Chapter 4

Keeping my face cold, I pulled out a photo of me with my mother and held it up for everyone to see, asking Tina if she even knew what genetics were.

The moment she saw the picture, she acted like her professional authority had been insulted.

Flushed with anger, she snapped at me, “And how do we know your mom wasn’t doing the same kind of thing and dragging you along with her? Like mother, like daughter. Haven’t you ever heard that?”

The second I heard her insult my mother, all the anger I had been holding back finally exploded. I lunged at her and slapped her across the face several times.

Sam shoved me away and demanded to know if I had lost my mind.

Breathing hard, I demanded that Tina apologize, but she just clutched her cheek and shouted back at me.

“Xena, even if I played along with your lies and helped you cover everything up today, you still wouldn’t be able to hide the baby you’re carrying!

“Are you really going to wait until the baby is born before you admit you cheated on Sam?”

The moment Sam heard that, he shoved me to the floor. Then he planted his foot on my chest and ground it down hard.

Looking down at me, he demanded to know whose bastard I was carrying.

I started coughing violently. My chest hurt so badly I could barely get a word out.

Fighting through the pain, I forced myself to speak. “I just got my period two days ago. Whether I’m pregnant or not, shouldn’t you know that better than anyone?”

The pressure of Sam’s foot slowly eased, and he even reached a hand toward me, as if he meant to help me up.

But then Tina let out a long sigh.

She reached into her bag, pulled out a crumpled pregnancy test report, and held it up in front of me.

My name was on it, and the results clearly said I was twelve weeks pregnant.

I looked up at Tina. A flash of triumph crossed her eyes, as if that one piece of paper was enough to pin me to the wall in shame for good.

Once the people around us saw what looked like proof, they all started talking at once, throwing accusations at me from every direction.

Some even said I should be punished like women in the old days, so I would stop humiliating myself in public.

Then Tina, sounding almost casual, added, “For all we know, Xena’s so-called period was fake too. Maybe she made it up just to keep this hidden.”

At that, the hand Sam had reached out to help me changed direction.

He grabbed me by the hair and slammed my head against the floor again and again.

Even after my face was covered in blood, he still refused to stop. He even tried to kick me hard in the stomach.

I twisted away as fast as I could and, using every last bit of strength I had, forced myself upright.

I looked at Tina, curiosity in my eyes, and pressed her again. Since I was clearly not pregnant, where exactly had she gotten that pregnancy test report?

Tina let out a scornful laugh, her face full of provocation.

“If you say you’re not pregnant, then prove it.”

As she said that, a nasty glint flashed in her eyes. Her hand shot straight for the hem of my skirt, clearly intending to strip me in front of everyone.