Chapter 3

"Mrs. Reed, I really am sorry. Please forgive me."

Lily sounded far more confident now than she had a moment ago.

A faint trace of amusement hid behind her eyes.

Someone spoke up for her. "Claire, Lily didn't mean any harm. She's always been clueless with jokes. Once when she was drunk, she even said she wanted to marry Professor Reed."

The moment those words left his mouth, the living room went silent.

The man cringed and clapped a hand over his mouth.

"That's not what I meant. I'm saying she doesn't think before she talks. Everyone knows you and Ethan have been together for years with a rock-solid relationship. There's no way either of you would let someone else in."

I smiled without a sound and looked at Lily.

"It's fine. I don't blame you."

The tension in the room visibly eased.

Then I continued.

"Your Professor Reed and I will be divorced soon. Congratulations in advance on getting what you wanted."

"Claire!"

Ethan's face went dark.

"Don't say things like that in front of everyone."

I found it ironic.

"You can kneel in front of everyone and beg me to give Lily my heart, but I can't even mention divorce?"

He frowned.

"It was just a joke. What's the big deal?"

"Lily already apologized, and I talked to her about it. If you keep making a scene, you'll only embarrass everyone here."

Our friends chimed in one after another.

"Claire, calm down. You're still pregnant. Don't let something this small come between you two."

"Exactly. We all saw how much Ethan cares about you just now. He's normally never that harsh with Lily."

I looked slowly at Ethan, my voice strangely calm.

"You weren't angry because of me."

"You were angry because Lily joked about her own tissue match. When you found out the truth, you were disappointed, weren't you?"

Ethan stiffened.

A beat later, irritation crept across his face.

"I'm begging you, can we not do this here? You may not care about your dignity, but Lily still has hers."

Exhaustion rolled over me like a tide.

I closed my eyes and said quietly, "Fine. Monday. I'll see you in court."

I stood to leave.

But Lily dropped to her knees in front of me with a thud.

"Mrs. Reed, please don't blame Professor Reed, okay? He just wants me to have a healthy body. That's all."

I looked at her coldly.

"You went to all that trouble with this little stunt just to prove where you stand in Ethan's heart, didn't you?"

"Well, now you've proved it. You must be thrilled."

Lily looked as if she'd been dealt the ultimate humiliation. Her face drained of color.

I stepped around her and headed for the door.

The next second, I heard Ethan's ice-cold voice behind me.

"Claire, don't forget. Your mother is still at Reed Medical Center."

I stopped mid-step. Never in my life had I imagined Ethan would use my mother against me.

After a long silence, I forced a smile, turned around, and helped Lily up from the floor.

"Everything I just said was a joke. I don't blame you."

Lily choked back a sob. "That's good. I was so scared I'd caused trouble for Professor Reed."

And just like that, the farce was over.

Ethan offered to drive me home.

On the way, he did something rare and tried to explain.

"I only said that to scare you. I had no choice. I would never do anything to your mother."

"You were put in an unfair position today. I know that. To make it up to you, I'll go with you to your prenatal appointment tomorrow."

"Claire, we've been together for over ten years. It's not as if I feel nothing for you. If it's possible, I'd like you and Lily to get along."

I leaned against the car window and stared straight ahead.

"I meant what I said today."

"Ethan, let's get a divorce."

"Whatever happens between you and her from now on has nothing to do with me."