Chapter 2

When I woke up, I smelled disinfectant. My cheek was swollen, and my back hurt so much that I felt like it was broken.

Stacy was the first person I saw when I opened my eyes, as she was right next to my bed. "You're finally awake, Tessa."

Her eyes were red from all the crying, and there was a faint red mark on one side of her cheek. "All I wanted was to talk to you. Why did you hit me and purposely fall to scare everyone?"

I looked at her and said nothing.

The room was filled with people. Dad and Mom were standing at the end of my bed, Toby was leaning next to the window, and Henry was sitting in the chair. There were dark circles under Henry's eyes, and he looked at me with exhaustion.

Mom spoke first. "Tessa, Stacy went to visit you late at night because she was worried about you. You can't hit her even if you're mad at her."

My throat was dry, and it hurt. "Are you really going to believe everything she tells you?" I turned to Toby. "Check the security cameras. There are cameras in the corridor."

Stacy clenched her fists as Henry stood up. "I've already gotten someone to get the security footage."

The footage was delivered 30 minutes later. The image was very clear, and it showed Stacy entering my room at about 1 am. I looked up at everyone. "Isn't anyone going to ask what she was doing in my room in the middle of the night?"

Stacy shook her head while sobbing. "I just wanted to apologize to Tessa."

Mom held Stacy in her arms right away. "Stacy is already feeling bad about this."

Dad pressed his fingers between his eyes. "Stop hounding her about this, Tessa."

Toby closed the file on my medical report and said calmly, "It's true that you lost control of your emotions last night."

I looked at how he stated this without hesitation. I had no idea a doctor could come up with a diagnosis without checking the patient.

Henry came over to me and said in a low voice, "Tessa, the wedding will go on as planned. I can put your name down on the house deed, but if you continue to create trouble, there won't be anything to discuss between us."

I asked, "Is this how you're choosing to handle things between us, Henry?"

Henry was taken aback, and that was when Stacy suddenly hugged her stomach, looking pale. "Don't be mad at Henry, Tessa. Our baby is innocent."

The room was suddenly silent. I turned pale as I looked at her stomach. It suddenly felt like there was an invisible door between me and everyone else.

Mom quickly went up to hold Stacy. "Are you all right, Stacy?"

Henry became alarmed as he shielded Stacy behind him, looking at me warily as if I would lunge at Stacy at any time. I slowly repeated, "Baby?"

Stacy bit her lip. "I didn't want to hide this from you, Tessa, but I'm pregnant…"

I could taste blood in my throat, but I swallowed hard. The pain in my heart was so intense that it was starting to feel numb.

Stacy leaned into Henry's arms and said softly, "Please don't be mad, Tessa."

I looked at them for a long time before saying, "Congratulations."

Mom was clearly relieved. "It's a good thing that you're able to be this understanding. Stacy is suffering from a unique condition, and she can't be agitated any further."

Henry looked at me as if he had something to say, but in the end, all he said was, "Have a good rest."

All of them left while standing around Stacy. They were very gentle and careful with her, and they acted as if she was the one who had almost died. My hospital room became quiet after they closed the door behind them, and I started scrolling through my phone.

It looked like everyone on my social media account was having a great time. A picture showed Stacy sitting in the middle with her hand placed gently on her belly, while Henry stood behind her with his hand on the back of her chair, and my parents were smiling softly.

The caption read: [This is the start of our happiness.]

I stared at the picture for a long time and noticed the comments were filled with congratulatory messages to Stacy and Henry. I clicked into my university classmates' group chat and texted: [Did all of you know about this?]

Everyone was busy texting in the group when my question silenced all of them. It took a long time before one of them texted me privately.

[I'm so sorry, Tessa. We thought you knew.]

When I saw her text, my tears fell on the phone screen.

They were gushing about how pretty I was when I tried on my wedding dress, and when I told them that I would be having my wedding in a month's time, they looked happy for me and showered me with congratulatory messages and blessings.

It turned out that they knew all along what was happening back then. I turned off my phone and slowly closed my eyes. I did not feel like asking questions anymore because I no longer wanted this family.