16
“Look at these messages Chloe sent Summer. She even told Summer she’s pregnant again,” Vivian said, showing Liam the news articles.
“What?”
Liam’s eyes flashed, his grip tightening on the phone.
He scrolled through the screenshots of Chloe’s messages to me, including a picture of him at Chloe’s prenatal appointment.
The timestamp was the day I had my
Liam went crazy.
abortion.
He finally understood Chloe’s actions, the hateful words she’d hurled at me. How could I bear it? No wonder I’d filed for divorce, given up the baby.
Liam’s temples throbbed.
His mother was beside herself.“Son, what do we do? The internet is exploding. Our stock is plummeting! We might go bankrupt!”
She frowned.“Summer’s being unreasonable. You’ve been good to her for years. She’s disabled; we didn’t abandon her. You just had an affair; she didn’t have to go to the press. We don’t need a woman like that in the family!”
“What did you say?” Liam’s eyes blazed.
His mother flinched at his fury.“What? It’s true! Men have affairs all the time. Summer’s disabled; she couldn’t
satisfy even
you.
needed You
another
woman…”
“Shut your mouth! You don’t deserve to mention her. You don’t deserve to speak her name.” Liam grabbed a porcelain teacup and smashed it on the floor.
The shattering sound made his mother cower.“Liam! You’ve gone mad! I was trying to help…”
“Help me?”
Liam laughed, a chilling, animalistic sound. His eyes were red as he glared at his mother.
“Why am I with Chloe? Because I was drunk at the party. Summer wasn’t feeling well, I sent her to the hotel. Chloe was in the next room. I walked into the wrong room and slept with her, mistaking her for Summer.”
“I tried to pay her off, but she was pregnant. I wanted her to have an abortion. She came to you, and you made her keep the baby.”
“You said Summer couldn’t have children; Chloe would give me an heir. I refused; you made Chloe kneel and beg me. When I still refused, she cried…”
“Then she threatened to kill herself and the baby.”
Liam gritted his teeth, staring at his mother. “Your indulgence pushed me onto this path, this affair with Chloe. I’m pathetic…”
“I didn’t love Chloe. I was just… playing around. But I lost Summer in the process…”
He slumped against the cold wall.
12:52
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His mother fumed.“Liam, are you pathetic? What kind of son are you? You’re acting like a lovesick fool!”
“Summer, a cripple, wouldn’t just leave you. Where could she go? It’s just a ploy to get your
attention.”
“Call her now. Tell her to come back and clean up this mess! We took care of her for years, even a dog would show some gratitude!”
“Call her?” Liam laughed, a sound filled with pain. He looked at his mother with disdain.“You think it’s a ploy? I wish it were.”
What do you mean?” his mother narrowed her eyes.
Liam handed her the abortion consent form and the vial.“Look for yourself. She didn’t even want the baby. This was no ploy.”
