Chapter 3
"What? You think it's not enough?" Liesl gave a condescending snort. "You're an orphan. It is already your good fortune to be able to marry into the Ludke family. Don't be too greedy."
Right on cue, Irma chimed in with her soft, gentle voice.
"Corinna, please fulfill Janosch's and my wish to be together. The doctor said my pregnancy isn't stable and that I can't take any more stress," she pleaded.
As she spoke, she gently rested her hand on her baby bump.
I looked at her and suddenly found the whole thing ludicrous.
"Fulfill your wish? Sure!" I replied.
The two women were taken aback. They probably did not expect me to give in so easily.
"But I have one condition," I added.
Liesl scowled. "You still want to bargain with me?"
"It's a simple condition," I said as I turned to Irma with a faint smile. "I want your child to call me 'Mom' after it is born."
The atmosphere froze instantly. Irma's face turned ashen while Liesl's jaw dropped.
Seconds later, the older woman slammed her hand on the table and pointed at my face as she launched into a tirade. "You bitch! What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Nonsense?" My smile remained unchanged, but my eyes narrowed menacingly. "Do you dare instruct the woman next to you to go to the hospital for a checkup right now? To see if the child in her belly is really Janosch's."
Irma flinched and instinctively hid behind Liesl.
"Corinna, how could you accuse me of something like that… Of course, it's Janosch's baby!" she cried out in protest as if she had been wronged.
Liesl immediately jumped to her defense. "Corinna! Don't you dare make baseless accusations! I know Irma best! But you're just clinging to my son without doing anything. You are unable to conceive, yet you can't stand seeing other women have children!"
"I can't conceive?" I laughed outrageously at her slanderous comment. "Liesl, have you forgotten who was the one begging me to give the Ludke family a descendant last year?"
Liesl's face turned ominous instantly.
*****
A year ago, Janosch, due to childhood trauma, had an extreme aversion to intimate contact with other people. I was the one who used the "Healing" skill equipped by Mission Control to slowly mend his wounds and helped him accept me.
After he could finally bring himself to touch me, Liesl made me drink those bitter health tonics for three whole months, in the belief that these things could guarantee that I would bear them a son.
But in the end, I didn't get pregnant.
On the contrary, Janosch was diagnosed with oligospermia, making his chances of conceiving naturally almost zero.
This was a scandal the Ludke family had been desperate to keep under wraps.
*****
Now that I had revealed it publicly, Liesl became downright incensed. "You... you..." She was so livid that she could barely get a word out.
Irma became panic-stricken. She grabbed Liesl's arm as tears began welling up in her eyes.
"Liesl, I don't know what Corinna's talking about… Janosch... how could he be…"
"Enough!" A thunderous roar erupted from the doorway.
Janosch had shown up out of nowhere. He was now standing in the entryway with a face so stormy that he seemed about to explode.
He barged in with piercing eyes that first swept over Liesl and Irma before finally locking onto me. "Corinna, what's wrong with you now?"
I only stared at him sullenly and silently.
Liesl seized the opportunity and immediately went on the offensive.
"Janosch! You're just in time! Look at this woman you've married! She's accusing Irma of carrying a child that isn't yours! And she even brought up your illness…"
"Mom!" Janosch cut her off sharply with a warning glare.
Liesl shut her mouth sulkily.
Janosch marched up to me and glowered at me. "Apologize. Apologize to Irma."
Irma had crept up to hide behind Janosch. Only half her face was revealed as she pretended to be all shy and scared. However, the triumphant look in her eyes was clear as day.
I gave a sly smirk. "What if I refuse?"
"Corinna! " He raised his voice, seemingly struggling to suppress his anger. "Don't test my patience."
"How am I testing your patience?" I met his gaze without flinching. "I'm just stating a fact. Janosch, don't you know your own body better than anyone else?"
His face turned ashen in an instant.
As a man, his concealed physical ailment was the one thing he was most averse to bringing up, especially in front of Irma.
He looked ready to explode. His fists were clenched so tightly the veins bulged up on the backs of his hands.
I had no doubt that he would attack me the next second.
Instead, he just glowered at me ferociously as his chest heaved erratically. Finally, he snarled through clenched teeth, "Get back to your room!"
"Sure," I answered nonchalantly and walked off without any hesitation.