Chapter 3
But it only lasted a second.
He scoffed and said coldly:]
“Well, that explains it.“]
“So you think I’m cheating.”
Declan ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, turned away, then back again.
He pointed toward the right, in the direction of Jenna’s apartment;
“With HER?”
He seemed to find it laughable, scrolling up to show all his previous insulting messages to jenna:[]
“You know how much I can’t stand her, right? I can barely bring myself to insult her…]
“Besides, even if I were cheating, I wouldn’t go for someone young and hot instead of… that? What am 1, brain–dead, Sophia? Or are you the one who’s lost it?”
I calmed down:
“None of that explains-
“Whether when you said ‘find out,’ you meant you were planning to sleep with her.
I stared into Declan’s eyes:]
“Or if you already have,”
His tone mellowed 100:
“I was just trying to give her a taste of her own medicine.”
“Fight fire with fire. See? She was just talking shit–got scared and stopped texting back, didn’t she?”
Declan became gentle again.]]
He leaned down, gripping my arms, explaining softly:]
“Besides, I really was trying to set her up with Marcus. You saw that yourself.”
“Marcus is honest and straightforward. Don’t you think he and Jenna complement each other? They’re a good match.“]
Seeing I still wasn’t convinced, Declan picked up his phone. “Alright, habe.“]
“Since this upsets you, I’ll block and delete Jenna, okay?“[]
Originally, she’d played the pity card about being a widow living all alone.
Said she could die at home and nobody would know, begging us to keep in touch just in case
Even though I disliked her, I’d agreed. After all, she was just running her mouth–she’d never actually made a move.
Before I could respond, Declan’s fingers moved across the screen.]]
Jenna’s name disappeared completely from his contacts.
Declan spent a long time consoling me.]
He cursed out Jenna all night long.]
Usually so composed, he only lost control when talking about jenna.
I didn’t fall asleep until dawn]
Everything seemed to have an explanation, but something still felt off–I just couldn’t put my finger on what.]]
Until I went for my prenatal checkup.]
The doctor said I was already three months along, the fetus was stable, and we could resume intimate relations.]]
So I tried initiating when Declan came home from work, wrapping my arms around him.[]
But he avoided eye contact and pushed me away repeatedly.
When I occasionally touched him, I discovered that despite three months of abstinence, my advances had zero effect on him.
“Didn’t sleep at all last night, then worked all day.” Declan soothed me, explaining
“I’m exhausted, babe-
With that, he claimed he had a headache and needed to lie down:]
“With you being pregnant, it’s probably better not to.“]
“For the baby’s sake.“]
Watching his retreating figure, I came to a realization:
When someone doesn’t eat at home, they’ve probably already eaten elsewhere.]
Once suspicion takes root, it grows like wildfire.
I spent every day paranoid and sleepless.
Finally, after a week, I suggested:
“I want to visit my parents‘ graves while my belly’s still small.“]
Chapter 3
Declan paused, looking at me with concern:]
“Should I take a few days off to come with you?“]]
I shook my head considerately:]
“Work’s more important.“]
“I’ll just be gone four or five days.“]
