Lainey reluctantly touched her stomach.
Pain pierced her heart.
She had just found out she was pregnant.
But then she received a sex video.
The ring on the man's left ring finger and his familiar voice told Lainey that Jacob Morton had cheated.
Not just once.
Her heart turned cold. She took a cab to the hospital and resolutely terminated the pregnancy.
When she left the hospital, darkness had fallen.
Lainey walked the streets, her heart heavy, the pain in her abdomen lingering. She didn't notice the car speeding toward her.
When she finally reacted, the car was inches away.
"Miss, are you okay? I'll take you to the hospital!"
She had only sprained her ankle.
Perhaps to confirm something, she called Jacob.
No one answered.
Lainey gave a bitter smile and limped home alone, enduring the sharp pain.
At the doorstep, she ran into Jacob, who had just returned.
Jacob pulled her into his arms, his voice trembling with worry. "Lainey, I was busy earlier and missed your calls. What happened? You scared me to death!"
His voice cracked with emotion, but his disheveled clothes, crooked tie, and the hickey on his neck stabbed at Lainey's heart like needles.
She looked at his face, full of feigned regret and affection, and lowered her eyes. "Just a sprained ankle. It's fine. I know you're busy."
When she looked up, Jacob's guilt seemed to overwhelm him. "I'm sorry, Lainey. My phone died... I was in a meeting and didn't see... I'm sorry. I'll never let my phone die again."
"Never again?" Lainey's heart chilled. There wouldn't be a next time, Jacob.
Back at the villa, Jacob held Lainey on the couch.
He rubbed her cold hands, his voice soft with concern. "Lainey, wait a moment!"
He went to the kitchen to make some soup.
But soon, his attention shifted to his phone's glowing screen.
The soup boiled dry before Jacob glanced up.
In a panic, he dropped the pot to the floor with a clang, his phone falling with it.
Lainey heard the noise and walked to the kitchen.
In that moment, she saw a provocative photo of a woman in stockings magnified on his phone.
Jacob ignored the fallen pot, shoving the phone into his pocket.
He cleaned up the mess and approached Lainey. "I got distracted. Forget it. Shall I order takeout? What do you want? I can't stay tonight, though. Is it okay if you eat alone?"
As Jacob received the photo, Lainey got the same image, along with screenshots of their chat.
The sender taunted her. "Do you know what kind of stockings Jacob likes? With your personality, you'll never let him indulge. Tonight, he's mine again."
Lainey didn't reply. She saved all the messages and photos.
"It's fine. Go ahead. I'll wait for you to come back." She smoothed Jacob's collar as she always did.
But her eyes held no trace of her usual smile.
Jacob, too eager for his other rendezvous, didn't notice her change.
The large house soon felt empty, with only Lainey left.
She slowly returned to her room, packing her things through the pain.
Soon, in half a month, she would vanish from Jacob's life forever, leaving behind his betrayals and lies.
Jacob didn't return that night.
Lainey's phone buzzed endlessly.
Sally Hayes sent message after message, detailing their encounters to make Lainey see clearly.
"Do you know how intense Jacob is? Seven times in one night! My back's killing me, and even this morning, he wouldn't let me go.
Look at these condoms. Bet you've never tried these with Jacob, have you? Jacob says you're like a starfish in bed, always passive, no fun at all. Not like me-he can't get enough.
Lainey, you're thirty. What man doesn't want a younger body? Why don't you just bow out? Jacob's been bored with you for ages."
Lainey read the messages and stared at the explicit photos Sally sent.
The coldness in her heart reached its peak.
The pain in her abdomen sharpened, pulling her back to reality.