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Chapter 17: Whispers and Public Confrontation

Author: Rita Scott
last update Last Updated: 2025-10-24 07:58:06

The café was too bright, too loud. I had chosen the corner table, my back against the wall, but even that couldn’t shield me from the eyes.

The women at the counter — wives of Gabriel’s colleagues, women I had once smiled at during charity galas — turned their heads together, whispering behind manicured hands. Their laughter wasn’t cruel on the surface, but the way their eyes flicked to me, then away, made my skin crawl.

I stirred my coffee though I hadn’t tasted a sip. My phone lay face-down on the table, buzzing every few minutes with notifications. I didn’t have to look. I already knew what they were: the posts. The comments.

Emily had made sure the world knew.

#Blessed, one caption had read, beneath a sonogram picture. The kind of post designed to look innocent. Except the tag — #FamilyFirst #BabyGrayson — made my stomach twist.

My friends had texted, cautious, pitying.

Is it true? Do you need anything?

Even my mother had called, voice tight with concern.

“Eve?”

I looked up, start
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