Chapter 3

My mind went completely blank, and my throat felt all clogged up.

"What did you say?" I asked.

John froze, realizing that he'd let the truth slip out by accident. Pursing his lips, he hesitated for a few seconds before coming clean.

"Addy was the one who arranged for you to be pushed down the stairs at the mall, causing your miscarriage."

My breath hitched, and my heart seemed to stop beating.

After John supposedly died, I began to starve myself, refusing to eat or drink anything. I spent all my time clutching his urn, crying my heart out. That went on until I found out I was pregnant.

That unborn child reignited my desire to live—but just two days later, I was shoved down the stairs and ended up miscarrying the baby.

It'd broken me completely. I started swallowing antidepressants by the handful, unable to stop myself from trying to take my own life.

It was Adaline who stayed by my side, doing everything she could to help me recover. She's accompanied me through that dark period and helped me emerge from the shadows.

But now, I was told that she was the murderer responsible for killing my unborn child. She had also taken from me the chance to ever have another child.

My blood ran cold.

"Addy did it for your sake. If you kept that baby, it would've only been a burden to you. She just didn't expect the miscarriage to leave you infertile. She was afraid you'd be upset, so she forbade everyone from telling you about it. All along, she's been doing what's best for you—"

"Doing what's best for me?" I cut John off.

It sounded so absurd to hear him say that.

"She made me miscarry my child and left me infertile because that was what's best for me? That's the biggest joke I've ever heard in my life. What about when she betrayed me, then? Did she get into bed with you because that was what's best for me, too?"

John's expression darkened, and his voice turned icy. "Don't be so unreasonable, Cecilia!"

My whole body trembled as I pressed my hand to my broken and mutilated heart. Tears poured down my face.

When John saw the tears, his eyes flickered with pity. Just as he was about to speak, Adaline's voice rang out from the other end of the call.

"Who are you chatting with, darling? It's our 5th wedding anniversary today. You said you'd set off fireworks across the entire city as a gift to me…"

John ended the video call in a panic.

I let out a bitter laugh. He'd said the same thing to me on our 5th wedding anniversary. At the time, I'd looked forward to it with such eager anticipation. But what did I get instead?

"Sorry, Cece."

Those were the words he greeted me with. He went on to explain that he'd accidentally smashed the Lego set that Adaline had already built halfway. She wanted him to issue a public apology all across the city before she'd forgive him.

All this time, he'd always put her first. Why was I such a fool that I never connected the dots before?

When I arrived at the hospital, I heard cheerful laughter coming from Adaline's hospital room.

"My new brother is so cute! I love him!" Henry declared.

"My new grandson is so precious. He has his mom's eyes and his dad's mouth…"

Greta and Henry hovered around the baby while John gently fed Adaline some soup. "I had the housekeeper prepare the soup with your favorite shrimp."

He blew on every spoonful to make sure it wasn't too hot before feeding it to her.

John never remembered any of my preferences, but he knew all of Adaline's like the back of his hand. They'd grown up together, so I always told myself it was only because we hadn't known each other long enough. Surely, after a decade or two of a loving marriage, he would come to know my likes and dislikes just as well.

But now, I figured it out. Time was never the issue. It was only ever a matter of whether he'd bothered making the effort.

Adaline was the first to notice me standing at the door. Her eyes turned red, and she choked out, "You're here to see me, Cece. Does that mean you're willing to forgive me now?"

Greta immediately cradled the baby in her arms, her expression wary.

Meanwhile, Henry ran toward me and tried to push me out of the room.

"Go away! I won't let you hurt my mom and my brother!"

John grabbed Henry and admonished him, so he threw herself into Adaline's arms and started wailing.

My heart twisted painfully as I looked at John.

"Let's get a divorce."