Chapter 3

3

Jeremy looked panicked for a split second before puffing out his chest.

"Summer is my best friend. She was trying to take the pressure off you!"

"It's my DNA either way. What does it matter whose egg it is?"

"She was doing you a favor, and you come here acting like a prosecutor?"

His ability to twist the truth was honestly impressive.

I laughed, though it felt hollow.

"A favor? Jeremy, I've been injecting myself with hormones every day for this."

"I canceled my meetings and changed my entire lifestyle for your mother's obsession with a grandson."

"I drank those disgusting herbal teas for two years!"

"And now you bring this woman to steal my reproductive rights and blame me?"

The whispers around us were getting louder.

"Doesn't sound like just a favor to me."

"What's wrong with this guy? His wife is doing IVF and he's coddling another woman."

Jeremy's face turned sour. He leaned in close to my ear.

"Sylvia, let's handle this at home. Stop embarrassing yourself."

"Oh, Jeremy. Don't worry about leaving just yet."

"In a moment, I'll show you what real embarrassment looks like."

"Nobody leaves until I see the original authorization papers!"

My defiance pushed Jeremy over the edge.

He turned to the crowd and shouted.

"Everyone, please ignore her! My wife is mentally unstable due to the stress of trying to conceive!"

"She's having a delusional episode. That's why she's making this scene!"

The hallway went silent.

Everyone looked at me like I was a ticking time bomb.

Unstable?

We were planning our future this morning. Now, I was a crazy woman?

Summer peeked out from behind Jeremy, her eyes full of triumphant malice.

"Sylvia, please calm down. You're making things so hard for Jeremy."

Jeremy shielded her, looking at me with nothing but coldness.

"Sylvia, I've given you enough face! I've put up with your moods for the sake of our marriage!"

He was so good at playing the victim.

He turned to the nurses and some doctors who had arrived.

"Doctors, please. She needs to be restrained. She's lost her mind."

The crowd started whispering again.

"Poor thing, the stress must have broken her."

A doctor stepped forward to grab my arm, but I shoved him back.

I backed up until I hit the wall.

I looked at the smug faces of Jeremy and Summer and suddenly smiled.

Jeremy looked confused.

"What are you laughing at?"

I looked him in the eye, my gaze steady and calm.

"Jeremy, is that your final answer? Mood swings and delusions?"

I pulled my phone out and checked the time.

"Since you love rewriting history, I've invited some experts to join us."

"Let's see what the police think about illegal surrogacy and medical fraud."