Chapter 3

When I opened the door and saw her, she was casually sitting in my usual spot on the sofa, sunflower seed shells scattered all over the floor.

She wasn't surprised to see me. She even invited me to sit down, as if she were the lady of the house.

I kicked aside her shoes that were carelessly left by the door and walked straight to the bedroom without acknowledging her.

She followed me in.

"Clara, haven't seen Adrian these past few days? Are you upset?"

I treated her like air and opened the closet, only to discover that my belongings were just a few scattered items.

"Don't worry, Adrian's doing great with me! He doesn't really want to come back here either."

I still ignored her, silently filling my suitcase.

Seeing my silence, she became irritated instead. She pointed at my nose and declared her territory: "Clara, I'm pregnant with Adrian's baby. Step aside!"

I really couldn't understand this woman.

One moment she said she and Adrian were just friends, the next she was telling me to step aside.

But when she mentioned the baby, I thought of the little life that had belonged to me just days ago.

My nose stung.

I fought back the moisture in my eyes and forced a smile. "Really? Then congratulations!"

"Clara, you're really pathetic. I'm pregnant with his child and you still won't leave? You can tolerate even this?"

Slap! I struck her across the face, finally making up for what I'd missed at the bar that night.

"Actually, I can't tolerate it."

I said expressionlessly, "Even if I leave, it doesn't mean you'll ever get to climb above me."

Just then, I heard a key turning in the door.

Perfect timing—Adrian had arrived.

As soon as he saw the handprint on Jessica's cheek, he started lecturing me without a second thought. "What's wrong with you? You don't answer calls, you don't come home, and Jessica was worried about you and waited here for days. Now you're bullying her again without even asking what happened!"

"I'm bullying her?" I was too angry to have strength. I was too tired to explain.

"Fine. Since you're so protective of her, go be with her then!"

At this point, Jessica started playing innocent again. "Adrian, is it because I'm here that Clara's uncomfortable? She can't stand me. I'll just leave!"

He grabbed Jessica's hand. "Look at you, acting so childish when you're about to be a mom. I've told you many times—Jessica and I are just friends. If there was something between us, would you even be in the picture?"

He always said that.

But whenever Jessica had a problem, he could drop everything and rush to her.

On our engagement day, Jessica had just returned from abroad. One phone call and Adrian left all our relatives to pick her up at the airport.

On our wedding day, Jessica couldn't stand seeing us intimate. She threw a tantrum and disappeared. He stopped the entire wedding ceremony and searched every corner of the venue just to find her.

This time was no different.