Chapter 3

Alex's hand froze in midair. For a second, something flickered in his eyes, caught off guard.

He reached toward me, awkward, like a child who'd done something wrong. I raised my hand and pushed him away, coldly, and wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.

A beat later, the guilt in Alex's eyes turned to ice. His voice came out cold, like it had been dipped in it.

"Natalie cut her wrists after she saw the news. They just barely saved her. Are you satisfied only when she's dead?"

I looked down and let out a laugh. "If I told you I wasn't the one who posted that photo, would you believe me?"

Alex frowned, forcing down his anger. "Who else would drag out a photo like that to play the victim?"

Every word landed like a blade.

"Mary, when did you get so vicious?"

I looked at him, and suddenly I wanted to laugh. He and Natalie had reunited as a family of three in front of the entire country. My parents had held their child and wished them nothing but peace and happiness.

All of them together had kept this from me for seven years. And somehow, in the end, I was the vicious one.

Alex seemed to hate my silence. His tone turned colder.

"You wanted an explanation, didn't you? Fine. I'll give you one right now."

He pulled out his phone and started typing a post right in front of me. A few minutes later, his account updated again.

The photo attached was a marriage certificate. Against the red background, he and Natalie leaned into each other. Natalie was smiling, soft and gentle. Alex's expression was calm, but there was an indulgence in his eyes I'd never once seen him wear for me.

The caption was long.

[Thank you all for your concern. Natalie and I have been legally married for four years. Mary is a friend of my wife's, and for personal reasons, she's developed an unhealthy dependence on me over the years. Out of consideration for her unstable mental state, we've tolerated it for a long time. I never expected she would use an AI-altered photo to mislead public opinion and hurt my wife and son. I reserve the right to pursue legal action.]

After reading it, something closed off in my throat, and even breathing turned hard.

The comments turned on a dime.

[So they've actually been married for four years.]

[Sounds like Mary is the one who's been clinging to someone else's husband.]

[Terrifying. Framing the real wife with an AI-generated photo.]

[The hero pilot's had it rough. Just saved a plane full of people, and now some unhinged woman's throwing mud at him.]

I stared at the date on that marriage certificate. Four years ago, November 17.

In that instant, I felt nailed to the spot.

That day had been my second miscarriage.

Eight weeks along, I'd lain on a bench in the hospital hallway, cold sweat soaking through me from the pain. A nurse had come by with a clipboard and asked, "Where's your family?"

I'd called Alex. His phone was off. I'd called my parents. No one picked up.

Alex finally sent me a message afterward. [Emergency flight, just boarded, I'll call when I land.]

But by then, the baby was already gone. I signed the forms alone. I was wheeled into surgery alone. Tears slid into my hair as the small life inside me slipped away without a sound.

So on the day I lay on that operating table losing my child, my parents had been with Natalie the whole time, standing beside her and Alex as they got married.

I looked at Alex, my voice barely above a whisper.

"November 17. Weren't you supposed to be flying that day?"

Alex's expression shifted, just slightly. But he quickly frowned again.

"Does it even matter now? Natalie was already pregnant by then. She couldn't go without a name for the child."

I stared at him, stunned.

"And what about me? What about my child?"

Alex looked away. His voice sank.

"Mary, stop dragging up the past to corner me. Every time, I told you exactly why. It was for your reputation. Having a child out of wedlock would have ruined you."

I laughed. I laughed until the tears finally fell.

"But Natalie getting pregnant out of wedlock meant you had to register the marriage."

Alex said nothing.

His silence was the answer.

My phone buzzed again. It was a message from my mother, sent from an unfamiliar number.

[Mary, how did you turn into someone this cruel? Natalie just cut her wrists. They barely got her back. How much further are you going to push her?]

My father sent one too.

[The truth is right in front of you. Keep this up, and you'll only humiliate yourself further. We won't acknowledge a daughter as shameless as you.]

I stared at those words, and somewhere inside me, something went completely hollow.