"It's fine, I just get a little lightheaded when my blood sugar drops..."
Jocelyn slumped weakly in Bryce's arms, then stole a careful glance at me. "Bryce, sweetie, you should really put me down first. I don't want to upset my sister..."
Only then did Bryce finally remember I existed.
He caught sight of my pale face and froze for a moment before answering without a second thought. "She won't be. She's not that petty."
I swallowed down the bitterness rising in my chest. "It's fine. I'm tired anyway. I'll go rest in the bedroom for a bit. You take care of her, Bryce."
At my words, a flicker of relief crossed Bryce's eyes, so faint it was almost invisible.
Still, he arranged his face into a look of concern. "Is it because of the pregnancy? Do you want me to come sit with you in a little while?"
Watching him perform that fake tenderness, I only felt my disgust deepen.
"No need."
Back in the bedroom, I noticed the phone Bryce had left on the nightstand.
Once, to prove his devotion, he'd told me his passcode without holding anything back—my birthday.
And in that moment it struck me: Jocelyn's birthday was the same day as mine.
So which was it, really? My birthday? Or was it actually Jocelyn's?
I'd always trusted Bryce, so I'd never once checked his phone.
But this time, as if guided by some unseen hand, I keyed in the passcode—only to find that his wallpaper was a photo of Jocelyn.
I opened his messages.
Sure enough, she was pinned at the top too.
I scrolled up, and the chat history grew more and more explicit.
Using my own phone, I quietly photographed all of it.
Whatever joy I'd felt at learning I was pregnant had already vanished without a trace.
As for what I would do next, my mind was a tangled mess, and before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep.
When I woke again, I went to find something to eat from the fridge, only to hear unmistakable sounds coming from the next room.
A woman's breathless moans, and a man's low, ragged groans.
"Stop it. Our room is so close to hers. Aren't you scared my sister will hear you like this?"
"Relax, I checked a minute ago. She's asleep. Besides, doesn't the risk make it more exciting?"
Jocelyn let out a coy little laugh, then turned petulant. "First tell me—why did you go and get my sister pregnant?"
Soon the man's low voice came. "I don't know either. I did exactly what you told me. I swapped her vitamins for birth control pills..."
My mind went utterly blank, and my whole body felt like it had been dropped into an icy pit.
I used to complain to Bryce all the time, asking why I still wasn't pregnant.
He always smiled and comforted me. No rush.
But the truth was that he'd replaced every one of my vitamins with birth control pills.
My hand drifted to my stomach without my meaning to, and my eyes slowly reddened.
Since even the child's own father didn't want him here, there was no reason to keep him.
At that thought, I dialed a number. "Hello, could you help me schedule an abortion...?"
I'd barely hung up when I turned around and saw Jocelyn standing there, arms crossed, contempt written all over her face.
"Sis, when you came looking for Bryce today, you saw the whole thing, didn't you?"
It suddenly clicked, and I frowned. "You'd already spotted me back then?"
She arched an eyebrow. As good as a yes.
"I was just angry. We're both our parents' children, so why have you had more talent than me your whole life?"
"Oh, right—you still don't know, do you? Bryce already gave me Quietude behind your back. I'll admit it, sis, your talent for perfumery really is something. Too bad. These days you can't smell a thing."
