Chapter 2

Once the seed of doubt was planted, nothing the other person did ever made sense.

I quietly got up, slipped out of the room barefoot, and sure enough, the door to the second bedroom was slightly ajar. A thin strip of light cut through the darkness, impossible to miss.

And then I heard the soft, broken whimpers of a woman.

It felt like a hand was squeezing my heart so tight I could barely breathe.

I crept closer, peering through the crack, and saw Jonathan and Judith inside.

Jonathan clamped his hand over Judith's mouth, hissing under his breath, "I told you to keep quiet. Don't wake Stella."

Even as he spoke, he kept going.

Judith pried his hand away, panting. "Wouldn't it be exciting if she heard us?"

Jonathan suddenly froze, his voice cold as ice. "Don't mess with her."

Once he was done, he moved to leave.

Panic shot through me. I instinctively wanted to run.

But then I heard Judith's playful voice drifting out, "Come on, Jonathan, I'll do as you say. Don't leave me here."

Of course, Jonathan didn't leave that night.

My whole body was frozen, my blood felt like ice. It took all my strength just to make it back to my own room.

I lay back down on the bed, hand on my belly. Tears slid down my cheeks, leaving a wet stain on the pillow.

I was lying there, suffering pain that felt like my heart was being carved out, while he was next door having the time of his life with Judith.

I didn't dare make a sound, so I covered my mouth with my hand and cried quietly.

Only when I was completely exhausted did sleep finally come to me.

*****

But even in sleep, I couldn't find peace.

After just a few hours, I woke up again.

Morning light was streaming in. Jonathan was gone, and I could hear him and Judith chatting and laughing in the living room.

I got up, opened the door, and saw Jonathan busy at the stove making breakfast. Judith was right beside him, stretching up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"What are you two doing?" I said coldly.

Jonathan instinctively shoved Judith aside, then flashed me a grin. "Morning, babe. Breakfast's almost ready."

I gave them both an icy stare. "Were you just kissing?"

Cheating behind my back was one thing, but now they were fooling around right in front of me? This was crossing the line.

My fury was like a wildfire, burning so hot it felt like it might explode out of me.

Jonathan immediately set down the spatula and came to my side, his tone all caring. "Judith was just on her tiptoes checking the pan. Maybe you saw it wrong because of the angle, or your eyes are still blurry from sleep."

Judith chimed in, nodding enthusiastically. "Stella, your eyes must be playing tricks on you."

Jonathan pressed a kiss to my cheek, acting like nothing had happened, still as gentle as ever. "Go get changed."

Breakfast was usually Linda's job, but today Jonathan was at the stove, all because Judith wanted him to cook.

She said she was craving Jonathan's fried eggs.

But thanks to a little accident, one out of the three eggs got burnt.

Jonathan took the burnt one for himself, leaving the two perfect eggs for me and Judith.

Looking at the warm toast and the perfect fried egg, I didn't feel like eating at all.

I set down my fork. "I don't want to eat."

Judith pouted. "Jonathan made sure you got the best egg. Why are you..."

"Judith," Jonathan snapped, then turned to me, his voice softening. "Babe, you don't look so great. Want me to take you to the hospital?"

I waved him off. "No, really, it's nothing. I just don't have an appetite, keep feeling sick to my stomach."

Suddenly, a wave of nausea crashed over me, and I bolted for the bathroom.

Jonathan's expression shifted instantly, and he rushed after me. "Stella, what's wrong?"

"I don't know what's up with me. Lately, just smelling food makes me feel sick," I said.

Jonathan's face lit up with excitement. "Stella, could you be pregnant?"

Honestly, it was them who made me nauseous.

But he thought I was having morning sickness.

I just smiled a little, letting him believe it.

I really had been pregnant, and letting him find out was all part of the plan.

Jonathan was so happy he picked me up and spun me around. "This is amazing. I'm not going to work today. I'll take you to the hospital for a checkup."

I flashed a happy smile. "Put me down, silly. The doctor said the first three months are risky, so we have to be careful."

Then I pulled out the ultrasound report. "The baby's six weeks along."

Jonathan looked genuinely surprised. "You've already been to the hospital?"

"Yeah, I went yesterday. I was actually going to tell you on our wedding day," I said, rubbing my belly with a wry smile. "But I guess our little one just couldn't wait to let Daddy know."

Jonathan was over the moon, fussing over me nonstop. He told the servants to take extra good care of me, and even helped me to my room himself.

He said, "Babe, just focus on taking care of yourself and the baby for now. I'll handle all the wedding stuff. You just need to show up in your wedding dress and look gorgeous on the big day.

"Thank you for everything."

Jonathan acted like the perfect husband, carefully helping me into the bedroom, tucking me in himself, and planting a gentle kiss on my lips.

"I'm heading to the office now. Get some rest, okay?" he said.

After he left, the room fell into dead silence.

Judith followed Jonathan out.

I immediately called the driver, getting ready to head out.