Chapter 2

Knowing Brenda was coming, I'd spent two days cleaning the house from top to bottom. New bedding, fresh fruits, and vegetables piled high on the table.

Brenda didn't come empty-handed either, carrying a plastic bag filled with stewed chicken.

"Free-range chicken! You can't get this in the city!"

"For Ashley to regain her strength!"

At the time, Mark grumbled that his mom was making unnecessary trouble, but I smiled, accepted everything, and thanked her profusely.

However, after the long train journey, the chicken was already spoiled and rotten.

"The chicken was spoiled, didn't Mark tell you?"

But before I could finish, Brenda kicked me to the ground.

"Still daring to talk back! You beggar, choosing your food! Just because you're carrying a girl, you think you're some kind of queen?!"

I frowned, about to argue, when the front door suddenly opened. Mark, who was smiling and looking at his phone a second ago, froze in his tracks, frowning at the scene.

"What's going on?"

Before I could speak, Brenda cut in.

"Go ask your wonderful wife! She got herself fired!"

"My poor son, such a tough life! He finally started making something of himself, and now he's stuck with a freeloader!"

"I, as his mother, said a few words, and she's sticking her neck out, talking back!"

"Ashley, let me tell you! This is the only time! If you dare to do this again, get out of this house!"

Mark frowned, looking at me. "You got fired?"

I was carrying his child, kicked to the ground by his mother, and he didn't try to help me up. Instead, his first question was about being fired.

Looking at my husband of three years, a chill ran through me, and I didn't want to explain anything.

"If you also think I'm a freeloader, then talk to your mom and figure out which of us should get out of my house."

When we got married, Mark's family wasn't well off. This house was my parents' inheritance.

An eight-month pregnant woman, not only bullied by her mother-in-law but also told to get out of her own home.

Lying in bed, tears of injustice streamed down my face.

Hearing Mark pull Brenda into the nursery, I suddenly remembered the hidden camera I'd installed two days ago.

It was for keeping an eye on the baby later, and I hadn't had a chance to tell Mark or Brenda.

I thought I'd see how Mark would mediate the conflict between Brenda and me, but when I opened the feed, I heard an earth-shattering secret.

It sent chills down my spine.

"You said she might get a promotion and a raise by the end of the year! Now look, she got fired!"

"She's about to give birth, and she is too. You're supporting two families on one salary, my heart aches for you, son!"

Brenda's face was full of annoyance, and she even dabbed at her eyes.

She? Two families?

Could Mark have another family behind my back?!

Thinking of his frequent business trips recently, a sinking feeling of dread suddenly gripped me.

In my late pregnancy, I had frequent bathroom trips at night. Several times, I'd caught Mark sitting on the toilet with a strange smile on his face.

Sometimes he'd be so engrossed in his phone that he wouldn't even notice me come in, then he'd almost drop his phone when he saw me.

His explanation was that work stress kept him awake, and he scrolled through funny videos, not wanting to disturb my sleep in bed.

I wasn't without my suspicions, but Mark would casually hand me his phone.

"Look, look! I think your pregnancy hormones are just acting up, making you paranoid!"

Checking his phone, I didn't find anything, so I had to let it go.

I quickly continued listening, but Mark didn't respond directly, only saying,

"A few days ago, I asked her team members, and they did say she had a good chance of closing a big deal and getting a promotion. How could she just get fired?"

"Could it be she closed the deal, earned the money, and just doesn't want us to know?"

"I'll double-check."

My scalp tingled. Mark had secretly contacted my team members?! And I knew nothing about it!