Chapter 2

"David," I called out.

I could hear my own voice, dry, hoarse, and trembling just a little.

The two people ahead stopped in their tracks and turned around together.

When David saw me, the gentle smile on his face froze, then melted into open shock and panic. His gaze flickered, and he dropped the woman's hand without thinking.

I recognized Sophie Lane. She was the new intern at David's company. She'd been to our place a couple of times, always putting on that sweet, bashful act, calling me "Emily" in that honeyed tone.

For a split second, a fleeting look of triumph flickered across Sophie's face, gone before I could catch it. Then she switched to a panicked expression, like a startled deer, instinctively shrinking behind David.

Her hand gripped his sleeve, her voice barely above a whisper as she said, "David... That's Emily... Is she getting the wrong idea?"

The wrong idea?

I looked at her fake innocence, at her obvious baby bump, and at David, trying so hard to act calm but failing miserably.

All those doubts from the past few months, his endless overtime, the secretive texts on his phone, the way he'd been pulling away from me and Lily, all came crashing down.

It was like all the pieces finally fit together, forming a poisoned blade that stabbed straight into my heart.

Rage and humiliation washed over me, drowning out any sense of reason.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped Sophie right across her fake-innocent face.

"Emily!" David shouted.

My wrist was caught in midair by a big, crushing grip, so tight it felt like my bones might shatter.

David stepped in front of Sophie, forcefully yanking my hand away. His eyes were icy, sharp with warning and disgust. "What the hell are you doing? Have you lost it? Look around you. Sophie's pregnant. She needs to rest. Stop throwing a fit."

Throwing a fit?

I stared at him. The man I'd shared my bed with for seven years, the one who swore he'd love and protect me forever.

Now, for another woman and the bastard growing in her belly, he was glaring at me, throwing harsh words like I was nothing.

The wound in my chest felt like it was being rubbed with salt, then doused with boiling oil. The pain made my whole body tremble, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.

"You think I'm the crazy one?" I spat out, my voice trembling. I pointed straight at Sophie, who was cowering behind David, sneaking a defiant, taunting look at me. "David, who is she? And whose baby is she carrying? Say it!"

People nearby had started staring, gossiping, and judging, their eyes full of curiosity and drama.

David's face turned even uglier. He stepped right up to me, voice low and cold, every word cutting like a knife. "You really want to know? Fine, I'll tell you."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over my pale, pain-stricken face, and a cold, mocking smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Emily, do you remember? A year ago, you were pregnant too," David said, his voice cold and merciless.

Shock hit me like a punch to the gut. That baby, the one who never even got a chance to be born, was a scar on my heart that never stopped aching.

He continued, "Back then, when I told you to get rid of it, it wasn't because I was busy at work, or because I felt too stressed to have a second kid."

Every word was an icy blade, stabbing slowly and deeply into the softest part of my heart, twisting cruelly.

"I just didn't want another kid with you."

The moment he said those words, my whole world just crashed and burned.

Everything, sound, light, color, just blinked out of existence.

I stood there, like I'd been skinned alive, gutted, and left with nothing but an empty shell.

So this was the truth.

So when he made me get rid of our baby, it wasn't about bad timing, or money, or even feeling sorry for all the pain I went through having Lily.

It was just because he didn't want another child with me.

What he really wanted was a baby with this pretentious woman standing right in front of me.

Right then, it felt like my heart just stopped existing.

It was dead. Gone.

All the sounds around me blurred into a harsh, ringing whine.

I stared at David. His lips kept moving, maybe scolding me, or maybe threatening me, but I couldn't make out a single word.

The world twisted and spun, and all that was left was his cold, hateful face and Sophie, her fake innocence barely hiding that triumphant smirk.