Chapter 1
After my husband’s brother died, his widow Bonnie Ramos started to mistake my husband Harlan Trivett for his brother.
The doctor said it was due to grief.
To avoid worsening her condition, everyone played along with her.
Harlan even slept in her room.
”
He promised we would move out of the Trivett’s home once she
recovered.
Yet, in our three–year marriage, he spent more time with her than with
- me.
And now, six months after her husband’s death. Bonnie was three months
pregnant!
Staring at the report confirming my four–week pregnancy, I booked an
abortion.
***
I tapped on Bonnie’s latest post.
The words “three months pregnant” in the photo almost made me drop my phone.
Our mutual friends flooded the comment section with congratulations.
Even my in–laws promised to give her three percent of the Trivett Group’s shares once she gave birth.
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Chapter 1
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I couldn’t bring myself to scroll any further. Stroking my flat belly, I said, my voice trembling, “I’m sorry, baby…”
Before I could finish speaking, tears streamed down my face.
For the past three years, I’d been trying to get pregnant.
Only by giving Harlan an heir could I be fully accepted by his parents who valued bloodline.
This morning, when I saw Harlan off to work, he was looking up articles. on how to care for women in early pregnancy.
His online shopping cart was filled with all kinds of snacks that helped with morning sickness.
At the time, I thought he’d found out about my pregnancy through the hospital, so I was so looking forward to receiving the report in the evening.
But now, I realized he was thrilled because of Bonnie’s baby.
I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together.
Just then, footsteps sounded at the doorway. The lights flicked on, flooding the dark living room with sharp clarity.
Upon seeing me on the couch, Harlan grabbed a blanket and draped it
over me.
“Why are you here? The temperature’s dropped lately. You may catch a
cold.”
As he was about to reach for my forehead, I turned my head away.
The jasmine scent on him–Bonnie’s signature fragrance–clung to him. like a second skin.
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His hand froze in mid–air.
I explained in a flat voice, “You just got back. Your hands must be cold.”
He didn’t dwell on it and sat beside me.
Silence stretched between us.
Ever since he started sleeping in Bonnie’s room, conversation between us had withered into nothing.
Suddenly, my phone screen lit up. Harlan barely caught a glimpse before I turned it face down on the table.
His face darkened at my reaction.
“Are you keeping something from me?”
“No. I booked a check–up at the hospital. It’s no big deal.”
I slid the phone into my pocket and looked up at him.
“Why are you back so late?”
The suspicion in his eyes shifted into guilt.
“Something came up at work as I was about to leave, and I had to stay overtime.”
I scoffed, “Weren’t you with Bonnie?”
The disdain in my voice was so obvious that he sprung to his feet at once.
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Chapter
