Chapter 3

Hearing the raw disgust in his voice, my entire body trembled with rage.

The only reason I had gained this weight was because I was carrying his baby.

And to make Amber feel better, he trampled on my dignity, reducing my pregnant body to something monstrous.

Outside, Amber let out a soft giggle through her sniffling, clearly reveling in Logan's derogatory remarks about me.

He coaxed and soothed her for a long while before the apartment finally grew quiet.

I lay in bed, my limbs freezing, drowning in bone-deep exhaustion. Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep.

I had no idea how long I slept, but I woke up to the feeling of a warm hand resting on my bare stomach—which pulled away instantly, as if shocked by electricity.

Dazedly, I opened my eyes. Logan was sitting awkwardly on the edge of the mattress, staring at my protruding belly.

I looked down. In my sleep, the buttons of my pajama top had popped open, exposing my rounded stomach.

Crisscrossed red and purple stretch marks sprawled across my pale skin, angry and raw under the dim lamp light.

Logan averted his eyes and cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"How are you and the baby feeling?"

A sharp pang of sorrow hit my chest. I scoffed coldly.

"Oh? Since when do you care about us?"

A faint flicker of guilt passed through his eyes.

"You're pregnant, Vivian. Don't be so aggressive all the time. It's bad for the baby. We had friends over today to celebrate, you didn't have to take everything so seriously."

He leaned down, trying to kiss my forehead, but I jerked my head away, rejecting his touch.

His hand hovered awkwardly in the air before he pulled it back.

"Come on. Get up. Let's go to the kitchen."

I grabbed my phone to check the time. It was 2:30 in the morning.

Seeing my bewildered expression, he scratched his head.

"Amber felt so guilty she couldn't sleep. She stayed up to cook a late-night meal to apologize to you. Show some courtesy, get up, and eat a little."

I could hardly believe my ears.

In the dead of night, he dragged a seven-months-pregnant woman out of a warm bed just for Amber’s guilt-trip performance?

"Guilty? Does anything she does look like genuine remorse? Waking me up in the middle of the night—is this an apology, or is she trying to torture me?"

Logan’s patience wore thin instantly.

"Don't be so ungrateful! Amber did this out of the kindness of her heart. She already feels terrible. Can't you be the bigger person and accept her peace offering?"

"Do you have any idea that she spent over two hours in the kitchen for you? Get up right now. Don't break her heart again."

Before I could say another word, a piercing shriek echoed from the kitchen.

"Ahhh!"

The scream shattered the silence of the night.

Logan panicked instantly. Forgetting all about me, he bolted straight for the kitchen.

I pushed myself up and followed. Amber was standing in the middle of the kitchen floor, clutching her thigh in agony. Scalding hot soup was splattered all over the tiles, steam rising into the air.

Seeing us walk in, her tears poured down even faster.

"I'm so sorry, Vivian! I just wanted to make you some warm broth, but the pot slipped... Not only did I ruin the soup, but I burned myself too. I'm so clumsy..."