Chapter 2

Wendy froze. She looked like a puppet that had lost its strings. A woman next to me stepped in right away. "Are you serious, Ciara? She's about to go into labor."

Another chimed in loudly, "I heard you bought a new Bentley. Can't you just drive Wendy to the hospital? How long will we need to wait if we call an ambulance now?"

Wendy cried even harder now that she had people standing up for her. "I'm begging you, Ciara. It would be faster if you just drove me to the hospital. It feels like my belly is being torn apart…"

Her trembling voice and look of desperation in her eyes made her acting look even more realistic than it was in my past life. I looked at her and shrugged. "But I sold my car. How am I supposed to drive you?"

The room turned silent, and no one spoke for at least two seconds. Even Wendy stopped crying. Her eyes widened as her voice went up an octave. "That brand-new Bentley? The one you bought for 300,000 dollars? You sold it? How is that possible?!"

Several other people exchanged looks and laughed. "Stop kidding around, Ciara. Just say it if you're not willing to help Wendy."

"You bought that car last week. No one would sell their brand-new car after driving it for only a few days."

"I guess she doesn't want people like us hitching a ride in her car. She's now a snob for buying a Bentley."

Everyone started talking about this as they stared maliciously back at me.

Wendy gave the most exaggerated reaction. She had one hand pressed on her belly as she leaned weakly against the wall with tears streaming down her face. "I understand if you refuse to help me. I won't force you into anything, but you don't need to lie about selling your car. I'm really in a lot of pain, and all I'm asking for is a little help…"

Her knees suddenly went weak as she spoke, and she looked like she was about to fall. That was when the door opened, and my boyfriend, Clay, walked in, looking tired and in a rush. Wendy cried even louder at the sight of him, and she struggled to reach out to him. "Clay… You're here… It hurts so bad…"

Clay looked alarmed as he dashed to her side to hold her by the shoulders. "What's going on?"

Wendy's friend, Eve Samson, glared at me. "You should ask your girlfriend that question. Wendy is about to go into labor and can hardly stand, but Ciara's giving all sorts of excuses not to drive her to the hospital."

Clay looked up at me sharply. "Why won't you drive her when you have a car, Ciara? How can you be so cold-blooded when she's pregnant with a baby?"

It hurt me to hear his words, and I looked back at him. It was just the same back in my past life. He would always take Wendy's side, while always looking at me with disappointment, as if I were the unforgivable sinner.

Wendy grabbed his sleeve, looking teary-eyed and choking back a sob. "Don't be mad at Ciara, Clay. Maybe she really did sell her car. I shouldn't even be troubling her…"

She nuzzled deeper into Clay's arms as she spoke and trembled slightly. Clay held her tight, and he turned to me with a tired look on his face. He said with great annoyance, "When did you turn this way, Ciara? A pregnant woman is about to go into labor, and you still refuse to drive her to the hospital."

Another capo, Sean Geddot, shook his head. "It's not a great sacrifice for you to drive Wendy to the hospital."

A socialite from the family took a sip of red wine and said sarcastically in a shrill tone, "How interesting. Some people enjoy showing off their brand-new luxury car, but when someone asks for help by begging for a ride…"

Malicious whispers were heard all around me, slithering like a venomous snake among the crowd.

Wendy picked the right moment to exclaim in pain, and Clay lowered his head to comfort her. When he looked up at me again, there was only coldness in his eyes. "If anything happens to Wendy, I won't ever forgive you, Ciara."

I watched them quietly without saying a word. Back in my past life, Eve was the first person who shared the clip of Wendy accusing me of murdering her baby right after Wendy posted it, while Sean was the one who exposed my address to the public after the whole incident escalated, and Clay did not hesitate at all when he stood witness against me for Wendy's sake. Every one of them was responsible for destroying my life.

However, I felt nothing. There was no anger, no shame, and no guilt inside of me, and I replied calmly, "I don't need to ask for anyone's permission to sell my car. There is no point in asking for my help when I no longer own a car."

Wendy suddenly screamed. She looked extremely pale, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat. This time, she was not putting up an act. Everyone started to get anxious.

"She's about to go into labor! Get an ambulance!"

"Be careful! Don't bump into her tummy!"

"Make way, everyone! We need to give Wendy some space…"

Wendy fell limply in Clay's arms while hugging her belly tightly. She glared at me while she cried. It was difficult to ignore the clear hate she had in her eyes for me. I knew that she hated me for rejecting her.

I learned a lot about pregnancies in my past life when I was 'working' as her free maid, and I wanted to find out if it was true that Wendy's baby died because of me. A baby's umbilical cord wrapping around its neck happened because of natural causes, and had nothing to do with a bumpy ride in a car, but everyone seemed to be convinced that it was my fault.

One late night, I returned to Wendy's house because I had left my keys there, and I overheard a conversation she had on the phone with Clay. A few weeks before she went into labor, the doctors warned her about the umbilical cord around her baby's neck, and they suggested that she have a cesarean section, but she rejected the idea.

Wendy needed someone to take the fall for her dead fetus, and I was the target.

The ambulance's siren could be heard loudly outside the window, and the paramedics rushed to the scene after a minute to help Wendy onto a stretcher. When they wheeled her past me, Wendy turned her head, and our eyes met. I smiled at her, but there was no warmth in my eyes. "Don't frame someone innocent this time, Wendy."