Chapter Three

Jane Pov

The warm sun shone on my face as I stood outside my parent's home, my gear ponding in my chest. Today was my day off and even though the strange man had advised me to stay back and get on with myself before making issues complicated again, I had insisted on coming here.

Pleading for him to please stay out of it now.

It has been weeks since I last stepped into this place but it felt like yesterday.

There was never a reason to laugh anyways. Always being mistreated and used. My fingers nervously raised over the doorbell as I pressed on it. 

The chime echoed faintly Inside, followed by little voices. The door opened, and I found myself face to face with my stepmother.

“Jane,” the woman said, her eyes narrowing in surprise and disgust filling it back . “What are you doing here?”  

I forced myself to keep my voice steady. “I need to speak with my father.”  

She hesitated, but then stepped aside, muttering something under her breath. I stepped inside, the familiar scent of the house came rushing.

The voices grew louder as I approached the living room. My father sat in his favorite armchair, his face stern, while my stepsister, Mae, layed on the sofa, a sly smirk playing on her lips.

 To my utmost disbelief, Blair, my ex-husband, was there too, casually leaning against the back.  

They all turned toward me as I entered, a shock expression all over their faces.

What I expected anyways. They cared less anyway.

“Jane,” my father called, his tone cold. “What are you doing here?”  

“I should be asking you that,” I replied, my voice trembling with anger and pain. “What are you all doing, sitting here and talking about me as if I’m some stranger? You didn’t even bother to check on me when I was in the hospital for weeks! I almost died, and none of you cared!”  

I watched as my father’s expression darkened, and he rose from his chair. “Don’t raise your voice in my house. You think you can walk in here and demand answers after abandoning your family?”  

“Abandoning?” my voice cracked at his words. “I didn’t abandon anyone! You’re the ones who turned your backs on me. For years, I tried to be a good daughter, a good wife, but all I ever got was rejection and cruelty!”  

Blair stepped forward, his expression cold. “You want to talk about rejection? You were a barren wife. I gave you years to prove yourself, Jane, and you failed. Don’t act like you were the victim.”  

I gasped as my eyes burned with tears, but I refused to let them fall. The reminder of his words hit me so deep and my mind drifted to doctor words. I was pregnant. 

“You’re right, Blair. I failed, by loving you and believing you were the man I married. But do you know what hurts the most? Finding out that you cheated on me in our own home!”  

I watched his cold eyes stiffened, his jaw tightening. “I didn’t cheat on you.”  

“Oh, really?” I spat. I could not believe he wanted to make a lie, even at the obvious. “Eight weeks before the accident, I found you in the house, fucking, Blair. I know you brought Mae into our bed!” I yelled, tears rolling down my cheeks but Mae mockery laughter rang through the room.

Sharp and cruel. “Oh, Jane, you poor, gullible fool. That recording? I planted it. Blair never cheated, at least, not in the way you think. I just wanted you out of the way, and it worked like a charm, phew.”  

My breath seized and my knees weakened as I gripped the edge of the nearest chair for support. “You… you planned all of this?” I whispered.  

“Of course I did,” Mae said with a shrug, her smirk widening. “And you made it so easy. Always so desperate for love and validation. Pathetic, really.”  

I turned to my father, hoping for even a shred of support, but his expression was one of disgust. Same goes to Blair, he wasn't even looking at my side.

“I’ve had enough of your dramatics,” he growled. “You’re a disgrace to this family. You’re just like your mother, weak and useless. Do you know how much I hated her for giving birth to you? She died because of you and because of her strong minded head! The doctor had made to clear that she had no life to live after you were born but she still went ahead, believing you'd be something she never became”  

The words hit me like a physical blow, robbing me of breath as I cried out, my hand hitting my chest in pain. “You… you hate me?” I whispered amidst tears.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve hated you from the day you were born.”  

My world crumbled around me. The room whined around me as I could feel heat all over me. The pain was too overwhelming to bear. I forced myself to stand tall, even as my body trembled.  

“If that’s how you feel, then give me what’s mine,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “My mother’s property—her house, her savings. She left it all to me.”  

Yes, that was a fact after all. If my mother was the useless type to him. She still gave me life.

But my father sneered. “We thought you were dead, and Blair was your husband. Legally, it’s his now.”  

My head snapped toward Blair, who remained silent, his face unreadable.

“You took everything?” I asked, my voice breaking. “How could you even think I was dead without searching for me. It has been only eight weeks. Just eight weeks and you all did this.”

“It’s only fair,” Mae said smugly. “You didn’t deserve any of it.”  

My shoulders dropped, the fight draining out of me. “You’re all monsters,” I blurted, my voice shaky as I snapped my hands at them.  

My father stepped closer, his expression hard. “Get out of my house. You’re not welcome here.”  

The person I had called my father, standing in front of me and ordering me out. It was a slap to my face.

I couldn't argue anymore. I turned and walked out, the sound of Mae's laughter echoing behind me.  

---

Outside, I wandered aimlessly through the streets, tears streaming down my face. The world felt cold, and I had no more strength as I collapsed onto a bench, my face buried in my hands.

“I can’t do this anymore,” I whispered. “I have nothing left. No family, no home, no purpose.”  

The thought of ending it all was the only thing left in my mind. It was dusk and almost night time anyways and I purposely had waited for this time. I stood up and took a few steps away, my eyes finally coming face to face to a small bridge rushing rivers all over.

It is over anyways.

As I stared down at the water, the sound of footsteps behind me made me freeze and I didn't budge.

“You're really ungrateful, you know that?”

The deep, familiar voice sent shivers down my spine and I summoned up courage. I turned to see the man who had saved me weeks ago.

He stood there, his piercing eyes locked onto mine, he had a disappointment and concern expression on. It hurt my feelings to see him like that but I gave a cold face instead, killing those concerns off.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice shaking.  

“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied, stepping closer. “I saved your life once. Are you really going to throw it away now?”  

My tears spilled over as I shook my head. “You don’t understand. I have nothing. No one. My family hates me, my ex-husband took everything, and I… I just can’t keep fighting. I'm sorry to break this to you but I am disappointed that you didn't leave me to die that time”  

I watched his gaze soften, and he reached out, gently taking my hand. “You're wrong,” he said, his eyes holding my gaze. “You have everything you need, you just haven't seen it yet. You have strength, Jane. You've survived so much already. Don't let them win by giving up now. It takes a lot to see you smile again but trust me, it is worth it.”

His soft smoothing words broke into my heart and for the first time in weeks, I realised why I had to live. For my unborn child.

“Why do you care?” I whispered. “You don't even know me. Who are you.”

The man’s lips curved into a small smile. “Because I see something in you that’s worth saving. And I’m not about to let you give up on yourself. Not on that unborn baby.”  

With those words, my heart flew with a ting of joy and the one thing that punched into my heart was a few lines.

I'm not giving up, on me,on us.