“It might actually be a blessing in disguise now that the baby is gone. I won’t hold it against you, and you should let things go too.”
For a second, I thought I was hallucinating. Otherwise, how was I hearing such absurd words?
“I’ll break things off with her, and we can continue as we were before.”
He said that so confidently and nonchalantly as if he were making a huge concession to me.
I walked over to the bed and grabbed a small dusty suitcase from underneath it then flung it at him.
“Set you up? Shane Sanderson, do you think every single woman in this world is dying to bear your children? Ask your mother how I got pregnant!”
Susanna was using her handbag to smack Shane again and again.
“How did I give birth to someone like you?”
She was crying so much she could not catch her breath. And when she did, it was to yell at Shane for only caring about his own enjoyment.
“Your father was diagnosed with end–stage cancer earlier this year. If it weren’t for him, I never would have done any of this.”
She admitted that she had poked holes in the condoms. And during that point in time, when she came over daily to help with the meals, she was actually adding all kinds of stuff to Shane’s beverages and food,
Even the herbal medicine she had us drink that was supposed to strengthen our bodies was a folk remedy that
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Chapter 5
encouraged pregnancies.
“Do you know how much I went through? I thought up all kinds of ways to make sure Miley would get pregnant as soon as possible.‘
”
Shane stood there completely frozen.
I remembered the horrible things he had said to Robyn.
“I suspect she dosed me. I was feeling like I was a cat in heat then and had zero restraint.”
Robyn even teased him back. “I think you’re still in heat right now.”
The shameless conversation was enough to make me gag each time I recalled it.
I shoved a pen in front of him. “Sign it.”
I could not muster up any words of forgiveness. My hatred of him was bone–deep. His trembling hands reached out to grab hold of the pen, but then he stopped midway.
Susanna had sagged to the floor.
“What am I supposed to say to your father now?” she continued to wail.
Shane lowered his head, and his eyes were red–rimmed too.
After a while, he finally mumbled, “Miley, let me think about this.”
Leonard scoffed. He immediately took hold of my hand, grabbed my packed suitcase, and strode out the door.
“Wait!”
Shane clutched onto me in a panic.
