Chapter 7
Days at home felt endless.
My mom cleaned up my old room, changed the sheets, and changed the curtains, too.
She got up at six every morning to make me oatmeal, always trying new recipes, something different every day.
My dad didn't say much, but every night he'd sit in the living room, waiting until I finished my milk and went upstairs before turning off the lights.
Life was so quiet that it almost felt unreal.
But beneath the calm, there was an undercurrent of tension.
*****
By my eleventh week of pregnancy, I was at home, scrolling through my phone.
Bored, I opened up a local forum.
It was the go-to forum in our little town, where people posted about lost dogs, roadwork, or which neighborhood was dropping prices.
I didn't usually bother with it.
But that day, I stumbled upon a post.
The title read: [A girl from the Literature Department at some college got pregnant before marriage, and the guy's family won't step up.]
My finger stopped mid-scroll.
I tapped it open.
The user went by "GoldenDays," signed up three weeks ago, and had only ever posted this one thread.
The post was detailed.
It listed the college, the department, my last name, said I was pregnant with twins, that the guy's family wouldn't take responsibility, and that my family didn't have much money, but I insisted on keeping the babies.
It didn't use my full name, but it wrote my last name, my department, and my school.
Anyone who knew me would know right away it was about me.
There were over three hundred comments under the post. Some people were bashing me. Some people were sympathetic, and some were making noise.
[She has no one to blame but herself.]
[That guy's a total jerk.]
[Stuff like this happens all the time. Nobody is surprised.]
I backed out of the comments and checked the poster's profile again.
GoldenDays was created three weeks ago.
Three weeks ago, right after John and Mary came to see me at school.
I checked out the user's profile page: just one post, and nothing else.
But the signature said: [May time be kind, and may your youth shine.]
I knew GoldenDays must be Mary.
I took screenshots.
I saved screenshots of the post, the user ID, the profile page, and the registration date.
Then I opened my contacts and found a number.
I called Chloe.
She picked up after two rings. "Sophie? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Can you help me look into something?" I asked.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Do you know where those rumors at school started? Can you ask around for me?"
"I'll try."
*****
The next day, Chloe texted me back. [I talked to a few people. Lily was the first to post about it in the Literature Department Group, but she said she heard it from Grace.
[Grace said she saw it on a local forum and then brought it into the group chat.]
It was the forum.
The source was the forum.
The poster was GoldenDays.
The account was created right after Mary came to school.
I took another screenshot of Chloe's chat.
Then I saved all the screenshots into a folder and named it "Evidence".
I sat on my bed, phone resting on my knees.
In my previous life, I never knew how the rumors spread.
In my previous life, I was already dead.
But now, I knew it.
Mary, the woman who grabbed my arm and said, "Let me help you two work things out," had turned around and aired all my dirty laundry online.
Why would she do that?
I spent the whole night thinking about it.
*****
The next morning, my mom came in with a bowl of oatmeal and saw me sitting on the bed, lost in thought.
"Didn't sleep well?" she asked.
"Mom, can I ask you something?" I said.
"Ask away."
"Do you know what Ryan's family's situation is?"
"Your dad looked into it. His dad is in the building materials business. They do pretty well for themselves, own a couple of properties. And remember that woman who showed up at school? That's his sister."
"Mary."
"Yeah. Your dad said she's got a big mouth. Everyone in her neighborhood knows it."
"Why does she meddle so much in Ryan's life?"
My mom thought for a moment. "Your dad said Ryan's dad only has Ryan, so everything in the family will eventually be his. But Mary has been pushing her brother to leave half the estate to her son in his will."
I was stunned for a moment. "Will?"
"Yeah. Back when Ryan's dad was sick in the hospital, his sister tried to push for it, but he shot her down. After Ryan went off to college, she stopped bringing it up. But think about it.
"If Ryan suddenly has two kids of his own, her plan doesn't stand a chance."
I leaned back against the headboard.
It all fit together.
Mary never cared about helping Ryan's family. She was scheming for herself.
She wanted to turn my situation into a scandal, force me into a place where I couldn't keep the babies or raise them, so Ryan would have no choice but to cut me off for good.
She probably hoped I'd abort the babies, or better yet, disappear altogether.
That way, Ryan would still be single, and she could keep scheming.
I finished my oatmeal and set the bowl on the nightstand. "Mom, I need to meet someone in a couple of days."
"Who are you meeting?" she asked.
"Mary."
My mom put down the rag she was holding. "What are you planning to do?"
"There are some things that need to be cleared up."