"If I'm not, why frame me?"
"I didn't." Nancy bit her crimson lip. "Who's framing you? I'm stating facts. Someone like you, still daring to cling to—"
"Dylan?" Paige cut her off. "We're already divorced. I have no intention of clinging to him."
"Who knows what you're really scheming? I'm warning you again—stay away from him!"
Paige had no desire to explain further. She turned to leave, but Nancy wasn't finished with her. "Don't act so above it all, Paige. No matter how unwilling you are to accept it, you need to give up on him."
"I'm not unwilling to accept anything. Believe it or not, since I've already divorced him, I won't be pursuing him." Paige allowed herself a thin smile. "Ms. Kaufman, there's really no point in making things difficult for me. And you can stop sending me those photos and videos of how blissfully in love you two are."
"Don't think saying that will make me believe you. If you want me to believe you, then disappear from our lives completely—leave Coastview!"
How insecure could one person be? Did she really need to drive her out entirely?
Why should she be the one to leave? Why was it always her?
Nancy's voice dripped with smug confidence. "Dylan and I will be married soon, and we'll have children. Won't that just eat you alive, Paige? Watching us?"
Married with children...
The words dredged up memories Paige would rather have kept buried. She pressed her lips together, then said, "Marriage, I believe. Children? Are you sure about that?"
"What—you don't think so?"
Paige's smile turned faintly pitying. "Actually... you might want to suggest Dylan visit the hospital. Urology department. Whether he can even have children is... questionable."
She couldn't really blame herself. Nancy had pushed and pushed. She hadn't wanted to say it.
Nancy froze, the words not quite registering.
Paige offered her some helpful advice. "Why else do you think I was so eager to divorce him? Being stuck with a man who can't perform—life gets rather tedious."
With that, Paige walked past her without another glance.
"You told Nancy that Dylan can't perform? Holy— wait, can he actually not?"
Paige's composure was shakier than she let on. Back at the apartment, recounting the evening to Elena, she felt that familiar churning in her stomach—disgust mixed with something else.
"..."
"Hold on—is that why you two never had kids? Because Dylan couldn't?"
Paige pinched the bridge of her nose. "I think you're missing the point here..."
A flicker of regret surfaced. If Dylan found out about this... But what was done was done. Too late now.
Elena remained skeptical. "There's no way, right?"
"I don't know. Maybe Nancy's the exception for him. Maybe they'll have a baby any day now—" She gagged. "—ugh..."
Mid-sentence, a wave of nausea hit her. She bolted for the bathroom.
"Paige? What's wrong?"
She dry-heaved over the sink, her face draining of color. When she finally lifted her head, the reflection staring back at her was ghostly pale. She gripped the edge of the counter, waiting for the room to stop spinning.
"It's nothing. Didn't eat tonight. Just hunger making me queasy."
Elena went quiet for a moment. Then, carefully: "When was your last period?"
"..."
The question stopped Paige cold. Her cycle had always been erratic—she never bothered tracking it. Dylan had made it clear from the start: no children. They'd always been careful. He'd always been careful. Every single time, without fail. He'd refused to let her take anything, worried about side effects on her already fragile constitution. The responsibility had always been his.
"Paige..." Elena's voice was gentle but insistent. "Maybe you should see a doctor tomorrow. Just to be sure."
