4: 4
When I asked it, every pair of eyes at the table turned to me.
It was as if they'd only just remembered there was one more person sitting there.
Kay made a face. "That's a secret!"
I didn't press. I got up and went to the restroom.
When I came back, the seats were empty.
All that waited for me were the picked-over dishes and the bill.
A bitter smile came to my lips.
So this was my birthday this year. The same as always.
I paid, and I went out to look for them.
Then, at a turn in the hallway, I heard Jayden's voice.
"Kay, why didn't you tell me sooner that you were pregnant?"
Kay answered, "I only found out today myself."
"What do we do, Jayden? What about Harper?"
My mind went blank.
What did she mean, what about me.
This baby had nothing to do with us.
A moment later, Jayden spoke.
"Kay, don't be scared. I'll explain everything to Harper."
"I'll tell her this baby is mine, and that I'll take responsibility."
The world caved in on itself with a roar.
So all of Jayden's concern and care for Kay.
It wasn't out of sympathy for her.
It was because things between them had gone this far.
But what I hadn't expected was that Alison spoke up too.
"It's fine, sis. Don't back down now."
"I've watched you and Jayden all these years. If you ask me, the one who isn't loved is the real mistress."
The words went off next to my ear.
Every drop of blood in me ran backward.
The same Alison who once warned Jayden he'd be dead if he ever cheated.
Now she was saying the one who isn't loved is the mistress.
No wonder. Back at the table, no one had asked who the baby's father was.
They all knew.
Only me. Kept in the dark like a fool.
Made to be lied to by all of them, for all these years.
A husband of ten years and a best friend of over twenty.
They'd betrayed me together.
It was a summer night, and yet I was shivering with cold.
I don't even remember how I stumbled home.
When I got back, Jayden was bustling around the kitchen.
"Kay's pregnant. We're going to have to look after her more from now on."
Ten minutes later he'd cut up a plate of fruit and was carrying it over to Kay's place.
I grabbed his arm and choked out, "I'm pregnant too."
Why had I never once gotten treatment like this?
Why had none of you ever looked after me this way?
But Jayden shook my arm off. "Don't be like this, honey."
"It's just a plate of fruit. Are you really going to fight Kay over that?"
And then he turned and walked out.
Yet before we ever became Kay's neighbors.
Jayden had catered to my every wish, attentive to every little thing.
And now, all that care and concern he'd once given me, he gave to Kay.
A marriage like this, what did I still want it for?
I took the divorce papers and went to Kay's place.
Her son opened the door.
But Kay and Jayden were nowhere in the living room.
Only one bedroom door was shut tight.
My stomach heaved.
And in that moment, Spencer Martinez gave me a hard shove.
"You're a bad guy, who told you to come to my house and steal my daddy!"
That shove sent me stepping onto a rubber ball.
My whole body pitched toward the floor.
A sharp pain tore through my belly, and still that bedroom door didn't open.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in the hospital, and the baby was gone.
An hour later, the three of them appeared at my bedside.
Before they could say a word, I handed the divorce papers to Jayden.
"Sign them."
"I'm giving the two of you my blessing."
Just now, I'd gotten a job offer from a multinational firm.
The plane ticket was already booked.
