Chapter 3

Jared's eyes darted away. For a second he looked cornered.

"You—you're talking nonsense. You can't have kids, what does that have to do with my family?"

Doris chimed in from beside him.

"That's your own bad luck."

"I knew you had a problem with the kid. You've been resentful this whole time."

"I happen to like little Georgie. Don't you dare think about sending her away!"

Jared's cousin's wife stepped out of the crowd with a cold smile, her eyes raking over me.

"Who knows what you got up to out there, that you couldn't hold on to a baby."

"Why don't I get a specialist to take a look at you tomorrow."

I opened my mouth to answer.

The danmaku popped up.

【Don't go!】

【In your past life you believed them, and they took out your uterus.】

【They told you it was an appendix operation. You died never knowing.】

Cold sweat soaked through the back of my shirt, my heart slamming.

Jared took a step forward, planting himself in front of me, blocking my line of sight.

"Didn't we already agree you'd adopt Georgie? Do you really have to bring this up at my mother's birthday party?"

"You're the one making a fool of yourself here!"

I threw his hand off.

My eyes went straight to him.

"How am I making a fool of myself? This was never my problem to begin with."

"Jared, you can do it but you can't own up to it?"

His cousin's wife clamped down on my wrist, the corner of her mouth twisting into a smile that never reached her eyes.

"Penelope, I'm only saying this for your own good."

"Word getting out that you can't have kids does you no favors."

"Just hurry up and apologize to your mother-in-law, then go buy Georgie a cake, and we'll call it done."

She said she'd let it drop, but she pitched her voice loud on purpose, and a good number of people drifted over to watch.

Her friends started pointing and whispering too.

Those looks. They'd followed me for five whole years.

Every time the subject of a baby came up, every fault landed on me.

"I'm not buying it."

"And I did nothing wrong."

Doris slapped her thigh, tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know what sin I committed to deserve this. Not only do you cut off my family line, you show up this late to a birthday party, empty-handed."

"Everyone says the child isn't close to you. Who's that long face supposed to be for all day?"

My fist clenched, and then, suddenly, I laughed.

My hand went into my briefcase.

Inside was the paternity report on Jared and Georgie.

Before I could pull it out, a clatter of footsteps came from behind me.

Georgie, in a princess dress, went running toward Jared.

"Daddy!"

"That horrible old witch finally left. Georgie missed you so much!"