Chapter 2
999 Words
The second those words left my mouth, all color drained from Aimee’s face in an instant.
Hunter’s pupils shrank sharply, his fingers curling into a tight, involuntary fist at his side.
I stared directly into Aimee’s eyes, my voice calm but probing as I tested the waters.
"This medicine tastes wrong. It's way more bitter than it used to be."
Dead silence filled the room for several long seconds.
Slowly, the panic on Hunter’s face faded away.
He walked over to me, speaking softly as if calming a child throwing a tantrum.
"Heather, you’re overthinking it. You’re pregnant, your sense of taste is just more sensitive right now."
"Is that so?"
I lifted my chin and looked straight into his eyes.
"Then let’s go to the hospital. We can test the remaining medicine. If nothing is wrong, I’ll apologize to Aimee right away."
Those words hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.
Hunter’s expression darkened to a terrifying, thunderous shade, "Heather, enough is enough."
"Stop throwing around false accusations just because you're sick!"
I held his glare without backing down an inch. "I just want peace of mind. For the sake of our baby, is getting a test really too much to ask?"
"Or… are you afraid to have it tested?"
Hunter’s face drained of all color, panic gnawing at him now that his lie had been called out.
Aimee’s lips trembled violently, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
"Heather, just because your baby is precious doesn’t mean you can trample all over my dignity!"
"You don’t need to test anything! I’d rather jump off this building right now and die than be falsely accused like this!"
Hunter immediately pulled her into his arms, whispering soft reassurances and telling her to go outside for a moment.
Before she left, Aimee darted a smug little glance my way, then pulled the door shut behind her with a click.
The moment the door clicked shut, Hunter’s expression changed completely. He suddenly snatched the bowl from my hand and smashed it against the floor.
"Heather, when the hell are you going to stop this ridiculous act?"
His eyes were ice-cold, completely devoid of any warmth.
"Because of your depression, do you know how many jobs I’ve turned down these past six months? How many doctors have I taken you to? How many of your crazy, random mood swings have I put up with? Isn't that enough for you?"
"Now you're actually suspecting Aimee? And even me? This... this really disappoints me."
Hunter took a deep breath. "Calm down on your own. I’m going to check on her. God forbid that poor girl does something stupid."
Half an hour later, my phone vibrated in my pocket. A notification from my hidden security cameras indicated that someone had entered the master bedroom.
Ever since I developed postpartum depression, my emotions have become extremely fragile.
The missing fragments of my memory tormented me endlessly, so I installed hidden cameras all over the house. Hunter had no idea.
On the camera feed, Aimee lay back on my bed, grinning mischievously as she pinched Hunter's chest.
"You should've seen the look on Heather's face just now! I was so scared I could barely breathe!"
"Hunter… I thought after everything with the baby, you’d never talk to me again…"
Hunter paused for a few seconds, his voice completely loose and unguarded. "That’s not going to happen."
Heather’s all over the place right now. Just stay away from her for now."
"If she finds out about us, I won’t be able to protect you next time."
Then he tore off her clothes, and their bodies tangled together on my bed, heavy breathing filling the room.
Aimee’s cheeks flushed red, her voice breathy with barely contained excitement.
"Hunter, do you love me, or do you love Heather?"
Hunter’s voice shook with desire.
"I love you, Aimee. I only love you."
"You’re the one who drives me insane."
Aimee bit her lip softly, eyes glazed.
"Hunter… let me have your child…"
Hunter hesitated for a brief moment, and then lust quickly flooded his eyes again.
"Alright…"
Every filthy word that slipped from their mouths drove into my eardrums like a red-hot needle, stabbing straight through my chest.
I gripped my phone, so tightly my knuckles turned white, my nails digging deep into the flesh of my palm. But I felt nothing, no pain at all.
The man who once said he couldn’t live without me was right there in our bed with the woman who killed my three babies.
Was all that old tenderness ever real?
All those promises… all those nights we spent curled up in each other's arms, was it all just an act?
If it was all fake, how did he pull it off so convincingly, for so long?
A violent wave of nausea churned and roiled in my stomach.
I gagged, but nothing came up except burning stomach acid that seared my throat raw.
Finally, the tears came. They were late but overwhelming, rolling down my cheeks in huge, heavy drops.
Every inch of my body felt like it was being crushed to powder. I couldn't even sob out loud; my cries came out broken and mangled.
I had no idea how much time had passed before I pushed myself to my feet, slow and unsteady.
I scrolled through my phone until I found the contact of River Hartman, my old classmate who had become a lawyer.
"Help me draft divorce papers. I want a divorce."
"He used my parents' inheritance to start his business. I want every single penny back, not a cent less!"
- Writer
