Chapter 2: An Orphan’s New Family

Ryan had a younger sister, Erica. She was studying violin in Boston, and their mom, worried Erica couldn’t manage alone, had handed the family business over to Ryan and moved to Boston to be with her.

The second she heard about Ryan’s accident, she jumped on the first flight home.

“Marissa, you’ve been through so much.” The moment we met at arrivals, my mother-in-law grabbed my hand, fussing over me. Her eyes were still swollen from crying, but she was comforting me. I almost teared up right there.

“Mom, let’s get you home.”

I’d just picked up her suitcase when Erica peeked out from behind her.

“Hey, Marissa, let me carry it.”

Honestly, Erica was the main reason I married Ryan.

She has a rare blood type—Rh negative. Back when she got into a car accident and needed blood, the Lowell Foundation put out a call. I was a match, so I donated, and that’s how we met.

At first, I thought Erica just wanted to keep me close as a walking blood bank, ready to tap whenever she needed.

But later, I realized I was being cynical, judging a genuinely good person by my own jaded standards.

Every compliment in the book fit her to a T.

She went out of her way to play matchmaker, talked me up to her mom, and because she loved me, her mom did too.

With both sister and mother nudging him, Ryan finally caved and married me.

Sure, at first I married Ryan because I was touched.

But when Amanda reappeared, it became obvious—his so-called restraint and politeness was all because someone else already lived in his heart.

Once I realized that, any flutter of infatuation I’d felt vanished in a heartbeat.

I’m nothing if not clear-headed. When I hit a dead end, I turn around. I’m not about to play the blind, self-sacrificing heroine.

My parents didn’t bring me into this world to be someone else’s doormat!

Love? Family comes first, every time.

Even after I knew Ryan’s heart wasn’t mine, I didn’t file for divorce—not because I was weak, but because I’d grown attached to the warmth of this family.

This place was the first that ever felt like home to me.

I’m an orphan. Grew up bouncing from group home to group home.

Sometimes I’d daydream that I was the secret daughter of some billionaire, and one day a butler in a Bentley would show up to whisk me off to a mansion.

But after eighteen years, all I got was a college acceptance letter. No fairy godparent ever came for me.

And when I turned eighteen, I had to pack my bags and leave the group home—no second chances.

Good thing I was quick on my feet. I scraped by on scholarships through college, and after graduation, clawed my way into the Lowell Group as a legal advisor. Thanks to my rare blood type, Erica and I became fast friends.

Sometimes, life really does feel like a soap opera, doesn’t it?

I used to resent my parents for abandoning me.

But if I hadn’t inherited their brains, I never would’ve made it through college and landed at the Lowell Group.

And I never would’ve met Erica, or married into the Lowells because of my rare blood type.

It all felt like the universe had set me up from the start.

“Marissa, is what’s in this text true?”

I took the phone my mother-in-law handed over—and sure enough, Amanda was up to her old tricks.

No clue how she got my mother-in-law’s number, but she’d sent a wild, over-the-top message about her earlier inheritance grab, painting herself as a poor, helpless single mom and accusing me of bullying her.

“I…” I hesitated, not sure how to explain.

My mother-in-law caught the look on my face and let out a weary sigh.

“This is on Ryan, not you. I’m sorry for what he put you through.”

“Mom, you don’t have to…” I mumbled, staring at the floor.

“I’ll handle it. Don’t worry about a thing.”

Hearing that, I looked up, eyes burning. “Mom…”