---- Chapter 2 Jody POV: That night, Arthur knocked on my door. He was holding a glass of warm milk, something he used to do when | couldn 't sleep. The gesture felt like a mockery now. "Can | come in?" he asked, his voice soft. | stayed silent, blocking the doorway. He took my silence as permission and tried to step inside, but | didn' t move. His eyes, full of a counterfeit sorrow, met mine. "Jody, have you thought about what Claudia and | said?" "You mean the proposal where | get sterilized to raise your love child?" The words were acid on my tongue. He winced. "It's not like that. It' s the best solution for everyone. For our family." Our family. The words were a joke. "And what if | say no?" | asked, my voice flat. His face hardened, the soft pleading replaced by a flicker of the ruthless businessman he was. "Then we can' t get married, Jody. | can't abandon my child. You wouldn't ask me to do that." ---- There it was. The ultimatum. My future in exchange for his convenience. A cold, sharp pain lanced through my chest, so intense it made me gasp. He was willing to throw away everything we had, everything | thought we had, for this... this grotesque arrangement. "I ll think about it," | said, the lie slipping easily from my lips. | needed time. | needed him to leave me alone so | could finish packing. Relief washed over his features. He thought he' d won. He always won. "I knew you' d understand, baby." He leaned in to kiss me, but | turned my head, and his lips brushed against my hair. "I know this is hard, but it' s the only way. Claudia is my sister. My responsibility. You and |... we' re different. We' re going to be husband and wife." Husband and wife. The words meant nothing. "I'm tired, Arthur," | said, my voice hollow. "I want to sleep." He looked like he wanted to say more, but he just nodded, placing the glass of milk on the nightstand. "Okay. We' Il talk more tomorrow." He left, closing the door softly behind him. | stared at the glass of milk, a symbol of a care that was never real. | wanted to smash it against the wall. Instead, | just left it there, untouched. A few minutes later, there was another, softer knock. My ---- heart sank. | thought it was Arthur, back for another round of manipulation. | opened the door to find Claudia standing there, a smug little smile on her face. "Arthur told me you' re considering our proposal," she said, her eyes glinting. "| knew you were a smart girl." | just stared at her. "What do you want, Claudia?" She leaned against the doorframe, her hand drifting down to her stomach again. "I just wanted to make sure you understood the situation clearly. You see, this baby...". she paused, letting the silence hang in the air. "This baby might be Arthur' s, but it was conceived because he was thinking of me. The implication hung in the air, vile and suffocating. A wave of nausea rolled over me. It felt like a physical punch to the gut, stealing the air from my lungs. "You' re lying," | whispered, though a cold part of me knew she wasn't Her smile widened. "Am I? Ask yourself, Jody. Who does he come home to? Who does he cancel his life for? You' re just a placeholder. A convenient, pretty little placeholder until he realized who he really wanted." She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Do you have the guts to ask him, Jody? To ask him who he was thinking of that night?" ---- "Get out," | said, my voice shaking with a rage so profound it felt like it would tear me apart. "Get out of my room." She laughed, a light, tinkling sound that grated on my nerves. "Of course." She sauntered away, her hips swaying, leaving me standing in the doorway, trembling. | slammed the door shut, my back pressed against the wood. The lie | had been telling myself for years crumbled around me. The late-night calls he' d take in another room. The way his arm would linger around her waist a second too long. The shared glances across a dinner table that held a world of meaning | was never privy to. | had explained it all away. They were siblings. They were close. | was being paranoid. But it wasn' t paranoia. It was the truth, staring me in the face all along. A truth so ugly, so twisted, | hadn' t allowed myself to see it. Thinking of them together, in that way... a vile, physical revulsion rose in my throat. Just then, the door burst open again. Arthur stood there, his face contorted in anger. "What did you say to Claudia? She' s downstairs crying, saying you threatened her!" He didn' t even ask for my side. He never did. | looked at him, at his handsome, furious face, and a strange calm settled over me. The pain was still there, a dull, throbbing ache, but it was distant now. ---- "You' re right, Arthur," | said, my voice even. "I' Il do it. I' Il agree to the surgery." His anger vanished, replaced by a brilliant, relieved smile. "Oh, Jody. Baby. | knew it. | knew you loved me." He rushed forward and pulled me into a hug. | stood stiffly in his arms, my body unresponsive. "We can get married right away," he said, his voice giddy with his victory. "Tomorrow, no, the day after. We' Il finally be married." He took my hand, his thumb stroking my knuckles. | subtly pulled my hand away. "We should wait," | said, my voice still eerily calm. "Claudia' s health is the most important thing right now. We shouldn' t rush things while she' s so fragile." He looked at me, his eyes shining with adoration. He thought | was being selfless. He had no idea. "You' re right," he said, kissing my hair again. That kiss, which once felt like a promise, now felt like a violation. "You' re always so thoughtful." From the hallway, | could see Claudia peeking around the corner, her face a mask of shock. She hadn' t expected me to agree so easily. She had wanted a fight. She quickly composed herself and walked over, clinging to Arthur s arm. "Since Jody is feeling better, can we go shopping tomorrow? | need some new maternity clothes." ---- "Of course," Arthur said instantly, not even looking at me. "Jody, you' Il come with us. You can help Claudia pick some things out." The idea of spending a day watching them play happy family was nauseating. But | nodded. | would play my part until | could escape. The next day at the mall was a special kind of hell. They walked ahead of me, his arm around her, laughing and whispering like a real couple. | trailed behind them, an invisible ghost. We were supposed to be shopping for maternity clothes for her, but soon they were in a jewelry store, looking at baby bracelets. This was the life he had planned for me. A life as a glorified nanny to their incestuous offspring. A life of quiet desperation, of watching the man | loved love someone else. A pain so sharp and sudden pierced my heart that | had to stop and press a hand to my chest, just to make sure it was still beating.