[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-260313014099-56":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},56,8,"Chapter 8: The Evidence on Paper","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Mom snatched the report, a gasp escaping her lips. \"Penelope, what on earth does 'fetal abnormality due to external stimulation' mean?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">She shoved it at Dad. He read it, then slammed it down. \"Archer Edwards, look at this!\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My gaze was ice as Archer’s face went from pale to ashen. The report was brutally clear:\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Patient sustained a lower back injury from impact. Fetal abnormality due to external stimulation resulted in miscarriage.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"No... she said she had an abortion...\" Archer sputtered, clearly in denial.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">His silver tongue was no match for the damning evidence on paper.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I took a sip of coffee, clearing my throat. \"Mom, Dad, I've filed for divorce.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"I don't agree!\" Archer's face was thunderous.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I ignored him and headed upstairs.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Mom followed with some broth, her concern evident. \"Penelope, what really happened between you and Archer?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I shook my head, a silent wall.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Honey, you're usually so level-headed. You've put up with so much. I know you're devastated about the baby, but you're young. You'll have more children...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"He's been seeing someone else,\" I cut her off.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"What? Archer? That doesn't sound like him. Is this some kind of mix-up?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I stayed quiet. Mom knew Lilith. I couldn't drag her through the muck.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">After she left, I sank back against the headboard. For the first time in days, a raw sob tore through me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">My cries echoed in the cavernous room. I wept for a lover's betrayal, for the child I'd lost, and for a marriage that couldn't survive one damn test.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I slipped off the ring on my finger. Its luster seemed dulled. Archer's engagement ring.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">We'd been married two years. He'd showered me with fancier diamonds, but I always wore this one.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Because of what he'd said when he proposed: \"Penelope, I'll make you happy.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The sincerity in his eyes, his firm declaration of love as he knelt – that felt real.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But so did the words he whispered to Lilith: \"Baby, I only love you.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Archer was good to me. He loved me once. I wouldn't deny it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">But he said \"I love you\" too easily, too often, too cheaply.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Somehow, Archer sweet-talked his way back into my parents' good graces.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I'd just finished a landscape of the Alps and went to wash my hands. He trailed after me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Penelope, why don't you rest? Dinner's almost ready.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">I dodged his hand as he tried to drape a shawl over my shoulders.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Shaking water from my hands, I met his gaze, my expression blank.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Archer’s face fell, his hand dropping awkwardly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Archer, I'm not buying it anymore.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">That look used to melt me, erase his mistakes. Now, it was useless.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He wasn't the same naive guy. He’d become a pro at playing me.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Penelope, I messed up. It's over with Lilith. Please, just this once. After all these years, all our memories... can you really throw it all away?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He called out as I turned to leave. I stopped.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He probably thought he was getting through to me. \"Penelope, we were childhood sweethearts. High school crush, remember? You’ve been with me from the start, from my school blazer days to now, CEO of Edwards Corp. We’ve loved each other so long, been married so long. You can't just let it go.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Yeah, we'd been together a long time. But it seemed I was the only one who hadn't changed.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272931502]