The Mom-to-be's Counterattack

Chapter 1

[1]

Before the wedding, Darin, inebriated and heart heavy, confided to his friends, "I was in a tight spot, and who knew that message would end up with the wrong person?"

"But maybe it's for the best. Now that Melany knows about the wedding, she's been on her best behavior, not daring to stir up any trouble."

"She needed a wake-up call like this a long time ago!"

"Darin, are you seriously going to marry Jillian? I always thought you hated how she tried to control everything."

Darin raised an eyebrow and smirked, "We haven't even signed the marriage license yet, right?"

"Once the wedding's done, I'll still be the one calling the shots."

I clenched my fists, my heart pounding as I hid the pregnancy test results.

Darin, this time, you won't have the last word.

[2]

Just three days before our wedding, I overheard a conversation between Darin and his brother. I was at the club where they were gathering, intending to drop off some stomach medicine for him. Unexpectedly, he drenched me with a bucket of ice water, leaving me shivering during the dog days of summer.

Seething with anger, I tossed the medicine into the trash and headed home. From my bag, I retrieved the hospital test results. I was eight weeks pregnant. This was supposed to be the perfect wedding gift for Darin. But now, it seemed I couldn't give it to him after all.

Thinking about the nonsense he spouted tonight, my heart ached, and I clenched my fists. Three months ago, on my birthday, my relatives were visiting, and it was a rare occasion for the whole family to gather for a meal. Darin stood me up. It wasn't the first time he had done this, but it was the first time he humiliated my entire family.

Later, I found out that Melany's father was ill, and Darin went to visit him. But her father only had a cold. I felt wronged and confronted him, but he didn't care. He said her parents had watched him grow up, and it was only right for him to visit them. He told me not to be so petty. We gave each other the silent treatment for days after that.

After my anger subsided, I started thinking about how to make up. This had always been the pattern over the years. He wasn't the type to be considerate or coaxing. Every time we had a conflict, he just gave me the cold shoulder until I couldn't take it anymore and sought reconciliation. I thought this time would be the same.

As I was browsing my phone, picking out a tie for him, I received his text message. "Don't be mad, let's get married." I was stunned, then overwhelmed with joy. I rushed into the next room to hug him. "Okay! Let's get married!" He was surprised for a few seconds before slowly hugging me back. I didn't mind his hesitation; I was too immersed in the joy of his proposal.

We were going to have a home together. I threw myself into wedding preparations, personally overseeing every detail. I was exhausted but happy, so happy that I overlooked his absence from the entire wedding planning process. He had always been indifferent and busy with work, never paying attention to trivial matters. I was used to it. But I never expected that he wasn't busy with work; he was busy with another woman.

I also never expected that the wedding I had been looking forward to for so long was a mistake he made in a moment of carelessness, a tool for him to flirt with another woman. I squeezed the test results, leaving deep impressions on the paper, and angrily threw them on the coffee table.

With a click, the door opened. Darin, drunk, was being helped in by a woman. She had her arm around his waist, and his face was nestled against her neck in an intimate manner. Melany, Darin's business partner. She smiled at me, "Darin is really irresponsible. You two are about to get married, and he's still out drinking like this."

"Don't be mad. I've already scolded him for you. He promised me he'd behave better from now on." She smiled, "At least, he won't be so reckless before the wedding."

My heart ached, and I said, "So you do know he's getting married. Entangling with someone else's fiancé-is that the upbringing of your well-educated family?"

She helped Darin onto the sofa and looked down at me, calm and composed. "Don't be so agitated, Jillian. You have no idea who you're marrying. Do you know how much the Jenkins family is worth? Do you know how many women are throwing themselves at him? Do you know how many temptations men in this circle face?"

She looked at my pale face with pity. "Jillian, don't try to confine a high-status man with your love. They may have many good qualities, but loyalty is not one of them."

Melany left confidently. I looked at Darin's sleeping face and the faint lipstick mark on his collar, and I smiled bitterly. Childhood friends for twenty-two years, Melany indeed knew him better than I did. These five years had been nothing but a dream for me.

I didn't bother with him and went to bed, sleeping restlessly through the night. The next morning, just after I finished breakfast at the office, Darin called me to the president's office. Melany sat casually in the boss's chair, relaxed as if she were in her own territory. Darin stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking back at me expressionlessly.

"Melany will take over the management of the design department. Hand over all your projects to her."