For about two seconds.
Then she completely fell apart.
She wrapped her arms around me and started sobbing.
Not the tears of one bad day.
The tears of someone who had been breaking for a long time.
“Your mom says I’m a freeloader,” she whispered. “Your sisters say you work yourself to death while I pretend to be sick. I just wanted them to like me.”
The guilt hit me like a punch.
“How long has this been happening?”
Emily lowered her eyes.
“About two months.”
Something inside me went silent.
For two months.
While I worked overtime believing I was protecting my family…
My own family had been humiliating the woman carrying my child.
Then Emily suddenly gasped.
Both hands flew to her stomach.
She doubled over in pain.
A plate slipped from the counter and shattered across the floor.
Out in the living room, laughter continued.
Nobody came to check.
