Chapter 1

Eight months pregnant, I caught my father-in-law, Richard, walking out of my best friend Jessica's apartment.

Two of his shirt buttons were misaligned, and there was a prominent lipstick smudge on his collar.

I told my mother-in-law, Helen, about it that very night.

She stared at me in silence for three seconds, then slapped me hard across the face.

"You were the one who brought that little tramp into our house in the first place!"

"If you hadn’t invited her over, do you think your father would have made this kind of mistake?"

Richard was sitting on the sofa watching TV, never once turning his head.

Helen pointed at the hardwood floor, her voice cold. "Get on your knees."

"Apologize to your father. You’ve completely humiliated this family."

I was heavily pregnant, but I knelt on the cold floor for twenty minutes.

By the time my knees went numb, my dress was soaked.

I was bleeding.

I braced myself against the wall, stood up, and dragged myself to the front door.

"You’re right. It is my fault."

"My mistake was marrying into this family. And this baby... I don't want it anymore."

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