[Is it wrong to fall in love with someone who already belongs to another?]

One day, a post I stumbled upon caught my eye. The most liked comment was a brazen boast from a self-proclaimed mistress: [Dating isn't marriage. If you can steal the heart of someone taken, you deserve to keep it. If they don't love their partner enough to stay loyal, their partner is the real outsider in the relationship.]

[I took my husband from another woman. He was just a broke college student back then, but I knew who he really was. He's the only son of the country's wealthiest man!]

[His ex only knew how to study and work. She had no idea how to keep a man. How unfortunate! I heard she never even got her diploma. Her life must be miserable now.]

I stared at the comment for a long time because I recognized the woman who wrote it. Her name was Camila.

She was talking about me.

Miserable?

I was now a famous attorney, renowned for never having lost a case, and I had also adopted a sweet daughter. My life was anything but 'miserable'.

I blocked the author of the comment and assumed our paths would never cross again. However, fate had other ideas. While taking my daughter for her passport application, I ran into some people from my past in the most dramatic way possible.

Camila used her position to make things difficult for me. My ex-boyfriend Alexander stood by her side and even threatened me, phone in hand.

"Apologize to my wife, or I'll have my father hire that so-called 'Victory Queen'. We'll sue you until you lose everything!"

I smiled and said, "Go ahead and call that lawyer."

The next second, my phone rang.

After I won my case and got back home, I spotted a popular social media post as I scrolled through my phone.

[Is it wrong to fall in love with someone who already belongs to another?]

The answer with the most likes was from someone named 'Camila'.

[Being in love isn't the same as being married. If you can steal the heart of someone taken, you deserve to keep it. If they don't love their partner enough to stay loyal, their partner is the real outsider in the relationship. I'm the perfect example!]

I checked out her profile, and it was all pictures of diamond rings, big houses, and private jets.

She wrote all about how she stole a broke student's boyfriend. She described making them misunderstand each other, breaking up their relationship, and finally taking her place.

[He was actually the only son of a super-rich guy. He was hiding it because he wanted to see what life was like for normal people.]

[Now, he's the CEO of a big company. We're married and really happy together! His ex-girlfriend couldn't take the shock. It looks like she tried to end it all, and she didn't even finish school. If you can't keep your man, who else can you blame but yourself?]

The comments were all saying how great she was.

[You're so awesome!]

[That other girl just wasn't good enough to keep a guy with so much going for him!]

I felt a lump in my throat.

She was talking about me. I was the girl who was not good enough.

When I felt the most hopeless, I took too many sleeping pills and had to have surgery.

However, I found my little angel the day I left the hospital.

"Mommy?" My daughter ran over with her toy and hugged me, making me forget about everything negative in my head.

"I need you, Mommy. I can't sleep without you!"

I held her close, smelling her sweet baby smell, and I started to feel warm again.

"When will Grandma wake up?" she asked, lying next to me and holding onto my shirt. "I want to tell Grandma the teddy bear story."

"Very soon," I said, rubbing her back. "Grandma worked really hard, so she needs to rest a little longer before she can wake up."

Back then, my father cheated on my mother and brought home a disease. He suffered no consequences himself, but it was passed on to my mother and eventually led to her cervical cancer.

The day we found out about Mom's sickness, he just divorced her, not wanting to deal with it.

I tried to follow her, but she was so upset that she ran out the door and got hit by a speeding car. She ended up in a coma.

The guy who hit her was rich and powerful, and he did not pay us anything.

That was when I knew I had to be strong enough to fight for what was fair.

"Mom, was life as tough for you as it was for Grandma?" my daughter asked, looking up at me.

"It was tough, but then I met someone really nice," I said softly. "He'd wait for me to come home, even if it was really late, and he'd make me hot stew. I was happy then."

My daughter closed her eyes, feeling safe. "What happened after that?"

"After that," I fixed her blanket and said, "I had you, sweetheart. Now all I want is to be with you."

She drifted off to sleep with a smile.

I turned off the light and let out a little laugh at myself.

The good times back then were real. I had worked so hard, studying and making money to help Mom.

Even when it was super tough, I never thought about giving up because Alexander Blake was there for me.

He was a dreamer, though. He could not help with money or anything practical.

However, he was always there with a warm hug when I got home late.

He was all the support I had.

Until he was unfaithful.

My phone lit up with a message from a client: [Ms. Porter, are you sure you can make my husband leave without a penny after he cheated on me?]

I could not sleep after replying, so I started working on some files.

The client had paid me a lot. The figure had so many zeros it was hard to believe it was real.

Who would have thought that not long ago, I had to make a single sandwich last for two meals?

Back then, every second was expensive because of Mom's medical bills.

I was working to support the three of us.

"Why are you still with that boyfriend?" My friend kept asking me, "Is it just because he's handsome? You can't eat good looks!"

I just smiled.

They did not get it. If I did not come home to a warm hug every day, I might have fallen apart a long time ago.

Back then, I thought Alexander was the best.

He was quiet, cute, and kept to himself. He was not like my dad, who brought home all sorts of trouble.

I was his whole world, and only I could see how great he was. Since I was the one helping him out, I did not feel bad about not being the prettiest.

I really needed something to hold onto at that time.

How we met was like something out of a movie.

In my second year of college, I was at a bar late one night, about to head home, when a loud noise came from the next table.

