Chapter 5
Tears welled up in Wendy's eyes from the pain, and she had no idea what was going on.
"I'm Wendy Foster. William, you're hurting me," she whimpered, her voice shaky with fear and pain.
"Where are you from? What do your parents do?" William demanded, his voice sharp and relentless.
He ignored Wendy's cries and just kept grilling her like he'd lost his mind.
The relatives around them were left speechless, totally unable to believe what they were seeing.
Just a moment ago, they were acting like the perfect couple. Now, they were practically enemies.
This plot twist was more dramatic than anything one'd see in a TV drama.
Wendy was left speechless by his outburst, her eyes brimming with tears.
"I'm an orphan," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I grew up in an orphanage, and was adopted later on."
'Orphan!' The word hit William like a sledgehammer to the chest, leaving him reeling.
His heart dropped like a stone.
But he still clung to that last shred of hope.
"Where were you found?" he pressed, every word forced out through clenched teeth.
"M-My adoptive mom said..." Wendy stammered, her voice shaky with fear.
She sobbed, barely able to speak, terrified by the way he looked at her. "She said I was found under a stone bridge.
"It was Rivergate Bridge, the one in the neighboring town."
Rivergate Bridge.
William staggered, his body trembling uncontrollably.
He remembered going there as a kid with Margaret. It was only a few miles from their town.
The world spun around him, and he could barely keep himself upright.
People in the yard started whispering among themselves, sensing something was seriously wrong.
"Orphan?"
"Found under a stone bridge?"
"Wait, why does this sound so familiar?"
Just then, Margaret, who had just come out of the inner room, heard Wendy's words.
She let out a piercing scream, as if all the strength had been sucked out of her. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.
That was it. Everyone's suspicions were finally confirmed.
The whole yard fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone stared at William and Wendy, their eyes a mix of disbelief, sympathy, contempt, and morbid curiosity.
William felt like he'd been stripped bare and left out in the scorching sun for everyone to see.
Those stares were like knives, slicing away his dignity and pride piece by piece.
The love he'd been so proud of, the new life he'd used to show off to Julia, and the bright, dazzling future he'd always dreamed of, had all turned into a massive joke at that moment.
It was a dark family irony.
A scandal that would be the butt of jokes in the whole town for the rest of his life.
William stared at Wendy. Her face streaked with tears, she was just as shocked and terrified as he was.
That pure, innocent face he'd once been obsessed with now felt jarring to look at. So disturbing and disgusting.
William's stomach twisted in knots, and he yanked his hand away from Wendy, as if he'd touched something dirty.
"No..." Wendy choked out, her whole body shaking as the truth crashed down on her.
She stared in terror at Margaret, who collapsed on the ground, and then at William, whose face was as white as a ghost.
"No, this can't be real," she whimpered.
Her lips turned ghostly pale, and she looked like she might collapse at any second.
"We..." Wendy tried to speak, but the words just caught in her throat, unable to come out.
William's whole world came crashing down.
He wasn't soaking up everyone's envy. He was starring in an incestuous freak show for the whole town to gawk at.
He wasn't some triumphant hero returning home. He was just a fool who brought his own sister back as his girlfriend.
All his pride, all his plans, and all his smugness were shattered to pieces at that moment.
With a dull thud, William collapsed to the ground as well.
He was done for.
His whole life was over.
The birthday party, meant to be a joyous celebration, had turned into a living nightmare.
The decorated archway, once a symbol of happiness, now looked like a cruel joke.
The festive music from the loudspeakers had long since faded away.
All that remained in the yard was Margaret's faint, broken sobs, and the sound of relatives gasping in shock, unable to hold back their horror.
In the suffocating silence, William's phone rang out of nowhere, cutting through the tension like a knife.
The ringtone echoed like a curse, sending chills down his spine.
He pulled out his phone numbly.
The caller ID popped up on the screen.
It was Julia.
Julia's POV
The call went through.
William didn't say a word. He just held the phone, like a lifeless puppet.
I didn't speak on the other end.
There was only a faint silence on the other end, almost taunting, as if someone was quietly laughing at him.
After a long pause, I finally spoke, my voice calm and steady. "How's the birthday party?"
I said that softly.
But it was like a poisoned blade, slicing right into William's heart, which was already torn to shreds.
William let out a guttural scream, like a wild animal pushed to the edge. "Julia!
"It's you! You orchestrated all of this!
"You venomous woman. You knew all along, didn't you?
"You just stood there and watched me make a complete fool of myself, bringing Wendy back! You wanted to see me crash and burn, didn't you?"
His voice was thick with helpless rage and bitter, hopeless venom.
Everyone in the yard turned to look at him again.
They couldn't hear what was being said on the phone, but from William's reaction, they could all guess who was calling.
It was his poor ex-wife. The one he'd dumped, the one who'd left with nothing.
"Yes," I admitted without hesitation.
There was no pretense, no attempt to cover it up.
My calmness was a stark contrast to William's madness.
I said, "I knew it all along.
"I knew it the moment you first got laid with Wendy.
"William, are you dying to know how I found out?"
William's breath hitched, and the curse he was about to spit out got stuck in his throat.