Chapter 3

Alice said, "Jeremiah, you animal! Can't you keep it in your pants around any woman? Is Sophie better looking than me? Does she have a better figure?

"Is she as good in bed as I am? You told me she was a total dead fish in the sack. How can you even get it up with a piece of wood like her... Ah!"

Alice let out a low yelp of pain. "Let go of me. That hurts."

Jeremiah's voice was low and threatening. "I'm warning you one last time. Sophie is my wife and the woman I love most in this world.

"If I ever hear you badmouth her again, you know exactly what will happen."

Alice sobbed uncontrollably. "Then what about me? What do I even mean to you?"

"Alice, don't forget. You're the one who threw yourself at me," he said.

"So what? What's wrong with going after the person I want? Besides, you didn't exactly say no."

Jeremiah let out a low, cynical laugh. "If Sophie hadn't been on her period that week, do you honestly think I would have touched you?"

Alice shot back, "But you didn't push me away, did you, Jeremiah? You always act like a perfect gentleman around Sophie, but does she know the real you?

"If she saw this side of you, would she still want to be with you? Only I truly get you. Trash belongs with trash. We're perfect for each other... Ah!"

Alice's cry of pain echoed again, followed by broken gasps and choking sounds.

It sounded like Jeremiah had grabbed her by the throat.

Jeremiah said coldly, "Sophie is the kindest, most gentle girl in the world. You're not even fit to touch the hem of her dress.

"You're only still standing because you're her best friend. If you want to know what happens to other women who try to worm their way into my bed, go ask around."

Alice whimpered and begged for mercy. After a long moment, Jeremiah finally released his grip.

Alice wept with raw, ragged sobs, but Jeremiah just stood there in silence, not a single word of comfort escaping his lips.

Eventually, Alice grabbed desperately at the leg of his pants and said weakly, "Jeremiah, Sophie's pregnant now. You probably won't want to touch her, right?

"Afraid you'll hurt her or the baby? That's ten whole months. If you ever need anything, you know where to find me."

That was when Sophie caught the faint scent of cigarette smoke in the air.

Jeremiah had lit a cigarette, utterly indifferent to the fact that Alice was pregnant. He was blowing smoke right in her face.

He let out a dark, amused laugh. "You're pregnant too. Aren't you worried something might go wrong? That you might get hurt?"

Alice's voice was thick with a mix of shyness and something else. "I'm not scared. Besides, my milk's already starting to come in."

Jeremiah chuckled low in his throat, a cruel edge to his voice. "Sophie is the pure saint. You're just the dirty little whore.

"Keeping you around as a pet might be amusing. But understand one thing. None of this ever gets back to Sophie. Are we clear?"

Alice nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "I won't let her find out about us."

Jeremiah let out a soft sigh, and for a moment, his voice held a trace of genuine feeling. "If you were any other woman, I could handle this.

"But you're Sophie's best friend, the one she cares about most. If I got rid of you, it would break her heart."

Maybe it was hearing Jeremiah's so-called heartfelt confession, or maybe the stairwell was just thick with cigarette smoke. Sophie turned her head and vomited.

Sophie thought, 'I honestly can't tell if he loves me or not. If he doesn't, why does every word out of his mouth seem aimed at protecting me?

'But if he does, how could he just sleep with another woman? And why does it have to be my best friend?'

A nurse happened to be walking by and caught Sophie by the arm. "Miss, are you okay?"

Sophie waved her hand weakly. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"Wait, why is there blood on your pants?"

Sophie touched her pants and felt the warm, wet stickiness on her fingertips.

The nurse rushed Sophie to the emergency room, and soon enough, the test results came back. "Miss, you're pregnant."

Sophie froze.

Sophie thought, 'The universe does have a twisted sense of humor. I only said I was pregnant to mess with Alice and Jeremiah. And now it turns out I actually am.'

"But, the situation isn't good. You're spotting, which means you're at risk of a miscarriage. You need to call your husband right away so we can start treatment to save the pregnancy," the nurse said.

"There's no need to save it," Sophie said, her hands clenched into fists and her body trembling slightly. "Just terminate it."

Both the doctor and the nurse stared at her, taken aback. "Are you sure?"

Sophie forced a smile, though she knew it probably looked worse than a grimace. "I'm sure."

*****

An hour later, Sophie walked out of the restroom.

She clutched a wad of tissue soaked through with blood.

It felt cold and sticky in her palm.