A drunk guy was holding a tall young man's chin, trying to make him drink some strong stuff.

The young man was trying to get away, looking like a lost deer among wolves.

I could not take my eyes off his face. Without thinking, I grabbed an empty bottle and ran over to help.

After they fell, I grabbed the young man's hand, and we ran out of the bar as fast as we could.

When we stopped, I was out of breath.

He gave me a big hug, his chin perched on my head, and said in the nicest voice, "You're so kind, unlike the others."

I was a bit out of it and thought he meant the mean guys in the bar.

It took me a while to realize he was talking about people who knew who he really was and were after him.

At that time, he had a hidden gun and wore a simple-looking watch that could buy three bars like the one we just ran out of. The family of the guy who bothered him at the bar had a car accident not long after.

However, I did not know any of that back then. I just thought he was cool and slick, and he made my heart skip a beat.

It turned out we went to the same school. I was studying law, and he was into art.

I hung out in his studio a lot, took him out to eat, and watched him paint.

Being together just felt right.

We had two peaceful years, and as graduation got close, we were thinking about getting engaged.

However, then Camila showed up.

She was four years younger than us, a junior in Alexander's department, and as beautiful as a porcelain doll.

I should not have been bothered. I had seen plenty of girls gaze at Alexander with wide-eyed wonder, and she was only a freshman.

However, when I first laid eyes on Camila, I could not shake a feeling of unease.

Maybe it was the way Alexander watched her for just a bit too long.

That night, I was extra affectionate in bed.

"Promise me," I whispered close to his ear, holding him tight. "Promise you will never lie to me. When you love me, it has to be just me."

I failed to realize that promises were only ever true in the moment they were spoken.

He kept promising, again and again, showering me with kisses.

I had to ignore the bright notification that flashed on his phone screen under his pillow.

Camila.

I was swamped with my thesis, studying for the bar exam, and interning. My days were a whirlwind of activity.

Visits to Alexander's studio grew rare, and I barely had time to brush my hair.

Whispers started to spread around campus.

"Alexander and her? They're an odd match. It looks like she snagged a male model."

"Totally. He looks way better next to that freshman."

However, if Alexander ever caught wind of the rumors, he would shut them down with a stern look.

Whenever she saw me, Camila would sweetly talk to me and often try to gift me fancy skincare products.

"No, really, you shouldn't." I declined the cream she offered for the third time. "I'm not used to these things."

"Alice!" she said with a playful pout, latching onto my arm. "Take it, please. I felt like you were a sister to me from the moment we met."

Slowly, I started to drop my guard.

Once we became friends, she even volunteered to help me keep an eye on Alexander.

"Alice, you should focus on your work!" she said with a twinkle in her big eyes. "If any girl tries to get close to Alexander, I'll be the first to shoo her away!"

Sometimes, Alexander would get so lost in painting that he forgot to answer my texts. She would send me pictures to let me know he was okay: [He's safe in the art studio.]

I used to feel bad about not liking her at first, so I decided to treat them to dinner on Alexander's birthday.

I planned a surprise and did not tell Alexander, just Camila.

"Wow!" Camila's eyes lit up as she pressed a finger to her lips. "Mum's the word! I'll blindfold him and bring him over for a huge surprise!"

I saved up for two whole months.

On his birthday, I booked a fancy restaurant that cost a thousand dollars per person and picked out the perfect gifts.

However, they never showed up, even when the restaurant was closing.

I sent more than ninety texts, but no one answered.

Worried they might be in trouble, I packed up the food and hurried home. I tripped on the stairs, spilling soup all over myself, and the gifts got dirty too.

When I got home, looking like a complete mess, I found Camila in my pajamas, lying on my bed with a smile.

Alexander was there too, putting ice on her ankle.

"Where did you go?" he asked me, sounding colder and blunter than ever.

"Camila came over to cook us dinner for my birthday, and you weren't home! She even hurt her ankle looking for you!"

I was shaking. "I sent you so many messages! I reserved..."

Camila held up Alexander's phone. "I didn't see any messages. I was busy playing games on it."

I lost my cool.

"Camila!" I pointed at her, my hand shaking. "You're nothing but a manipulator!"

Alexander stood up quickly. "Be quiet!"

Camila's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to surprise Alice! I didn't know she disliked me so much."

She tried to get out of bed, but her legs gave out as soon as she stood up. Alexander quickly caught her, and she fell into his arms, her cheek against his chest.

I spun around and ran out of the apartment.

After a while, Alexander found me in a corner of the park, looking really upset. He said nothing and just took me back home.

Camila was gone, but I could still smell her perfume in the air.

I cried out, "I don't want to sleep in the bed she slept in!"

Without a word, he took the mattress out and threw it away. He got a new one that very night and put me in bed.

I was shocked. He was rough, and his eyes were dark. He kissed me like he was trying to claim me.

"You thought you could run? Weren't you so confident?

"How could you leave me and even want to run away?"

The next morning, I woke up feeling sore all over. Alexander was making breakfast like nothing had happened.

I wanted to talk about what happened, but when I mentioned Camila and the restaurant, he cut me off.

"That's enough. We're moving past what happened last night. Don't lie or say bad things about Camila. She's young and doesn't think too much about things."

I was speechless.

He looked at me, disappointed. "Have you changed after working so much? Do you think everyone has a hidden motive?

"I can't believe you've become someone I can't stand."