Chapter 4

"Rebecca," Linda said, her voice cold as ice. "What's going on here? Whose child is this?"

Linda's words might've been quiet, but they slammed into me like a sledgehammer. I shuddered, my face turning white as a sheet.

"Mom, I..." I wanted to explain, but no words could make this any better.

The tension in the living room was icy cold. The air was thick with suffocating tension.

Linda stared at me, her eyes filled with heartbreak and disappointment. That was the look of someone betrayed by the person she trusted most.

"I must've been blind!" Linda snapped. She flung the ultrasound report onto the coffee table, her chest rising and falling with fury. "Rebecca, how did the Sterling family ever wrong you?

"Thomas treats you like he's holding something precious. And I treated you like my own daughter. Is this how you repay us? You actually went out and slept with..."

She was so angry, her hand shook as she pointed at me, unable to finish the sentence. "You've disgraced the Sterling family!" she added.

Tears streamed down my face, falling like beads from a broken necklace. "No, Linda, it's not what you think," I sobbed. "I didn't. I swear I didn't!"

"Then tell me," Linda snapped. "How did you get pregnant? Don't tell me it magically appeared out of thin air!"

I was left speechless by her question. Yeah, how was I supposed to explain this? I had no clue how these three little lives quietly appeared inside me.

To Linda, my silence was as good as a confession. Her gaze was totally cold, dripping with contempt and disgust.

"I was so wrong about you," she said. "I thought you were decent and straightforward, but you're actually so scheming and vicious.

"Did you already know Thomas couldn't have kids, so you went out and hooked up with some guy to get pregnant and secure your spot in this family? You're so heartless!"

Her words were like poisoned blades, cutting me to pieces, tearing me apart one by one.

I shook my head, my whole body trembling. "I didn't do that. I'm not that kind of person—"

"Shut up!" Linda snapped, cutting me off. "A woman like you, so loose and unfaithful, doesn't deserve to be in our family."

Just as she finished, a cold, commanding voice cut through the tension. "That's enough," Thomas said. He'd been silent since he walked in, but now he finally spoke up.

He came over and gently pulled me into his arms, shielding me from Linda's piercing glare. His arms were still warm and comforting like always.

I leaned against his chest, breathing in his familiar cedar scent, and for a moment, my shattered emotions finally settled.

"Thomas!" Linda stared at him in disbelief. "You're still defending her? Can't you see what she's done? She's cheated on you. She's humiliated the Sterling family."

Thomas's face was grim, but his eyes were unwavering. "Mom, until we know the whole story, I don't want you talking about Rebecca like that. She's my wife, and I won't stand for anyone disrespecting her."

Linda was shaking with rage. "You're totally under that scheming woman's spell! It's all right there in front of you. What more do you need to know? You know your own condition better than anyone."

Her words stabbed Thomas right in his sore spot. I could feel his arms stiffen around me for a split second. He lowered his gaze, his long lashes hiding whatever he was feeling.

A deathly silence descended on the living room. After what felt like forever, he finally spoke, his voice rough and strained, "I'll go get another check-up at the hospital."

Linda was stunned.

I was stunned, too.

"That pre-marital check-up was three years ago," Thomas said. His voice was calm, utterly devoid of any ripple. "Maybe... the diagnosis was wrong back then."

When he said that, even he himself probably didn't believe it. Congenital azoospermia was written in his genes. How could that possibly be wrong? It was just an excuse he made up to protect me, one he couldn't even convince himself of.

Linda let out a cold, derisive laugh, like she'd heard the biggest joke of her life. "Wrong? Thomas, are you fooling yourself? You're willing to say anything for her, even this kind of nonsense?

"Let me make this clear. I will never accept that bastard. The Sterling family can't afford to lose face like this!"

With that, she grabbed the phone from the table and dialed a number. "Hello, is this Mr. Lawson? This is Linda Sterling. Please draft a divorce agreement right now and bring it to the villa on the hill. Yes, right now. Immediately!"

My heart sank like a stone as she hung up the phone. She just mentioned a divorce agreement.