Lisa fussed over Hazel endlessly, showering her with warmth and concern.
She'd even had the kitchen prepare blood bird's nest soup—and insisted on feeding it to Hazel herself, spoonful by spoonful.
I used to wonder why. We were the same, weren't we? Both carrying children whose fathers were supposedly unknown. Yet Lisa doted on Hazel while treating me with nothing but contempt.
Now I understood. She must have known all along that Hazel and Val were together.
The moment I stepped into the room, the warmth drained from Lisa's face like water down a sink.
Hazel noticed immediately. She let out a theatrical gasp and scrambled to her feet, head bowed in that practiced, submissive way of hers.
"Renee, I know my place. I know I shouldn't be here." Her voice trembled just enough. "Please don't be angry with Mrs. Gilbert or Val on my account. I'll leave right now."
I hadn't said a single word since walking through the door.
Yet here she was, performing as if I'd already drawn blood.
It was always like this. I'd do nothing—nothing—and she'd somehow twist it until I looked like the villain and she the helpless victim.
Val's brow creased. "You're already here. Sit down." His tone was clipped, irritated—but laced with something softer underneath. "You're pregnant. Stop making everyone worry."
Every word dripped with annoyance. Every word hid devotion.
Hazel met his eyes. The corner of her mouth curved—barely, almost imperceptibly.
I swallowed the metallic taste rising in my throat and forced a smile. "Being pregnant without a husband must be difficult. Do you even know who the father is?"
Val's hand slipped against the spoon he was warming for me. Metal shrieked against porcelain.
Before he could speak, Lisa cut in with a cold snort.
"As if you know who fathered the thing in your belly."
She didn't even look at me. "Hazel has always been pure. Her child is precious. But some people?" A cruel smile twisted her lips. "They claim they were violated, but who's to say they didn't throw themselves at their captors to stay alive?"
The blood drained from my face. The room tilted.
When I first married into this family, Lisa had been decent to me. Not warm, but civil.
Everything changed after the kidnapping—after they discovered I was pregnant.
Val had insisted on keeping the baby. My baby. He'd even gotten a vasectomy to prove his commitment, to show the world he believed the child was his.
His public defiance, his obvious favoritism toward me—it had infuriated Lisa to the point of illness.
After that, she never looked at me the same way again.
"Mom." Val's voice sharpened. "It's a happy occasion. Can we not do this?"
He reached over and gently rubbed my head, his touch familiar, almost tender. "Don't be scared, sweetheart. Your husband's here. No one's going to hurt you or our baby."
Then, as if it were an afterthought, he added: "And maybe... don't interrogate Hazel about her situation. You've been through enough to understand. She's just a young girl. Whatever happened, I'm sure she had no choice."
I stared at the man before me.
Same face. Same voice.
A complete stranger.
How pathetic.
The man who always stepped in front of me, who shielded me from every storm—he was the one who'd brought the storm in the first place.
And he didn't even know it. He was still playing the devoted husband, so deep in his own performance that he'd fooled himself as thoroughly as he'd fooled me.
I set down my chopsticks. My appetite had turned to ash.
"I need to use the restroom."
I'd barely risen when Lisa's voice sliced through the air behind me.
"Bonnie. Get the disinfectant. I want every inch of this house sanitized. Three times."
I turned just in time to see Bonnie Chavez grab a large bottle and aim it directly at me.
The spray hit my face, my chest, my arms. I stumbled backward, eyes streaming, lungs burning, choking on the chemical fog.
Through the tears, I looked at Val. Help me. Please.
He took my hand—then his expression crumpled into something apologetic and weak.
"Sweetheart, Mom's just upset. It's her birthday. Can you just... bear with it? For today?"
Before the last word left his mouth, Hazel coughed softly.
I didn't even have time to react.
Val's warmth vanished from my hand.
In the space of a heartbeat, he'd pulled Hazel into his arms.
