Chapter 4

The skeptical voice drowned fast under the noise of the crowd.

Through the shifting bodies, Elisa turned in my direction.

She paused, then broke into an even brighter smile.

Then she placed a hand on her stomach.

"Actually, I have one more piece of good news to share with everyone."

"No way—are you pregnant?!"

"Oh my God! That's so sweet!"

Elisa, face glowing with happiness, threw her arms around a stunned Robert.

A high-pitched ringing flooded my ears.

A baby.

Elisa was having a baby.

My hand drifted to my own stomach without thinking.

I once had a baby, too.

"Hey—it's her! I told you, the couple shopping earlier wasn't them."

The person who'd spoken up before was suddenly pointing at me, announcing it to the whole crowd.

"The mistress?!"

A beat of silence, then someone blurted it out.

"Why are you here?"

Robert froze for a second, then immediately stepped sideways to shield Elisa behind him.

Like he was protecting her from danger.

Or like he was blocking me.

The memory hit without warning—him on his knees at my hospital bed after I lost the baby, eyes red, voice breaking.

"I failed to protect you and our child. Give me more time. I'll give you a home."

He'd just graduated then.

For his ambitions. For our future.

I resigned as general manager and recommended him for the position.

I handled his workload, took care of his daily life.

That baby came and went in silence, right in the middle of all of it.

I never even found out if it was a boy or a girl.

But now.

He was shielding another woman and her child.

Looking at me like I was something dangerous.

"Hah."

What a joke.

"So this is your choice?"

I looked at Robert. My voice came out steady.

But my nails had already broken through the skin of my palms.

A flicker of panic crossed Robert's face.

He opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, Elisa dropped to her knees with a thud.

Tears streamed down her face, pitiful and wretched.

"Gabriella—I know you two grew up together, I know I don't compare—please, I'm begging you, don't drive me and my baby away!"

That single line from Elisa set the crowd off like a bomb.

"So she's been stringing this guy along and won't even let him date someone else?"

"Childhood sweethearts, my ass—she's the mistress!"

"Get up, girl. You don't kneel to someone like her."

The naked hostility pressing in from all sides was enough to make my legs buckle.

Robert's expression turned vicious. He ground his teeth and turned on me.

"Gabriella! Do you want Elisa dead? She's carrying a child! You lost yours and now you can't stand seeing anyone else have one?"

"Wait—is she that loose ex everyone's been talking about?"

The onlookers seemed to think they'd cracked the case, and another wave of uproar tore through the crowd.

I looked at Robert and couldn't comprehend what I was seeing—because he knew, he knew every sleepless night, every time I fell apart after losing that baby, and he had just ripped open the deepest wound I carried and held it up for a crowd of strangers.

I stood there staring at him, frozen.

"You'd smear me… for Elisa's sake—"

Smack!

Someone hurled a fistful of vegetable leaves straight into my face.

I swayed, barely keeping my footing.

"Shut your mouth. I hate homewreckers more than anything! I'll make sure everyone knows your face!"

"Expose her! Shameless bitch!"

Fingers jabbed toward my face, close enough to touch.

Robert took an unconscious step forward.

Conflict flashed across his face, and then he pulled his foot back.

Behind him, Elisa couldn't quite hide the smirk of triumph on her face.

"Stop it! What do you think you're doing, ganging up on a young woman? She's not the mistress!"

A store worker pushed her way in front of me, shouting herself hoarse to defend me.

Forget it.

She'd already decided to leave. What would more words change.

That single step Robert took backward had said everything.

"Ma'am, let it go."

I managed a bitter smile, took the older woman's arm, and turned to leave.

But the instant I turned, an apple struck me square in the stomach.

"Homewrecker! Drop the act already—take a good look at yourself and ask if you're even worth it!"

Pain.

My whole body seized inward, and the taste of iron flooded the back of my throat.

My legs gave out and I crumpled to the floor.

The crowd flinched back like a startled flock, opening a wide circle around me.

"Gabriella!"

I heard Robert's voice, sharp and involuntary, and the sound of his footsteps rushing closer.

Then, a second later, Elisa cried out.

"Robert, my stomach hurts so bad! What if something's wrong with the baby!"

I forced my head up.

Robert had stopped. One step away.

His eyes moved between me and Elisa, something tangled and unreadable in them.

In the end, he pulled back the foot he'd been about to set down.

"Elisa's pregnant. I can't take any chances with that. Go home and wait for me—I'll take you to the hospital as soon as I get back."

He turned without hesitation, scooped Elisa into his arms, and disappeared behind the shelves.

The last thing I saw:

His back walking away without looking back, and Elisa's smile appearing again over his shoulder.

The supermarket went quiet. The crowd drifted away in silence.

"Sweetheart, let me take you home."

I let the older woman help me to my feet, then shook my head.

"No need, ma'am. Thank you for protecting me."

Some roads you can only walk alone.

I straightened through the pain, and with every step toward home my stride grew steadier than the last.

At the door, I turned and looked at this place one final time.

So good.

Such a shame.