Chapter 3

Cathy's words struck Angela's heart like a lightning bolt.

"You're pregnant?"

Cathy looked at Angela with feigned shyness. "It was an accident. I'm three months along."

Three months. Angela's baby was also three months along. Basically, Cathy had gotten pregnant around the same time as she did.

"Is the father your boyfriend?" Angela asked, feeling her heart drop with each word she said. "I don't think I've even met him ever since you told me you guys got together."

"Yeah. He's rarely home," Cathy replied with a wide grin as she grabbed her phone. "But it's alright. He might not be able to always keep me company, but he makes up for it every time we meet and does me in every position possible. I'm content with our arrangement now."

Daryl called Angela just then, asking her where she was and saying that he would drop by to pick her up. When he arrived and caught sight of Cathy next to her, his face darkened at once.

"So, this was the 'emergency' you told me you had?" he chided. "You were just coming here to slack off?"

Angela spoke up before Cathy could answer. "I asked her to keep me company. Just give her a ride home along the way."

"No, it's fine. I don't want to play third wheel," Cathy said quietly, holding a hand to her waist. "I'll just rent a bike and ride it home."

She then quickly rented a bicycle from a nearby bike-share dock and left without waiting for Angela or Daryl to say another word. Angela could see Daryl's grip tightening subtly around the steering wheel.

He drove home very slowly that day, cruising right behind Cathy the entire time as though he was worried that she would get into an accident.

Seconds later, Cathy tipped over and crashed onto the road.

Daryl slammed on the brakes immediately, and the sudden halt threw Angela forward with so much force she thought she was going to fly out of the windshield. However, he didn't seem to notice her panicked look as he immediately threw his door open and ran over to Cathy.

He crouched next to her and spoke in a low, chiding tone, "Are you dumb or what? How could you just fall off a bike in the middle of the road? Get in the car now!"

"Why do you care?" Cathy retorted, her eyes turning red with tears. Her voice turned nasal too. "You should be sending Angela home! Stop bothering me!"

Daryl clicked his tongue in frustration. Without another word, he picked Cathy up from the road and shoved her into the backseat. It wasn't until he was done settling her down that he finally looked at Angela in the front passenger seat.

Angela's face was pale, her lips drained of all color. She clutched her stomach in pain as cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

A hint of panic crossed Daryl's face. He reached out to hold her arm. "I'm sorry, Angie. Did I scare you? It's just that she's your best friend, and I was worried that you'd insist on getting down to help her up and hurt yourself instead, so I—"

"I'm sorry, Angie," Cathy piped up from the back. "It's my fault for making you worry."

Daryl and Cathy kept covering for each other so seamlessly that Angela just found it all ironic. It was obvious that they only had each other's interests in mind, but they still tried to make it sound as though they were doing it for Angela's own good.

She closed her eyes and put her arms protectively around her belly. "I'm fine. Hurry up and send her home."

Daryl was noticeably distracted for the rest of the drive. The look on his face also grew more and more grim as time passed.

After dropping Cathy off at her apartment, he finally heaved a sigh of relief and drove home with Angela.

They didn't speak a word in the car. After stepping through the door, Daryl suddenly hugged Angela from behind.

"Are you still mad at me, Angie? I'm sorry. I'll admit that I was a little too rash earlier. You once told me that Cathy was the only family you had left, and I didn't want you to feel upset because she got hurt. That's the reason why I instinctively went to help her."

Angela felt another blow to her chest, the numbing pain slowly spreading through her body.

Daryl had obviously seen how uncomfortable she'd been after he braked so hard in the middle of the road. Yet throughout the drive to Cathy's home, she saw just how often his eyes would flick to the rearview mirror to check on her friend's condition instead.

It was pretty obvious whom he cared about more.

"Daryl, let's break—"

Before she could finish, Daryl suddenly got a call on his phone. After answering it, his face drained of all color.

"Angie, something urgent just came up at work. I must go back to the office to deal with it. Wait for me at home!"

He then ran out of the door without another glance.

Angela's chest tightened. She then went to check on the surveillance cameras installed inside the Weston villa.

Just as she suspected, Daryl had gone straight to Cathy. The moment he stepped in through the front door, he asked in a worried tone, "You said that your stomach hurts? Let me take a look. Was it because you fell from the bike earlier?"

He then gently massaged Cathy's belly as she snuggled into his arms and whispered, "You were way too obvious today. Do you think Angie's going to find out about us?"

Daryl's face hardened at once. He pulled away slightly from her and said, "She will never find out. And you're forbidden from ever hanging out with her alone again!"

"Why not? Angie is still my best friend. Why shouldn't I hang out with her again just because of you?"

"Because she's pregnant!" Daryl retorted in a low voice. "I can't afford to risk you running your mouth and triggering her by accident."

"But I'm pregnant too!" Cathy shot back, her voice cracking, sounding like she was about to cry. "Are you saying that my baby isn't half as important as hers? Then why did you still come looking for me knowing that I was pregnant? Don't you care the least bit about my feelings at all?"

The tension in the air thickened as silence filled the room once again. A long while later, Daryl replied, "This baby was a mistake to begin with."

"You're such a jerk!" Cathy cried, tears falling from her eyes as she pummeled him in the chest. However, seconds later, it was replaced by loud kissing noises and the sound of clothes being hastily torn off.

"Be good and abort the baby. I promise that I'll take good care of you for the rest of your life if you just listen to me."

Cathy hesitated for a while. Then, she hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.

"But I hate the thought of going under the knife for an abortion. I'd rather you help me abort the baby instead. I heard that lots of intense sex will eventually lead to a miscarriage…"

Daryl cursed softly under his breath before picking her up bridal-style and rushing into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

A few seconds later, Angela received a text message on her phone.

"I'll be spending the night at the company, Angie. Sleep early tonight. Love you!"

The last two words jumped out at Angela and pierced into her eyes as though it was a glaring red color even if it was black just like the rest of the message.

Angela felt her stomach churning. Suddenly, she bent over and retched hard.

What a joke. As it turned out, the place where Daryl and Cathy had been filming their explicit affair turned out to be the exact same place where Angela and Daryl were moving into right after their wedding.

Angela felt an excruciating pain in her chest, like her heart had been torn right out. She also realized that she could taste the salty tears on her tongue.

Just then, Joe sent her a text message.

"Ms, Spears, I've found an online account that might contain the information you're looking for."