your precious darling?" Cornered, he said nothing more, but before he left, he stubbornly turned back to correct me. "My only precious darling has always been you." Lily couldn't help herself; she glanced at me. One look was enough. I saw it clearly-my suspicions were spot on. ---- "you entered the company with Levi as your goal, didn't you?" I asked coolly. She flinched, only for a moment, before boldly admitting it. "So what if I did? My love for Levi isn't any less than yours." I arched an eyebrow in amusement. And then Lily launched into her little fairy tale. Three years ago, Levi had returned to their alma mater as an honored alumnus. There, he gave an inspiring commencement speech. She had been assigned to host him-and, ina charming little mishap, had managed to spill an entire glass of water on his expensive, custom- tailored suit. Instead of being angry, Levi had been magnanimous. From that moment on, Lily had been hopelessly smitten. ---- Ayear later, she graduated-and despite knowing she wasn't remotely qualified, she still brazenly submitted her résumé to Ezra Ventures. "you know," she gushed, eyes shining with pride, "he actually remembered me. The moment he saw me, he smiled and said, 'It's you.' "He insisted on hiring me despite everyone's objections. And afterward, he treated me differently from everyone else. When I found out I was pregnant, you should have seen how happy he was!" "This estate-" she waved her hand around, like a princess surveying her domain-"was supposed to be for your future child, wasn't it? But now I'm living here. Our child will grow up here. Do you really think he would leave me after I give birth to this baby?" Her voice dripped with triumph, her eyes practically begging to see me cry.