Semua Bab Five Years of Lies, The Last Chapter: Bab 1 - Bab 8

My hand froze mid-cut as I was slicing her steak.My brain went numb. My vision blurred."What?"My lips trembled as I forced the word out."That night with Ryan five years ago. I got pregnant."Jessica didn't hold anything back. She even let out a small sigh of relief as she said it. "It's better that you know. I've been tired of hiding it for five years."I didn't know what to do with myself. I turned to my mother-in-law."Mom… come on, don't joke around with Jess like this. It's your birthday. You're messing with me, right?"But Linda just took a calm sip of her tea. She didn't say a word in response to my question.My heart sank lower.Jessica kept talking. "I'm not joking. When I found out, the doctor said terminating the pregnancy would be bad for my health. There was a good chance I'd never get pregnant again."She rested her hand on her swollen belly. My child was in there—eight months along, almost due."Be grateful, Michael. I didn't get rid of it. Otherwise, we'd

Jessica and Linda went ahead and brought Ryan and the boy back to the house.Linda hovered protectively over her precious grandson. "As long as I'm alive, Noah is my grandson. I won't let anyone bully him."Her eyes kept darting toward me, guarded and suspicious.Ryan caught her meaning. A flicker of smugness crossed his face. Gone was the uncertainty from before. He puffed out his chest."Don't worry, Michael. I'm not trying to take your place. I just want my son to be able to stay close to his mother. I don't want Noah to grow up with the stigma of being labeled a bastard."I curled my lip, unable to hide the sarcasm. "That label wouldn't be undeserved. No matter what you do, that fact isn't going to change."Ryan's face went pale. He turned to Jessica with a wounded look.Jessica frowned. "Michael, where are your manners?"Her cold words made my heart clench. My hands hung limp at my sides, uselessly gripping and releasing. My voice came out dry and cracked. "Five years ago,

Jessica had hesitated at first, right there in the operating room.No matter what, the baby inside her was nearly eight months old. She had gone through so much just to get pregnant with this child. The doctor had told her before that her body wasn't suited for another pregnancy. But she still wanted to give Michael a baby.Maybe it was guilt. Or maybe it was fear that someday he would find out the truth, and she could use this child to keep him tied to her.But then she thought about what Michael had done—putting those photos up for everyone to see—and suddenly, she felt he was unforgivable.She didn't even know when those pictures had been taken. Ryan would never do something that would humiliate him. So it had to be Michael.She just wanted to teach him a lesson he'd never forget.Because of the early abortion, Jessica came out of surgery looking pale and drawn.She couldn't bring herself to look at the baby—born blue and mottled. The doctor told her it was a girl.Ryan rush

The next morning, Jessica picked at her breakfast, completely distracted.Michael hadn't come home all night. His phone was off. Her texts wouldn't go through.She felt a strange sense of unease, like something was slipping away from her.She called one of Michael's friends."Have you seen Michael?"Whenever they fought in the past, Michael always went straight to his friends. Jessica assumed this time was no different.Then the voice on the other end said, "Didn't you two already sign the divorce papers?"Jessica's hand trembled so badly she almost dropped the phone. Her voice shot up. "Divorce?"When had she and Michael gotten divorced?The person on the other end snapped back, annoyed. "Jessica, everyone knows about your mess. If you're divorcing Michael, stop stringing him along. You really think he can't live without you?"Jessica gripped her phone tighter and let out a cold laugh. "Did Michael put you up to this? Is this some kind of joke? Because I'm the one getting di