"P-Pregnant? What… what do you mean, honey?"
It wasn't the stinging pain on her cheeks, but the dull ache in her chest that made the corners of Ayla's eyes burn.
Elena Simmons huffed impatiently, her hand flying to her hip as she pointed a manicured finger at Ayla's stunned face.
"Are you daft? What part of getting a divorce from you do you not understand? My Silas is too much of a gentleman, so he won't tell you that the real reason this is happening is because you're barren and not a good fit for him."
"I-I don't understand, honey. This is the woman you cheated on me with years ago. I got STDs from you because of her. And I didn't even hold it against you…" Ayla braced herself to speak, but somewhere along the way, she just broke down into tears, her blurry eyes not leaving Silas' face.
He remained still, his expression serious, brows furrowed in determination. Not a single atom of guilt on his face.
Seeing her fall apart, his features contorted in anger and he gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"Aren't you a hypocrite, Ayla? You say you forgave me, but you kept going to that fertility hospital every day and shoving the results in my face!"
"Honey, th-that's because you promised to stop seeing her, and I promised to do my utmost best at…" Ayla tried to defend herself, but choked on her tears, large balls of tears spiraling down her cheeks.
Silas' face only scrunched up in even more irritation.
This… this was his problem with this darn woman.
A little scolding, and she'd burst into tears. It was too irritating and off-putting. If he hadn't met Elena when he did, he'd still be getting manipulated by this woman.
Reaching for the divorce papers, he flung it at her, hissing, "Just sign the divorce agreement and get the hell out of my house!"
"Hey, my son says to sign the divorce agreement, so hurry up and do so," Talia Dawson, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly hissed as she got to her feet.
She had been waiting for this moment ever since this wench bewitched her son. And just now, she had to sit for a minute just to be sure she hadn't heard wrong.
After all these years, he finally listened to her to rid himself of this jinx.
As a mother who wanted nothing but the best for her son, she was elated.
Glancing at Elena Simmons and her protruding belly, Talia scrutinized her silently.
Seeing how well the woman was still taking care of herself, despite looking to be in her fifth month, only made her more impressed with her son's choice.
Shifting her attention to Ayla, she sneered in disdain, "You work at that lousy place, dress shabbily everywhere you go, and barely get dinner ready on time, yet you're surprised my precious son has fallen out of love with you?"
"Look at Elena. She's pregnant, but still takes care of herself. A woman like her should be toning it down, looking worse than you—but look how radiant she is!"
"You dress shabbily and never take care of yourself. A lousy woman like you doesn't deserve my sweet boy at all!"
"M-Mother…" Hearing her, Ayla tried to call out, but it was merely a croak.
All these years, everyone in this family thought she worked up her tearworks for no reason. Not once did they ever stop to ask if she was just made like this.
For someone overly sensitive who overthought everything, Ayla was simply like this—she broke down at things most people didn't find moving.
So even as her stomach churned, the painful feeling of a knife twisting in her gut overwhelming her, her eyes couldn't stop spilling tears. Her throat felt like glue.
What? She dressed shabbily? Worked in a lousy place?
She dressed this way not because she wanted to, but because these were the only clothes she had left.
Her first year after marrying into this family, when Talia came to visit, she had gone through Ayla's wardrobe while she was at work—throwing out every piece of clothing inside.
When Ayla asked why, Talia said she didn't need such 'exotic' clothes now that she was married. That they'd only attract attention from other men who weren't her husband and she didn't want that.
Talia never approved of her from the moment Silas introduced her to the family. So when Ayla saw her do this, she took it as a sign of acceptance and made it her responsibility not to argue.
And her job… she was only working at that 'lousy' place because Silas complained he didn't like the way her manager looked at her.
But despite having all of this to say, she couldn't bring herself to speak—afraid it would upset them even further.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she turned and dropped to her knees in front of Silas.
Behind her, a certain man lowered his enraged eyes.
Gripping her skirt tightly, Ayla looked up at Silas, who now stared down at her with apprehension.
"I will do better, Silas. I promise. You want me to dress better? I will. I'll ask my supervisor to reduce my working hours. If he doesn't agree, I'll just quit and find another job."
"If it's a child you want, I'll give it to you. There's no need to break up our family over this…"
Smack!
Nothing she said was offensive, but afraid this speech would make Silas change his mind about Elena, Talia panicked and rushed forward to strike her across the face.
"Mind what you say! You've been married into this family for almost a decade now, but not once have you even had a miscarriage."
"My son clearly needs a heir and I need a grandson, you can't do any of those. This divorce is what's best for everyone!"
Both her cheeks had already reddened from being slapped by both mother and son, yet Ayla pushed that pain aside and looked up at Talia with misty eyes.
"Mother… today, I went to the fertility clinic and they said…"
"Enough! I'm tired of hearing you speak of that stupid clinic!" Silas thundered, cutting her off angrily.
Ayla flinched, turning to stare into his rage-filled eyes. The vein in his temple pulsed hard.
Locking eyes with Ayla, Elena reached for Silas' arm, running her fingers up it consolingly.
Ayla's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach seeing the rage on his face slowly melt into a smile as he gazed at Elena.
After consoling him and making sure she saw it, Elena turned to leer at Ayla.
"You stupid woman. Silas told me of how you always talk about the STD like some terminally ill disease. I've had it for years and you don't see me crying about it."
"It made you infertile? As if! I have it too. I've had it way longer than you yet I'm still as fertile as ever."
"Just this afternoon, Silas insisted we visit the hospital to make sure the baby was fine and you wouldn't believe how healthy the doctor said he was."
Recalling his son, Silas' eyes softened and he gently reached to feel her stomach, chiding in the softest voice Ayla had ever heard.
"I told you not to come with me. By tomorrow, I would've brought you the signed divorce agreement, and tomorrow evening, you would've been moving in here."
Holding onto his wrist, Elena snuggled closer and pouted childishly, "I know my body better than anyone, so I knew I needed to be here tonight. Please don't make me feel bad. That would make the baby feel bad too."
He sighed, "Fine. But don't let any of this aggravate you. If she doesn't sign the divorce paper tonight, I'll call in my divorce lawyer and have her served."
This softness, how he cradled her head, letting it rest gently on his arm, reminded Ayla of how he used to treat her years ago.
Before he met Ezra Hale, Silas had no money and would often borrow from her.
But he was loving enough to always bring her flowers with the most heartwarming little notes, whenever he visited.
Those eyes which were now filled with tenderness for Elena once looked at her the same way.
And recalling how sweetly he had smiled at her this morning, Ayla realized something and her eyes bulged in relief.
Gulping down a mouthful of air, she voiced out her decision shakily.
"Fine. I'll allow you. I may be your wife, but since I'm infertile and you want to be a father so badly, I'll let her stay in the house until she gives birth to your child."
Behind her, a glimmer of irritation flashed across Ezra Hale's eyes.