Chapter 1 Be Wary of Everything and Everyone, Especially Your Best Friend

My name was Lilian Hawkins. I was born in 1991, and worked as a designer in a listed company. My husband’s name was Carson Boyer. He was a year older than me, and was an entrepreneur who owned a company with a monthly profit of tens of millions. We had been married for five years, throughout which we led a happy and prosperous life, with the only regret being that we didn’t have kids. To fulfill my mother’s wish, my husband adopted our five-year-old daughter against the wishes of his family, who was named Keira. The company of my daughter and my husband’s considerateness alleviated my pain of not having a child of my own. It was thus I assumed that my life would continue on in bliss—if it wasn’t for that fateful day… “Lily, don’t you think Keira is growing to bear more semblance with Carson?” Upon observing Keira taking a photo with the yellow duck in the park, my friend Isabella Owen said so abruptly with a stern expression. “That’s true.” I brushed her comment off alongside my feelings of jealousy. “Carson shares a deep bond with Keira that transcends bloodlines. Besides, they spend a lot of time together, and while couples grow to bear semblance to each other, the same happens to father and daughter.” However, Isabella stared into my eyes while speaking in an accusatory tone, “If that’s the case, why does she not look like you at all?” “What do you mean?” A frown I wore as I stared at her with much displeasure. “Lily, I’ve rarely been to your house ever since you got married despite being your best friend, but someone else seemed to be using your house as her own house, all the while treating your daughter as if she were her daughter! While Keira only has one father, she has two women playing the role of her mother, so of course she wouldn’t look like you!” What she tried to convey startled me before I shot up from my seat in anger. “What is the meaning of this, Isabella? I know you never liked Jolene, but she is also my friend! She is pregnant, but her boyfriend wouldn’t marry her, so it’s normal that she would visit me more often due to her mental state. Why would you think she has ill intentions? Jolene treated Keira and my mother-in-law nicely because she sees me as a friend! She isn’t as lowly as you think she is!” While Isabella’s mouth hung agape as if trying to explain herself, I turned to leave with Keira alongside me as I was too angry to listen to her explanation. I sure misread Isabella! I used to think that she was a kind soul despite her dislike of Jolene, but now... As soon as I stepped through the door of my house in a fit of anger, Carson approached me to carry Keira in his arms before kissing her on her cheek. He then asked me with concern, “Why do you look so gloomy?” “It’s all Isabella’s fault! I don’t understand why she would dislike Jolene so much!” A smile bloomed on his face. “Darling, not everybody is as kind as you. Both me and Jolene came from a poor rural village, so it’s normal that Isabella would look down on us.” “But—” “Don’t get riled up. Instead, spend less time around her in the future. You worked hard today, so have some rest while I play with Keira.” Carson gave me a pinch on my face. “You don’t look as pretty when you’re angry.” I gave him a nod before sitting down on the sofa to watch them play, but I couldn’t get what Isabella said out of my head, which irked me. While I trusted Carson would never betray me due to how nice he treated me, maybe Isabella did have a point. Carson was handsome and rich, so I should perhaps put in more effort into our relationship. Seemingly noticing my gaze, Carson lifted his gaze to look at me before asking with a smile, “What’s the matter?” As if by some sort of curious coincidence, I said almost absentmindedly, “What do you think of Jolene?” Despite his slight astonishment at my question, Carson replied after pondering on my question, “She’s a nice woman, and while I wanted to introduce a young man in my company to her, it’s a pity that she was taken.” I heaved a sigh of relief upon listening to what he said, but Keira shot back abruptly before I could say anything, “I don’t like Miss Hamilton! She was constantly bad-mouthing Mommy together with Grandma! Grandma even said that she would chase Mommy away so that Miss Hamilton could become my mother!”