Chapter 2

I caved.

Since my husband had taken the initiative to explain things, I decided there was no point in holding a grudge.

Just as I was about to say something, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then stepped out onto the balcony to take the call.

For some reason, I could sense that something was off.

When he returned, his tone had changed. “Claire, let’s keep the baby. It’s our child, after all. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of so you can have a safe pregnancy.”

I nodded slightly, but something about his sudden change of heart didn’t sit right with me.

That evening, Zach cooked dinner himself. He even took a picture of the ultrasound report and posted it on Facebook with a caption about how excited he was.

But that very post brought his mother to our door.

“I was wondering why Ethan’s been so upset lately. Turns out, it’s because *you*—this little homewrecker—managed to get yourself pregnant with Zach’s child! You’re manipulative, aren’t you? Trying to use a baby to tie him down, huh?”

Her words were like daggers, sharp and unrelenting.

She had never liked me. When Zach and I got married, he didn’t have much money, and my parents had asked him to contribute at least a little financially to the wedding. That small request had become a source of endless criticism from her.

She had clung to that grudge, accusing me of making things unnecessarily difficult for Zach, and she loved to remind me that, in her day, no one asked for dowries.

Now, she had found the perfect excuse to berate me again.

“I only recognize Ethan as my grandchild! When Zach married his ex-wife, Jessica, they didn’t spend a dime on the wedding!”

To make her point even clearer, she didn’t hesitate to bring up Zach’s ex-wife, Jessica, just to spite me.

I turned to Zach for help, desperation in my eyes. He sighed and said, “Mom, Jessica and I have been over for years. Can we not do this?”

His mother’s eyes widened in disbelief. “But you still love her, don’t you?”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.

I couldn’t help but wonder—did Zach still have feelings for his ex-wife? I tried to silence that thought, reminding myself to trust my husband.

But the sound of a chair being kicked over snapped me out of it.

“Enough, Mom!” Zach’s voice boomed, startling her into silence. “I said not to bring this up anymore! And don’t mention Jessica in front of Claire again—it’ll just upset her.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated, then gently helped me back to the bedroom to rest.

Lying there, I chastised myself internally.

Zach had done so much to protect me—how could I let myself doubt him like that?

The next day, I woke up to the smell of food. It was already 11 a.m., and Zach was setting the last dish on the table.

“Wait, is that bell peppers?” I asked, surprised. “I thought you hated them? Why’d you cook them today?”

Before he could answer, the doorbell rang.

Zach’s mother hurried to open the door.

It was Ethan and Jessica, his ex-wife.

His mother’s face lit up as she ushered them in. “Jessica, come in! You know, Zach still thinks about you. Look! He even made bell peppers for you—just like he used to. Go ahead, try them and see if they still taste the same!”

Zach froze, panic flashing across his face. He leaned in close to whisper to me, “Claire, I made them for Ethan.”

He reached out as if he wanted to hold me but stopped himself halfway, withdrawing his hand with an apologetic look. “Ethan’s here. I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.”

The three of them looked like a picture-perfect family, while I, the one who was supposed to be his wife, felt like an outsider.

Jessica’s gaze drifted to my stomach. After a pause, she said, “Once your wife has the baby, I’ll take Ethan to live with me. You’ll have your own child, so there’s no need for you to worry about mine anymore.”

Her words seemed like an attempt to draw a clear line between her and Zach, but I could tell she was testing him, waiting to see how he would react.

Zach didn’t respond. Instead, he quietly placed a piece of beef on my plate.

But I’m allergic to beef.

Jessica gave him a long, searching look before saying, “Zach, do you even know what you really want?”