Chapter 3

"Elliot, if you ever betray Josie again, I swear I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Fiona Jones' expression was grim as she tore into her son.

I sat numbly on the couch, listening as Elliot apologized over and over.

"Josie, I was drunk that night. That's how Rachel got pregnant. Her health isn't good, and I couldn't bring myself to turn my back on her," he explained.

Fiona took my hand, her voice softening.

"Josie, you and Elliot have known each other since you were children. After your parents passed away, I raised you like my own daughter. Please give him one more chance. I'm begging you."

The guilt in her eyes only made me feel more miserable.

After my parents died, Elliot brought me home. During the darkest period of my life, the Cahills gave me the warmth and security of a family.

But I never imagined that everything they had done for me would one day become the reason I felt obligated to stay.

"Alright."

My voice came out hoarse and dry. Inside, I felt nothing but emptiness.

Elliot's eyes immediately lit up. He rushed forward and pulled me into his arms, his tears soaking the side of my neck.

"Thank you, Josie. Thank you so much. I swear I'll end things with Rachel."

The moment another notification chimed, I felt a strange sense of calm.

Maybe once someone had been hurt enough, there really was nothing left to feel.

…

Elliot soon returned to the attentive husband he used to be. He left work early every day and made a point of spending more time with me.

He even planted roses in the flower bed below our balcony, explaining that once it bloomed, I would be able to smell it whenever I stepped outside.

I lowered my eyes. "I'm allergic to roses."

He froze. Guilt flashed across his face as he immediately set the plant aside. "I'm sorry. I'll have someone come replace them."

"Don't bother."

I turned and walked back into the house.

This place wouldn't belong to me much longer anyway.

Elliot followed me inside, clearly intending to explain himself, but his phone started ringing before he could speak.

He declined the call, only for it to come through again. This happened several times, and with every attempt, his expression grew more strained.

I walked over, took the phone from him, and answered it myself.

"Elliot! Help me! They're destroying my bakery! Get your hands off me!"

Elliot's expression shifted in alarm. He looked at me, his eyes red. "Josie, this is the last time. Rachel's pregnant and all alone. If something happens to her or the baby—"

"Go," I said, my tone flat.

He didn't stop to think. Instead, he turned and rushed out of the house.

A bitter smile pulled at my lips.

Concern had stripped him of all common sense. Elliot was normally so careful, yet calling the police never even crossed his mind.

He simply ran to Rachel like a reckless teenager desperate to reach the woman he loved.

Once, he had done the same for me. But what I never expected was for Elliot to bring Rachel home with him.

He had once promised that this house would always belong to the two of us, but now, he was leading her inside with one hand around her arm, his movements gentle.

The moment he saw me, disappointment filled his eyes.

"Jocelyn, I never thought you'd stoop this low. You went after a pregnant woman and her unborn child. You had her bakery trashed. How are they supposed to survive now?"

My lips had gone pale, but I forced myself to answer, "I didn't do it."

We had known each other for 20 years, and no one understood me better than Elliot. But now that his heart belonged to someone else, even that no longer mattered.

Rachel clutched his arm, her voice breaking with emotion. "Elliot, this is all my fault."

When neither of us backed down, she suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me.

"Ms. Cox, I know you hired someone to investigate me, and I understand that you only wanted to scare me today. But please, just leave us alone. I'll take the baby and go somewhere far away. You'll never have to see us again."

Watching her play the helpless victim finally pushed me past the limits of my restraint.

"Ms. Ross, you do know how to call 911, don't you? You slept with another woman's husband, yet you're standing here, pretending you're the victim. You're really—"

Before I could finish, Elliot slapped me across the face. My head snapped to the side, and the impact left my ears ringing.

Triumph flashed in Rachel's eyes, but when she spoke, she sounded tearful.

"I only called Elliot because I was terrified something would happen to the baby. I'm sorry…"

Elliot pressed his lips into a thin line. "Josie, you've never been a mother. How could you possibly understand how Rachel feels about her child?"

Those words struck the wound in my heart and tore it wide open.

I raised my head, the despair in my eyes making him falter.

"You don't believe me, do you?" I asked.

"No.

"You can blame me, but the baby is innocent."

The room fell silent, feeling much like the final word in our marriage.