Chapter 3

Hearing the word "police," Mia's tears flowed even faster. Her voice shook with faux terror.

"Chloe... how can you say that? Why would I make jokes about my own child? This is my baby, I've been carrying him for five months!"

She clutched her stomach and took two steps back.

"I've been praying for this boy every single day. I didn't dare touch anything spicy. Do you know how hard these five months have been for me?"

"I don't even eat raw onions because I'm scared they're too sharp!"

"But you... you went out of your way to buy me food with chili in it! You are trying to destroy my boy!"

Dylan held her tight, screaming at me.

"You still have the audacity to deny it? Let me tell you something, when my mother was pregnant with me, she didn't touch a single pepper! She didn't even use soy sauce!"

"Our family rule is strict: no spice if you want a boy. Spicy food ruins the boy! My wife worked so hard for five months, and you ruined everything!"

He raised his voice, making sure the entire office could hear.

"Back in my hometown, everyone knows this! Every family protects their baby boy with everything they have. Only a wicked, bitter person like you would feed a pregnant woman chili!"

Sarah chimed in, her tone dripping with self-righteousness.

"Chloe, this is really too much. Pregnant women have strict dietary rules. Even if you don't believe in her family's tradition, you should at least respect it. Giving her spicy food on purpose... that's just malicious."

"Exactly. Mia is pregnant, it's already so hard on her. She's wanted a boy for so long..."

"Look how hard Mia is crying. And Chloe is just standing there like nothing happened..."

"This is sick. She literally ruined their baby boy and she doesn't even care..."

The whispers around the room grew louder, people gossiping and throwing dirty looks at me.

Mia buried her face in Dylan's chest, her shoulders shaking violently as she wept. "My boy... my baby boy is gone... how could you be so cruel..."

I ignored the drama and looked straight at Mia. "Mia, you said I fed you spicy food and ruined your baby today. But I didn't make or buy you any lunch today. How exactly did I do that?"

Mia paused. The tears were still fresh on her cheeks, but her voice caught in her throat.

"Chloe... I can't believe that even now, you're still trying to lie."

"Are you really going to deny it just to save your own skin?"

Mia sniffled. "You want to play dumb? Fine. Let me ask you this. Around noon, didn't you say you were going to the restroom?"

"But instead, you pulled me aside in the hallway and apologized for being rude earlier."

"You said you bought me a little snack to make it up to me. Did you forget that?"

The onlookers whispered instantly. "Oh my god, she actually admitted it to Mia and now she's lying..."

"Poor Mia. Her baby boy is ruined, and she's still being gaslighted like this..."

I stared at her. "I never said that. And I certainly didn't buy you anything."

Mia immediately pulled out her phone.

A few seconds later, she shoved her screen right in front of my face, her voice cracking.

"Then how do you explain this digital receipt? You gave me this snack box at noon!"

"It has your store membership number on it! Your phone number is right there! You handed it to me and told me not to be mad anymore!"

Mia raised her phone high, showing it to the entire room. "Look, everyone! She bought it using her own rewards account! The evidence is right here!"

"And she still claims she's innocent? I'm a pregnant woman! Why would I risk my own baby's health just to frame her?"

Sarah leaned in to look. "Oh, that really is Chloe's phone number and membership ID..."

"Chloe, what do you have to say for yourself now?"

Mia's tears fell again. "Chloe... I really didn't want to make a big deal out of this..."

"You harmed my baby, and I wasn't even going to sue you. But now you're claiming I'm lying and making things up... How can you be so heartless?"

I looked at the receipt on her screen. Yes, it was indeed my membership account and my phone number.

But I had lost that physical rewards card last month, and I hadn't gotten around to replacing it yet.

I looked up at her calmly. "Mia, I lost that card last month. I haven't used it since."

"You found a lost card, bought something with it, and now you're claiming I was the one who bought it?"

"Tell me, Mia. How are you going to prove that I was the one who actually swiped that card at the store?"