Chapter 2
"I'll stay with you until you stand on your own two feet again," I said.
As soon as I finished speaking, the doorbell suddenly rang, like a grim alarm going off.
I stiffened all over.
The baby's voice screamed in my head. "Mom, she's here!
"It's her. The woman who traveled back."
The doorbell kept echoing through the apartment.
I took a deep breath, wiped away my tears, and my eyes went cold in an instant.
Whether the voice was real or not, whoever was at the door wasn't here for anything good.
I walked over and peeked through the peephole.
Outside stood a woman in a white dress, her makeup flawless.
Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders, giving her an air of gentle elegance, and she was holding a high-end thermos.
Her name was Harley Blaine, Jacob's ex-girlfriend.
After the accident, Harley had come by once. Tears streamed down her face like her heart was breaking.
She rambled on about why things turned out this way. Then she vanished without a trace.
I never expected her to show up today.
And of all days, it had to be right after I found that lace underwear.
My baby screamed in my head, "Mom, it's her.
"She came at exactly this time in the previous life. She pretended to bring soup out of kindness, but it was drugged.
"The drug makes people slow and gradually lose their willpower. That's how she controlled Dad."
My baby was frantically warning me in my mind.
My heart sank.
That was such a vicious trick.
I opened the door and stood firmly in the doorway, making it clear she wasn't welcome inside. I stared at her coldly.
"Ms. Blaine, what do you want?" I said.
When Harley saw me, a flash of surprise and disappointment flickered across her face.
She had probably expected someone else to answer the door or for me not to be here at all.
But she smoothed it over in a heartbeat, pretending to be all sweet and innocent.
"Jenna, I-I just wanted to check on Jake," she said.
Harley was acting so familiar with him.
"Just thought I'd make him some clam chowder. It's good for his health," she added, holding up the thermos like she was the perfect wife.
If this had happened an hour ago, maybe I would've actually been grateful for her kindness.
But now, her fake sweetness made me want to gag.
"Mom, don't let her in. The soup is drugged. Don't let Dad drink it," my baby yelled inside my head.
I didn't need the baby's reminder. There was no way I'd let her pull this off.
I blocked the doorway, refusing to let her in.
"No need. I take care of Jacob's diet," I replied, my voice icy and distant.
Harley's smile froze for a moment.
She clearly didn't expect me, the old pushover, to suddenly push back like this.
She gazed at me with a pitiful look, her eyes red-rimmed as if she might cry at any moment.
Harley said, "Jenna, I know it's been tough for you these years.
"I want to do something for Jake.
"After all, we used to be together. I can't just stand by and watch him suffer."
She was laying it on thick, acting like she was some kind of devoted ex.
It was ridiculous.
She disappeared for three years after Jacob's accident.
Now she was pretending to care?
"Ms. Blaine, seriously?" I shot back.
I curled my lips into a smirk.
I said, "Where were you when Jacob had his accident? Didn't see you rushing to help back then.
"Now you show up? Isn't it a bit late for that?"
Harley's expression darkened in an instant.
She bit her lip, looking like she was the victim of some huge injustice.
She stammered, "I-I was overseas back then. I just got back and only found out now."
What a lame excuse.
My baby screamed in my head, "Mom, she's lying.
"She never left the country. She's been here all along. She was waiting. Waiting for us to spend all our savings, waiting for you to burn out, so she could make her entrance."
"She wanted to create the illusion that she was the only one who hadn't given up on him."
My baby was giving a live commentary in my mind, like a pissed-off narrator.
My anger grew.
This woman was so manipulative, it made my skin crawl.
Seeing I wouldn't move, Harley walked around me and shouted into the house. "Jake, can I come in?
"I brought your favorite clam chowder."
Inside, Jacob didn't make a sound.
He acted like a bystander, indifferent to everything happening at the door.
For a split second, Harley looked triumphant.
She was counting on Jacob ignoring both me and her.
That dead silence was exactly the chance she was waiting for.
She started to walk right in on her own.
"Move aside, Jenna. Don't keep Jake waiting for his soup," she said.
She spoke as if she were the one running this place, not me.
I stretched out my arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Ms. Blaine, can't you take a hint?" I said.