Chapter 92
Josephine was driving home when, rounding a corner, a car suddenly shot out in front of her. Startled, she slammed on the brakes.
From the red sports car emerged—Lorelei.
Josephine didn't bother getting out, just stared at her through the window. "Are you insane?"
If she hadn't stopped in time and hit that thing, Lorelei's sports car would've flipped. It was all flash, no substance—couldn't handle even the slightest impact.
Lorelei glared coldly at her. "Why do you keep clinging to Gideon?"
Josephine wondered if she'd heard wrong. "Excuse me? I'm clinging to Gideon?"
"I'm pregnant." Lorelei caressed her belly with tender affection, but when she looked at Josephine, only coldness remained. "You're a woman too. You should understand how I feel. You can't possibly want my baby to grow up without a father, can you?"
Josephine found herself genuinely curious about what went on in that head of hers. How could she even say such things?
"But Gideon said he plans to have me raise this child." Josephine fought back her disgust, deliberately twisting the knife. "Gideon's slept with you, God knows how many times, and still hasn't divorced me. Clearly, he has zero feelings for you. But with me? It's different. He and I together can properly raise this baby. If you really cared about what's best for the child, you'd hand over the title of 'mother' to me."
Lorelei never imagined Josephine would use her own tactics against her.
Until it happened to you, you never realized just how disgusting shamelessness and moral blackmail could be.
"Why the hell should I give it to you? I worked hard to get pregnant with this baby. Why would I hand over my happiness to you? You're the shameless one—homewrecker!"
Josephine laughed dryly. "Oh, so you do know homewrecking is shameless."
Then why didn't she feel any shame when it came to herself?
Lorelei spoke with righteous conviction. "Because he doesn't love you. If he loved you, he wouldn't have slept with me. He definitely wouldn't have made a baby with me."
She studied Josephine with suspicion, interpreting everything through the most malicious lens possible.
"You clearly know Gideon, and I are together. You know I'm pregnant. But you're pretending to be clueless, making Gideon think you're some innocent victim so he'll pity you. Josephine, your scheming is truly vicious. What a performance you're putting on!"
Josephine rubbed her temples, glancing down at her phone screen, somewhat distracted.
Gaslighting like this, after a while, was just like listening to someone fart.
"Why would I say anything?" Even though she planned to divorce him, there was no need to announce it and make Lorelei happy. "I'm going to keep pretending I don't know. I'm going to make sure that even after this child is born, it'll never call you Mom. Actually, I think..."
Josephine's gaze dropped to Lorelei's stomach.
"This baby might not even make it. You should wait until it's actually born before making plans."
With that, Josephine started her car and drove past the red sports car. Lorelei returned to her vehicle fuming, but unease crept into her chest.
What the hell did Josephine mean by that?
Why would she say something like that? Could it be... Was Josephine planning to hurt the baby?
Lorelei suddenly felt like an idiot for confronting Josephine. Right now, the baby was her only leverage. If Josephine somehow got rid of it...
No. Maybe this couldn't stay hidden any longer.
Even if people called her a homewrecker, Lorelei had made up her mind—she needed everyone to know about this baby. Once it was public knowledge, Josephine wouldn't dare make a move!
...
Late that night, Josephine was woken by her phone.
A message. A location pin—looked like... a hospital. The sender's number was blocked.
This felt familiar.
[Is this you? The person who tipped me off last time?]
No reply.
Josephine compared the numbers. Different from last time—she couldn't confirm if it was the same person. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to check it out.
The hospital at night was quiet, with minimal staff—just nurses on duty sitting at their stations.
A handful of patients sat in the hallway talking, voices kept low.
Following the location, Josephine found the room. The door was slightly ajar. Peering through the gap, she saw Lorelei lying in bed with Gideon, attending to her.
He sat at her bedside, holding her in a half-embrace, a bowl of congee in his hands as Lorelei slowly ate.
Briana stood nearby. "Lori, don't be upset. It's all Gideon's fault for not taking better care of you. Your health is what matters most right now. Don't overthink things. Let Gideon look after you these next few days. After all, this baby belongs to both of you. If you two get married later..."
"Mom."
Gideon, who'd been silent, finally spoke, shooting Briana a warning look.
Briana stood her ground. "What? You got her pregnant. Shouldn't you take responsibility?"
Gideon met her gaze coldly.
Briana snorted. "You don't know how good you've got it. A few days ago, your grandfather asked about this baby. From what I could tell, he didn't seem opposed. Josephine's been so cold to you lately—you think I haven't noticed? Just divorce already. But divorce or not, what's yours stays yours. She doesn't get a single cent!"
That Josephine was just a housewife with zero contributions. Couldn't even have children.
What right did she have to any assets?
Gideon had had enough. "If you say one more word, I'm leaving."
If he hadn't gotten Lorelei's frantic call in the middle of the night, he wouldn't have come at all.
Briana was about to continue when Lorelei looked toward the door.
"Ms. Kennedy!"
The moment their eyes met through the doorway, Josephine knew something was off. Lorelei showed no panic, no evasion—in fact, a smile played on her lips.
Sure enough, the next second, Lorelei called out her name.
Gideon shot to his feet, whipping toward the door.
The instant he saw Josephine, his mind went blank.
Briana froze, too.
Josephine slowly pushed the door open and walked in. Her gaze fell on the test results sitting on the bedside table, pregnancy timeline clearly marked.
Gideon instinctively moved to block the report. "Jojo, don't misunderstand. Her boyfriend's been swamped, so he asked me to help get her to the hospital."
"Helping a friend means cradling his girlfriend while spoon-feeding her?"
"I wasn't cradling her. She's weak—couldn't sit up on her own." Gideon's voice came out strained, his mind racing frantically for an explanation. He reached for Josephine's shoulder. "Don't jump to conclusions. I wanted to call you, too, but you've been ignoring me lately. Plus, it was so late—I didn't want to disturb you..."
Josephine pushed his hand away and picked up the medical report from the nightstand.
"This baby—that your friend's too?"
Gideon said, "Yes."
Not a moment's hesitation.
Josephine laughed, looking at him with pure mockery. "Lorelei, take a good look. This is the man you're so desperate to marry. Can't even acknowledge his own child."
Lorelei smiled faintly. "It's fine. As long as the baby knows he's the father, that's all that matters."
"Lorelei Kelly!"
Gideon's sharp rebuke rang out. His face had gone deathly pale, his hands trembling at his sides, clenched into tight fists.
Lorelei's smile remained serene. "Mr. Getty, there's no point anymore. Ms. Kennedy's known all along."