Sylvie replied with a bright smileb, /b“Yes, ma’am. bI’ll /bbgo /bget started.

Jessica didn’t notice theplicated look in Sylvie’s eyes and headed straight upstairs.

She stayed in her room until noon. Then Brian sent her a message: [I won’t be home for lunch. No need to wait for me.]

Jessica nced at it and didn’t reply.

She’d had coffee in the morning and didn’t bhave /bmuch of an appetite for lunch. She only took a few bites.

Pregnancy fatigue hit hard, and she ended up napping until about three in the afternoon, woken by thendline ringing in the house.

“Jessica, what the hell bare /byou doing all day? Why is your phone off?” Brian yelled on the other end of the line. As soon as she picked up, his cold and sharp bvoice /bmade her chest tighten.

She started wondering when exactly he began talking to her with this much impatienceb. /b

Letting out a self–deprecatingugh, Jessica nced at her phone before answering, “Battery died. My phone was off. What’s going on?”

What’s going on?” Brian’s voice on the other end sounded like he bwas /babout tough in anger. “bJessica/b, what kind of mother are you? Jake’s in the hospital. He got hurt. Get over here now.”

bJessica /bwas shocked. “What? Jake got—”

The line went dead before she could finish. Brian had already hung up. bJessica /bdidn’t waste another second. She rushed to get changed and anxiously hurried to the hospital.

Inside the hospital room, Jacob bsat /bwith his back to bJessica/b. His knee bwas /bwrapped in gauze. bJessica /bcouldn’t see how bad the injury was.

The nurse told her Jacob had fallen while ying at preschool and hurt his leg.

“Jake, does it hurt a lot?” bJessica /bleaned in and askedb, /bbut Jacob immediately turned the other way.

Worried he’d aggravate his injury by moving around, Jessica didn’t press him.

The room fell silent. bJessica /btruly wanted to ask what she had done bas /bhis mother to make him hate her this much.

As she remained silent, the hospital room door opened.

Brian walked in, his presenceced with a cold edge. “Jessica, this bis /bhow you bact /bas a mother? When Jake got hurt and ended up in the hospital, where the hell bwere /bbyou/bb?/bb” /b

bJessica /bfrowned, thinking, Am I supposed to watch bover /bbJacob /btwenty–four hours a day?‘

b“/bI wasn’t feeling bwell/b. I fell asleep and didn’t realize my phone had died,” bJessica /bexined as she looked at Jacob’s injured bleg/b. In her mind, missing the bcall /bwas her fault.

b“/bbYou /bfell asleep because you didn’t feel well?” Brian let out ba /bcoldugh. His expression darkened as he asked icily, b“/bbJessica/bb, /bwhen did you be such a liar? You lie bas /bbeasily /bbas /byou breathe.”

“What bare /byou talking about?” bJessica /bquestioned.

Staring at bher /bwith mockery, Brian made her cheeks flush with anger. She thought, ‘Did he balready /bforget I was rushed into the ER yesterday bbecause /bof ban /ballergic reaction?‘

b“/bAsleep, huh?b” /bBrian’s expression bgrew /beven grimmer. Suddenly, he pulled out ba /bbstack /bbof /bphotos and threw them in front bof /bbJessica/b.

He added, “Were you sleeping because you were unwell, or sleeping with another man? You didn’t bfeel /bwell, yet you still had the energy to flirt with someone elseb./bb” /b

Jessica froze in shock and looked down. Scattered at her feet bwere /bphotos of her and Simon at the bcafé/b.

In one, she and Simon were smiling bat /beach other. In another, he was tapping her forehead, scolding her with a chuckle. There bwas /bbeven /bone of him staring at her with what looked like affection.

The angles bwere /bcalcted. Someone had bclearly /btaken them on purpose.

Brian demanded, b“/bbSay /bsomething. bJessica/bb, /bthis is what you meant by your phone dying? Our son got hurt and was taken to the hospitalb, /bbut you had time for a bdate/b? Suddenly byour /bphone worked fine with him, huh?”

11/2

5:58 bAM /b

He was furious now. His eyes bwere /bgloomy, stripped of all warmth. “Jessica, you’d better exin. What’s going on between you and that man? Is he the reason you’ve been acting out these past few bdays/bb?/bb” /b

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