Chapter 2 Shattered Trust

My calm, almost careless attitude caught Jensen off guard. He reached out to stop me as I turned away. "Noelle, I know this must hurt. Blame me if you need to. But believe me, this divorce is only temporary. I'll keep my promise to you."

I glanced at the hand holding mine, then pulled free. "Register the marriage with Brooke first. We can talk about the rest later."

Jensen opened his mouth again, but Brooke was quicker. She slipped her arm through his and said sweetly, "Since Noelle's already urging us, let's just hurry and get this done."

Then, she rubbed her stomach with a pitiful expression. "The doctor said I'm not in good health. There's a chance of premature labor. If the baby comes and we haven't gotten married, does that mean my baby will become a love child?"

Jensen stopped hesitating at once. He carefully guided her into the car and even buckled her seatbelt for her. Meanwhile, I had to waddle to the backseat on my own, one hand holding my belly, the other bracing my back.

Rain began to fall outside, cold drops soaking into the cracks of my already broken heart. From the moment I watched them flirt so shamelessly, a dull ache had been gnawing at my stomach.

By the time the divorce papers were finalized, Jensen had dropped the act. His eyes never left Brooke. He even asked me for advice. "Noelle, does my hairstyle look okay? Does it make me look old—like I'm not good enough for Brooke?"

I ignored him. Brooke immediately tugged on his arm with a bright smile. "We look perfect together, like a match made in heaven. Stop overthinking—let's go through the process and get married!"

I stayed quiet, watching them flaunt their affection like nothing had happened. I didn't rush to leave. This time, I wanted to see the truth with my own eyes, to kill the last of my hope.

After everything was done, Brooke strutted over with their freshly issued marriage license in hand. "Noelle, Jensen says he’s a hundred times happier than when you two got married."

Her face radiated triumph, her words dripping with provocation. "Jensen's eyes are always filled with love for me. I'm so happy. Oh, wait, I shouldn't call him Jensen anymore—I should call him 'honey.' Don't you think so, Noelle?"

When I didn't respond, she went further and slapped my belly hard out of the blue. "You are always as dull as dishwater. Your baby must be a stupid one. Mine's obviously way smarter than yours."

Before I could even retort to her, a sharp pain tore through me. I stumbled back two steps and tripped over my own feet. With a heavy thud, I hit the ground hard, my knee scraping open and bleeding.

The sound drew the attention of several bystanders. "Whose wife is that? Look how far along she is! Why isn't her husband with her? How irresponsible!"

Brooke acted as if nothing had happened, even raising her voice on purpose. "She doesn't have a husband anymore. He just divorced her and left her behind. Who knows whose child she's carrying…"

Gasps rippled through the crowd, and I felt their judgmental stares burning into me.

At that moment, Jensen came running over. He froze when he saw me on the ground, clutching my belly in pain. Panic flashed across his face. "Noelle, how did you fall? Let me—"

But before he could reach me, Brooke let out a dramatic scream and collapsed to the ground herself. "Honey… my stomach hurts…"

Her tears spilled, her voice trembling with fear, "Is the baby coming early? What do we do, honey? I'm scared…"

And just like that, all of Jensen's attention shifted back to her.