Chapter 3

It was only then that Jonah finally relaxed and headed upstairs. "I forgot to grab a document." I watched his ascending figure and quickly took his phone from the table. I entered Lucy's birthday into the keypad and found an image of him and Lucy hugging and kissing as his wallpaper. Just as I suspected, his phone was running a dual system. With speed, I tapped open his messaging application and saw Lucy's name pinned at the top, followed by a group chat with his best buddies. I tapped into the group chat, and the messages were so horrifying that I almost dropped his phone. All I saw were the photos that Jonah and Lucy had taken of me from last night. "Not bad, Jonah. Chelsea still has that charming allure!" "You're actually right. A preggo just hits differently. I wonder how she'd feel." "Look at her slutty face. Put her in any high-end club, and she'd easily be the top-tier favorite." The humiliating words from Zachary and the others left my mind blank. I felt like I was a naked animal being openly put to shame across the screen at that very moment. "Babe, what's wrong?" By the time Jonah had grabbed his document, I had already returned to the couch. He noticed my reddened eyes and draped a blanket over me. "It's getting colder these days. Remember to stay warm, okay? Also, it's Luce's birthday today. I plan to organize a birthday party here tonight, and a couple of friends will be coming over, so look your best, alright?" I shuddered briefly at the sound of Lucy's name. My gaze darkened as I replied, "I'd really like to have a good rest today and don't want to be disturbed." Immediately, Jonah's expression became grim. "She only gets to celebrate her birthday once a year. I'm just trying to do something nice for her. Do you have to use your pregnancy against me? I've done nothing but compromise for the last eight months, but not today." I had barely said anything, yet he was eager to defend Lucy. I should've seen sooner that he never loved me. In the end, Jonah got what he wanted and invited his good-for-nothing buddies over to celebrate Lucy's birthday. As soon as I headed downstairs, I could feel everybody's scorching gazes. They were filled with hints of mockery, insult, and malice. "Look at us, Chelsea—we're in the same dress! I guess we're connected, after all!" Lucy came over and affectionately linked arms with me. I realized we were indeed wearing the same red dresses. "You definitely look better in it, Luce. Chelsea looks hideous and bulky with that big bump of hers." It seemed Jonah had no issue degrading me to uplift Lucy. "You can't say that, Jonah. To me, Chelsea still looks as amazing as ever!" Zachary held my hand and rubbed the back of it with his palm, his eyes somewhat flirtatious. I tried hard to shake off his hand, only to feel his grip tightening. Not only that, he frivously raised his brows at me. "I prefer women like Chelsea. Their touch feels just nice." At that moment, I cast Jonah a desperate, pleading look. However, he turned to me with utter indifference. "You should be grateful that my buddy is showering you with compliments when you look like that." I gritted out, "I'm your wife, Jonah." It was only then that he slowly rose from the couch and pulled me away.