Chapter 2

Tracey's words blurred the real issue, and there was a subtle jab hidden in them.

She could've said it straight, but instead she kept beating around the bush, acting like she wanted to spill the truth but always holding back.

I honestly had no clue what I'd done to get on her bad side.

But for Mark's sake, I bit my tongue and endured it.

"Ms. Harrell, you must be mistaken. It wasn't me, and there's no way it could've been," I said.

I was trying to smooth things over, but she made it seem like I was the bad guy here.

She instantly got all choked up. "Melissa, don't be so mean. I just thought it looked like you, that's all. Why are you saying I'm slandering you?"

Tracey kept repeating the same lines, always hinting that I'd done something shady but didn't have the guts to admit it.

I couldn't hold it in anymore and growled through gritted teeth, "Tracey, we've never had any bad blood. Why are you picking on me?"

As soon as I yelled, Tracey's tears started streaming down her face.

She sobbed, retreating behind Ruben, Mark's older brother, looking like she'd just been terribly wronged.

She still tried to defend herself. "Don't get me wrong. I really wasn't picking on Melissa.

"Mark, you guys don't start arguing just because of me."

Ruben immediately put his arm around Tracey, sounding annoyed. "Tracey didn't mean anything by it. Melissa, don't you think you're blowing this way out of proportion?"

Mark snapped at me, his voice sharp, "Melissa, do you really have to be so aggressive?

"If you've got nothing to hide, why would Tracey make something like this up? Don't you know yourself if you did it or not?"

Mark sounded accusing, not even caring that I was his girlfriend.

Three years of being together, and it turned out that a few vague words from an outsider outweigh all of it.

He didn't even care to defend me, just instantly took the other side.

Mark's relatives chimed in to back Mark up.

"That's right. If you didn't do anything, there'd be nothing for people to talk about."

"Tracey's always been level-headed, and she's a doctor, for crying out loud. She wouldn't just make stuff up."

"Yeah. Stuff like this doesn't happen for no reason. Who'd bother picking on you out of nowhere?"

Mark slammed his hand on the table, pointing right at me. "Melissa, be straight with me. Did you mess around and have an abortion?"

I took a deep breath and said again, keeping my voice steady, "I didn't do it."

Then I turned to Tracey, making sure every word hit home.

"Ms. Harrell, you say you were the surgeon for my abortion? Which hospital was it, and when exactly? Spreading lies like this could get you sued for defamation," I shot back.

Tracey's eyes darted away for a moment, then she looked hurt and helpless.

She said, "Melissa, why are you putting me on the spot like this? I didn't want to bring this up.

"I was trying to keep this from Mark for your sake, but now you're making me look like the bad guy, and it really hurts.

"To prove my innocence, I'll ask the nurse in my department to pull up the abortion paperwork right now."

She pulled out her phone and, right in front of everyone, brought up the messages she'd just exchanged.

She passed her phone around for everyone to see, then shoved it right in my face.

She couldn't hide the smugness in her voice. "Melissa, see for yourself. I'm not making this up. The name on the abortion record is yours."

I wasn't about to admit to something I never did, not even if my life depended on it.

The way Tracey was messing around with her phone earlier instantly set off alarm bells in my head.

"A photo? That doesn't prove anything. These days, with AI, you can fake anything you want," I retorted, keeping my voice steady.

Sure enough, I caught a flicker of panic in her eyes, but she still wouldn't admit it.

She put on that pitiful act again, her voice trembling as she choked out, "Melissa, just because you don't want to admit it doesn't mean you can accuse me of lying.

"You're supposed to be my future sister-in-law. Why would I make up rumors about you? If I'd known it'd turn out like this, I wouldn't have come at all. This whole mess wouldn't even be happening if I hadn't shown up."

Tracey put on such a heartfelt act that everyone instantly sided with her.

Mark was completely convinced.

The veins stood out on his forehead as he glared at me with utter disgust.

He said, "Melissa, what else do you have to say for yourself? No wonder you always claimed you were working overtime on weekends. Turns out you were dealing with such filth."

Filth?

Three years of dating, and he thought I'd do something like that?

Kate jumped in, her voice sharp, "If a woman like Melissa actually became part of our family, we'd be embarrassed. We'll never hold our heads high again."

Everyone else started piling on, their words getting nastier with every sentence.

"How shameless! Looks like all that education went straight down the drain."

"If she were my daughter, I would've smack her dead on the spot."

"What a total disgrace to the family. How did her family raise someone so shameless?"