Chapter 3

I chuckled.

"You've been seeing each other for so long, and you expect me to believe you that yesterday was your first time sleeping together?"

Jayson smirked in contempt. "That's because Amy values her chastity. She insisted on dating for a full year before giving it to me. Like I said, she's not a slut like you."

I steadied myself, stood up, and pointed at them accusingly. "Then, what about the intimacy we both shared as husband and wife over the past years?"

He quit his gentlemanly act and laid out all his cards on the table. "It just means I was using you as a tool to vent since I couldn't sleep with Amy. You already know the answer, don't you? What's the point of asking me for it again? You're just humiliating yourself."

I felt a sharp cramping in my lower abdomen, and I gagged again. The taste of the latte on my face turned extremely bitter as I said self-deprecatingly, "So, the nightgown and the tumbler—you only gave them to me because Amelia didn't want them, right?"

He didn't answer, so I assumed that I'd hit the nail on the head.

He just urged me without looking up again. "Hurry up and sign it."

I retrieved the divorce agreement from my bag and tore it to shreds. "Over my dead body! I will never let you both be together!"

Amelia brought out a stack of photos and slid them over to me with a smile on her face.

"I have proof of you cheating on Dr. Kaiser, Mrs. Kaiser. If you refuse to sign the papers, we don't mind taking you straight to court.

"And when that time comes, you're not just going to be divorced—you're not even going to own those five properties anymore."

I felt dizzy. I picked up the photos, but before I could even take a proper look at them, I passed out on the table.

…

When I woke up again, I realized that I was lying in a hospital bed.

A beam of light fell across Jayson's profile next to me, and for a moment, I thought I saw the young man who had saved me from despair ten years ago.

He handed me a bowl of warm chicken soup, his tone surprisingly cold as he said, "You haven't eaten all day, have you? Sign the papers after eating this. We'll each go our separate ways afterward."

I weakly took the chicken soup from him, my gaze flitting to the medical report lying on the bedside table. It clearly stated that I was four weeks pregnant.

My hand shook, and the warm soup spilled all over the sheets.

I grabbed the report with shaky hands, my breathing turning heavy and ragged. I checked the name and saw that it was my own. Sherry Abbott.

Suddenly, it all made sense. No wonder my period was two months late. No wonder my lower abdomen cramped whenever I got emotional.

I clutched at my stomach in the empty hospital room, railing against the unfairness of it all. My heart was literally torn with anguish.

"Why! Why now, of all times! Why?"

Jayson let out a scornful, derisive laugh. "What, you were afraid that I would find out you were pregnant with that bastard's baby?"

"There's no other man! This baby is yours! I don't have a lover! You're the only one I've ever slept with!" I exclaimed.

However, his only response was tossing a new divorce agreement at me. "Those five properties are gone now. You're leaving with nothing. But if you're not happy with it, we can go to court instead."

"Jayson… This really is your baby," I said again.

"You're hilarious," he replied. "You've always been afraid of giving birth and told me that you never wanted to be a mother. I even agreed to that. And we've been careful to always wear protection. How could it possibly be mine?"

Then, he stuffed the pen into my hand. "Sign the agreement now. Don't make me repeat myself."

I fought back the pain in my abdomen and explained again with red-rimmed eyes, "It's because I thought things through and thought of surprising you with a baby! I've been poking holes in the condoms over the past three months!"

Yet, he still shook his head and sneered. "That's just ridiculous."

He then retrieved the stack of photos from his pocket and slapped my face with them. "The evidence is all here. What more do you have to say for yourself?"

I stared at the photos and was shocked.

They were photos of me acting intimately with a man. He was smiling very happily as he hugged me in the photos. There were even photos of us kissing.

The photos showed us wearing five different outfits, implying that we'd seen each other at least five times.

Amelia suddenly walked into the hospital room and said in a soft, gentle voice. "Mrs. Kaiser, I hadn't originally intended to show the photos to Dr. Kaiser. I wanted to spare you some embarrassment. But since you were so adamant about not signing the divorce papers, I really had no other choice."