Chapter 3

Leon reacted immediately, his voice sharp. "Gemma, have you lost your mind? You're making this into something it's not!"

A faint, bitter smile crossed my face.

Before I could respond, Allison clenched her jaw and grabbed her shirt.

"Fine. I'll do it. It's not like I care about this stuff." She glanced at Leon. "Watch closely. I'm not as uptight as your wife."

She sounded confident, but after pulling her shirt halfway off and revealing a pale pink bra, her hands stalled.

"Go on," I said calmly.

Her eyes reddened. After a brief pause, she yanked the rest of her shirt off in one sharp motion.

Her back was covered in marks, dark and light, scattered across her skin.

A murmur spread through the room. "Wait, isn't Allison single? Where'd all those hickeys come from?"

Leon's expression hardened. He took off his suit jacket, wrapped it around her, and pulled her into his arms as if to block her from view. Then he turned to me, his gaze cold, and slapped me.

The sound rang out, sharp and sudden.

I pressed a hand to my cheek, staring at him, unable to reconcile this with the man who once promised he would never let me be hurt.

Leon's voice was harsh.

"She's my friend. I've known her longer than I've known you. If I were in love with her, what would you even be doing here?

"She's still a woman. How could you make her take her clothes off in front of everyone? What's wrong with you?

"She's nothing like you! She's innocent. You've taken those pictures, and this isn't even your first marriage."

Allison tightened the jacket around herself, steadying her expression.

"Forget it. Someone like her sees everything through a dirty mind. Of course, she'd think that. She'll never understand us."

My whole body shook, tears blurring my vision.

I pointed at the marks covering Allison's back, my voice trembling.

"Innocent? Leon, you're calling that innocent? She was already living with you when we started dating. So who's really the shameless one?"

Neither of them answered.

The murmurs around us grew louder.

"Those hickeys don't lie. If Leon didn't leave them, somebody did."

Allison's composure cracked. Still wrapped in his jacket, her bra visible, she lifted her chin.

"Fine. I'll say it. I've slept with Leon. So what?"

Leon's expression shifted. He grabbed her arm. "Why did you say that? Gemma doesn't…"

I had expected something like this. Even so, hearing it out loud made everything go dark for a second.

A cold, sharp pain spread through me.

Allison looked straight at me. "You're with Leon, but you can't even satisfy him. What right do you have to care who he sleeps with? Since we're already here, I'll just tell you. Leon chose me a long time ago!"

She raised her phone.

On the screen were explicit photos, the two of them pressed together, naked in bed.

September 24.

The date hit me like a punch.

That was when my ex had people harass me after finding out I had moved on, dragging everything back into the open again.

I stopped going to work and stayed locked inside my apartment while they splashed paint on my door, pasted my photos across it, and pounded on it until the walls shook.

I had nearly given up.

That night, I called Leon over 70 times. He didn't answer once.

Later, he rushed over and told me he had fallen asleep from being too tired from work, that he hadn't seen his phone.

Now I knew where he had been: in Allison's bed.

I looked at him, something close to desperation in my eyes. "Do you have anything to say?"

Leon stayed silent.

After a long moment, he spoke, his tone flat.

"What Allison said isn't wrong.

"At first, I really did feel sorry for you. I liked the way you looked at me, like I was your hero, like you needed me. I thought you were the kind of woman I could build a life with.

"But in bed, you just lie there. You couldn't compare to Allison. I got tired of it."

I swallowed, forcing the tears back, and nodded.

In that case, there was no reason to keep this child.