Chapter 2

On the other end of the line, Maya hesitated for a second before her tone turned anxious.

"Chloe? Take a deep breath. Tell me what happened."

Chloe opened her mouth, but tears fell first.

"Michael and Sarah are together behind my back. They... they even have a baby."

Silence stretched over the line for several agonizing seconds.

Then, Maya let out a soft laugh.

"I thought it was something major. Chloe, are you really that naive?"

Chloe froze, her mind going completely blank. "Maya... you knew too?"

"Of course. We literally took a vote on how to handle your pregnancy.

"Pushing you down the stairs won first place, but Michael was worried you would get hurt, so he switched it to almond cake instead."

Maya's voice remained calm, almost dismissive. "Honestly, given his status, he was incredibly thoughtful. What more could you possibly want?"

Chloe gripped her phone, numb. Her eyes went dry, unable to shed another tear.

Thoughtful?

Watching her suffer a violent allergic reaction, spiraling into anaphylactic shock?

Leaving her bleeding on the floor, helpless, until her baby died inside her?

---

The call went dead.

Chloe pushed the front door open. The noisy laughter in the living room abruptly died.

Sarah reacted first. She rushed over and fell to her knees at Chloe's feet.

"Chloe, I'm so sorry! I should have told you sooner!

"But every time you talked about how happy you were with Michael, I couldn't bring myself to break your heart. I was only trying to protect you..."

Chloe looked down at her. A bitter, hollow laugh welled up in her chest.

"Protect me?" Chloe's voice rasped. "By conspiring to murder my baby? By shoving a cheap, toxic piece of metal inside me so it would rot into my flesh?!

"By crawling into my husband's bed and bearing his child behind my back?!"

Chloe poured all her strength into a vicious slap across Sarah's face.

"I am a human being, Sarah! What right did any of you have to make decisions about my life?!"

She raised her hand to strike again, but a hand clamped around her wrist like iron.

"That's enough!"

Michael shoved her back.

Chloe lost her balance and her head smashed hard against the sharp corner of the table.

Warm blood instantly spilled over her forehead, blurring her vision.

Michael stepped in front of Sarah, shielding her with his eyes cold as ice.

"I approved all of it. If you're angry, take it out on me. Don't touch Sarah."

The guests snapped out of their shock, chiming in one after another.

"He's right, Chloe. If you weren't so difficult, nobody would have had to lie to you."

"Michael treats you like royalty. And Sarah's been your best friend for over ten years. Don't make a bigger scene than this needs to be."

Chloe leaned weakly against the table. Blood trickled into her eye, and the sting brought back painful memories.