Everyone in the living room was startled.
Bowen rushed over. As soon as he saw Rosie groaning on the floor and me standing nearby, his rationality snapped instantly.
Rosie's face was pale. She weakly clutched his sleeve, and tears streamed down freely. "I just lost my balance. It's not Leyla's fault..."
It was a cunning move to make herself seem innocent.
Bowen abruptly lifted his head, and his eyes were burning with anger. "Leyla, how could you be so vicious? Rosie is pregnant, and you dared to push her!"
I looked up at everyone in the living room.
Bowen was fuming, and even his parents had a hint of resentment on their faces.
Couldn't they see through such a basic trick?
In fact, they simply chose not to.
I let out a light chuckle and met Bowen's gaze. "I merely pulled my hand back. She lost her balance herself. It has nothing to do with me."
I calmly uncovered the facts, though my heart felt empty and desolate.
"We all saw it with our own eyes, and you're still trying to argue!" Bowen was livid. He raised his hand to strike my face.
I didn't dodge. In that moment, I saw clearly the guy I'd loved for seven years.
However, the expected pain never came.
A large hand intercepted Bowen's wrist midair.
Brice stood in front of me and gave off a commanding aura. His eyes were cold. "Who do you think you're trying to hit?"
Bowen's wrist throbbed with pain, yet he remained defiant. "Brice, don't be fooled by her! She's jealous of Rosie's pregnancy and wants to harm the baby!"
Brice sneered and looked at Bowen as if the latter were an imbecile. Then Brice pointed to a corner of the ceiling. "Bowen, is your woman pregnant and stupid, or are you just following suit without a brain? This place is covered in 360-degree surveillance. Do you think she'd dare to put on an act here?"
Rosie's sobs were held back instantly in her throat as she looked up in terror at the blinking red light. She shook like a leaf in the wind.
Brice took out his phone, brought up the security camera footage, and shoved it to Bowen.
On the screen, Rosie was shown falling backward on her own, trying to grab me, while I never even touched the hem of her clothes.
The truth was laid bare.
Bowen's parents were angry. James was so furious that he pounded his cane on the floor. "What a disgrace! Take that lying woman and get out!"
Rosie panicked. She clung to Bowen's leg and wailed. "Bowen, I was just so afraid of losing you... My belly really hurts..."
Bowen looked at the footage, and his face alternated between livid and pale. "Anyway, Rosie is pregnant. Her health is the most important."
In the end, he bent down, picked up Rosie, and left.
Brice said coldly, "Bowen, discipline the woman you bring back. If it happens again, I won't mind helping you get rid of her."
Bowen's back stiffened as he left hastily.
The farce concluded, and my dress was torn by Rosie. So I couldn't stay in the living room.
Brice took me upstairs to change clothes, so we entered his bedroom.
As soon as the door closed, I whispered, "Thank you..."
"Thank me for what?" Brice's eyes were deep and intense as he stepped closer. He cornered me against the wall.
I turned my head uneasily.
In the next moment, he grasped my chin with his fingers and forced me to look up. "Leyla, don't be so distant with me."
With those words, he lowered his head and kissed me.
The kiss was filled with a long-repressed desire for possession and dominance, leaving me weakly clinging to his neck.
Meanwhile, Bowen put Rosie in the car.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off.
Brice was usually aloof and was uninterested in meddling in others' matters. But he had been so angry a moment ago and even humiliated Bowen for Leyla.
Driven by an inexplicable impulse, Bowen returned.
The door to Brice's room on the second floor was slightly ajar.
At that moment, through the crack, Bowen clearly saw Brice, who was usually emotionally distant, pressing his "fiancée" against the wall.
We were kissing passionately.
I was flushed, and my eyes were dazed. She was so charming, which Bowen had never witnessed.
His blood ran cold, and his mind went blank.
The car keys in his hand dropped to the floor. "What... what are you doing?"
