Chapter 2
"So I'm supposed to thank Janet for all that, and raise her kid for her?" I shot back.
Logan's face darkened completely.
"You can't have kids, and she's willing to let you raise her child. Isn't that a good thing?" he said.
Smack!
I slapped him hard across the face.
"Are you seriously pretending you don't know why I can't have kids?" I snapped.
I was pregnant once, but it didn't last long.
Two years ago, at a dinner party, one of Logan's estranged friends pulled a knife and went for him.
Without thinking, I threw myself in front of him.
The knife plunged deep into my stomach, killing my two-month-old baby.
It also left me unable to have children ever again.
Logan seemed to recall those memories too, lowering his head and saying nothing.
The air was swallowed by a strange silence which was finally shattered by Janet's gentle, pleading voice.
"Leila." She placed a hand on her barely showing belly and bowed before me.
"Please, spare my child. I won't disturb your lives again," she begged, tears streaming down her face as she wiped them away.
That was when I finally noticed she was wearing the exact same wedding ring as mine on her right hand.
Through her tears, her ring glinted so brightly it almost hurt to look at.
Meanwhile, the one on my own hand looked dull and lifeless, like it hadn't seen the light in ages.
Disgust, betrayal, anger, heartbreak all crashed together inside me, nearly drowning me.
I yanked off my wedding ring and threw it at her.
"Get out. I never want to see you again!" I shouted.
Janet didn't even try to dodge. She let the ring slice across her calf, leaving a thin red line behind.
Logan completely lost it.
He clamped down on my wrist. "Apologize to Janet, or you'll be regret it."
Regret it?
I'd already lost my family, my child, and now, even the person I loved was gone.
What did I even have left to regret?
The next second, Logan unlocked his phone and held up a photo right in front of me.
"You've got three seconds to apologize to Janet," Logan said, his voice icy. "Otherwise I will stop his surgery whenever I feel like it."
The kid in the photo was Benny Swift.
Just like Janet had been years ago, he was another child sponsored by our company's charity program.
A fire had left him an orphan, and he was badly burned all over.
Thanks to the project's support, he'd successfully undergone more than a dozen surgeries.
His final surgery was set for the day after tomorrow, and after that, he'd finally be able to live like any other kid.
Logan knew everything Benny had been through.
But now, he was using Benny's life to make me submit to Janet.
To him, a kid's life mattered less than a scratch on Janet's leg.
When I didn't react, Logan's patience snapped.
He began to count down, his voice cold. "Three, two, one—"
The moment he finished, I turned to Janet, my voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry."
Janet froze for a second, then her lips curled into a smile.
"Don't worry, Leila. I won't hold it against you," she said softly.
Logan put his arm around me, his tone shifting back to that familiar tenderness.
"You should have simply done this earlier. You're only like this because I've spoiled you," he said.
He paused, then continued as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Janet's pregnant. She'll be living here from now on. You'll help look after her." He smiled and added, "Just like before."
Like before? There was no way we could ever go back to that.
But I didn't argue. I just mumbled a barely audible "okay."
He pressed a satisfied kiss to my ear before turning and heading to his study.
It was just me and Janet left in the room.
The softness on her face had vanished without a trace.
"Wow, look at you, playing the saint," Janet sneered. "Or is it because you can't have kids, so you're clinging to that orphan to fill the void?"
I quietly watched her act all high and mighty, soaking in her arrogance.
"If I hadn't played the saint for you, you wouldn't even be here right now," I said coolly. "You'd be back in the sticks, married off to some random bachelor."
"That's enough!" Janet snapped, her expression souring as my words struck a nerve.
But she quickly bounced back, smugly patting her belly. "I'm pregnant now, so the world revolves around me.
"I'm claiming your room for myself. You can go live in that tiny shack I used to stay in."
She thought that would get under my skin.
She didn't understood that I'd already given up Logan, so a room didn't matter to me.
Janet's room was just the same as when she used to stay here.
She had people move all my things over and tossed them carelessly on the floor.
Julia Sanderson, the maid, picked up after me, letting out soft sighs as she worked.
"You really shouldn't have taken Janet in. Even as a kid, she was up to no good," Julia muttered.
Once, while cleaning, Julia had stumbled upon Janet's diary.
It was packed with bold and shameless fantasies about Logan.
Logan was so disgusted, he demanded I kick Janet out immediately.
I thought Logan and Janet would be finished for good, but to my shock, they were still tangled up with each other, and now there was even a kid in the mix.
"Do you ever regret it?" Julia asked softly.
Before I could answer, Logan's call cut in.
Logan's voice came through, icy and distant.
"Come downstairs. Janet's got morning sickness and she's craving the pudding you make," he said.
When I walked downstairs, Janet was curled up on the couch, dry heaving.