Chapter 8: The Office Showdown Escalates

Emily stepped forward too, her perfume sharp in the air, her voice softer, almost breaking. “And you have to ask yourself, Gabriel—why is she always so defensive? Why does she always need to convince you she is innocent? Maybe because she is not.”

The words twisted, dug deep.

My nails bit into my palm. I wanted to scream, to throw Emily out by her hair, to end this once and for all—but I could not. Not with Gabriel standing there, the weight of his doubt pressing into the silence.

For a long, brutal moment, the three of us just stood there, the air charged like a storm about to break.

And then Gabriel finally spoke. His voice was low and rough, and it cut through both of us like glass.

“Enough.”

He set the phone down on the desk with a sharp click.

But the look in his eyes was not resolution. It was a conflict. Confusion.

And that—more than anything Emily had done—was what terrified me.

Because if Gabriel could not tell who was lying and who was telling the truth, then Emily had already won half the battle.

Emily shifted her weight, her hand brushing deliberately across her stomach. The movement was small, but her voice carried like a gunshot.

“I didn’t want to do this in front of her, Gabriel,” she said softly, her eyes brimming with well-timed tears. “But I cannot hide it anymore. I am pregnant. With your child.”

The words cracked the room open.

Gabriel froze. His head jerked up, eyes sharp, searching. For a beat, confusion clouded his features—like someone had thrown ice water over his thoughts.

“What…?” He said at last, voice low, almost strangled.

My chest burnt. No. Not again.

I stepped forward, my voice a blade. “Don’t listen to her, Gabriel. It is the same lie she used before. The same sonogram. Don’t you see?”

But he turned toward me, his brow furrowed, as if my words did not match his reality. Because to him—his fractured, reset memory—this was the first time.

Emily’s lips trembled. She cradled her stomach with both hands- perfect performance. “I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. I didn’t want to complicate things between you and Eve. But you deserve to know. Our baby deserves that.”

Gabriel’s face tightened. His eyes darted between the two women. “A baby?” His hand clenched at his side. “You’re saying—mine?”

I wanted to scream. “She is manipulating you! We had been through this before the accident—you just don’t remember.”

Emily’s eyes widened in mock shock, tears spilling. “You told her about the accident?” Emily whispered to Gabriel. “You told her… before you told me? That’s how much she hates me. She would rather rewrite everything than admit you loved me once too.”

Gabriel staggered back a step, his hand pressed to his temple, the weight of two conflicting truths tearing at him.

My stomach twisted. She knew this was Emily’s plan all along. Use the gaps in his memory. Make him doubt me. Make him doubt himself.

And it was working.

Gabriel’s hand pressed harder against his temple. His voice cracked. “Stop. Both of you. Just… stop.”

Emily flinched delicately, a trembling flower in the storm. “I never wanted to ruin your marriage, Gabriel. But what kind of woman would I be if I hid your child from you?”

My laugh came sharp and jagged. “Your child? Don’t make me sick. She forged it, Gabriel. The sonogram—she faked it before. You knew that. You confronted her. You—”

She stopped.

Because his eyes were empty.

Confused.

Like he was staring at two strangers throwing words he could not place.

He didn’t remember.

Emily saw it too—and pounced. “Listen to her,” Emily whispered, her voice cracking in false pain. “Even now, she calls our baby a lie. Do you think that is love? Do you think a woman who loves you would try to erase your child from existence?”

“Stop twisting it!” My voice broke. I grabbed Gabriel’s arm, desperate. “Gabriel, look at me. I am your wife. I have stood by you through everything. She wants to destroy us—do not let her.”

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes—recognition, loyalty.

But then Emily’s hand brushed her stomach again, and her voice softened into something poisonous. “Maybe… deep down… You already know it is true. Why else would you feel this pull toward me, even now?”

“Enough!” I roared, shaking. “You conniving—”

But Gabriel raised his hand. Not to my face, but to silence me.

And that broke me more than a slap ever could.

“Eve,” he said, his voice tight, raw, fraying at the edges. “I… I need time. I need to think.”

Emily lowered her gaze, hiding her smile. “Of course. Take all the time you need. I’ll be here.”

My blood boiled. I’ll be here. The words were a knife.

Gabriel stepped back, staring at both women, torn between two worlds—his wife’s fury and his mistress’s false innocence. His silence was worse than betrayal.

I realised then that Emily had done it. She had planted the seed. And Gabriel, with his fractured memory, was already watering it.

My throat tightened. “If you walk out of here believing her, Gabriel… you’ll regret it.”

But he didn’t answer. He just walked away, shoulders heavy, leaving me and Emily alone in the silence.

Emily’s smile bloomed the second the door shut. Slow, satisfied.

She leaned closer, her whisper slicing like a razor.

“Round one goes to me.”