Chapter 159 Shattered Truth
Chapter 159 Shattered Truth
Sarah’s POV
I didn’t remember falling asleep.
One moment, Aaron and I had been sitting in the suffocating silence of the living room, exhaustion thick between us like a living thing. Then next, darkness had swallowed me whole.
When I opened my eyes, pale morning light filtered through the curtains. For a heartbeat, I forgot where I was. Then reality slammed into me, heavy and unrelenting.
Zara lay unconscious in a hospital bed.
And the entire country now branded me as the woman who had slept with her sister’s husband.
A bitter laugh rose in my throat, then died there. Not believed—I had slept with him. The truth just sounded uglier when strangers screamed it at me.
I sat up slowly, wincing as soreness pulled across my abdomen. My gaze drifted across the room. Aaron had fallen asleep on the couch, head slumped at an awkward angle, one arm dangling off the edge. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath his eyes. His shirt hung wrinkled and rumpled; his hair stood in wild disarray.
He looked broken.
The sight twisted something uncomfortable deep in my chest. Last night had been too much—the furious crowd, the blinding flashes, the venomous shouts. And Aaron stepping in when the world closed in around me. I hated the flicker of relief I’d felt at the sight of him. Hated it. Because loving Aaron had already cost me everything and I couldn’t afford risking it again.
A sharp knock shattered the quiet.
Once. Twice. Then harder. BANG. BANG. BANG.
I frowned. Aaron jerked awake, rubbing a hand over his face. “What the hell?” he muttered, voice thick with sleep.
The knocking grew more frantic. Unease prickled along my spine as I stood. “I’ll get it.”
“Sarah—” He pushed to his feet.
“I said I’ll get it.” The words came out sharper than I intended.
I crossed to the door, pulse quickening with every step. Another loud knock. Then—
“Sarah!”
My breath caught. Mom.
Aaron appeared right behind me as I unlocked the door. The smell hit first—sharp, sour alcohol that made my stomach lurch.
Mom looked wrecked. Hair tangled and wild, clothes crumpled as if she’d slept in them for days, mascara streaked in dark rivers down her puffy cheeks. She swayed on her feet, eyes glassy.
“Mom?”
Relief flashed across her face the moment our eyes met, so raw it nearly cracked me open. “Oh thank God,” she whispered, voice trembling.
Then her gaze slid past me—to Aaron. Her expression twisted into something ugly. “You.”
Aaron stiffened. “Mrs. David—”
“Shut up!” she snapped, the words slurring.
I blinked, stunned. Mom gripped the doorframe to steady herself, knuckles white. “You,” she repeated, bitterness dripping from every word. “Everything is because of you.”
“Mom,” I said gently, reaching for her arm. “You’re drunk.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying!” Her voice cracked. Then the tears came—harsh, ugly sobs that shook her entire frame. “I ruined everything,” she gasped. “I ruined my family. I ruined my girls.”
My chest squeezed painfully tight. Aaron shifted awkwardly behind me, clearly uncomfortable.
“Let’s get you inside,” I murmured, sliding an arm around her waist. She nodded weakly but jerked away when Aaron moved to help.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed. The venom in her voice startled even me.
He stepped back immediately. I guided her to the couch instead. The house felt heavier now, the air thick and oppressive. Mom sank onto the cushions, trembling, clutching her handbag like a shield.
Then she looked up at me, face crumpling. “Sarah…”
Dread coiled cold in my gut. “What is it?”
Her lips quivered. “She knows.”
I frowned. “What?”
“Zara.” Mom swallowed hard. “She knows everything.”
The room went deathly still. Aaron straightened beside me. “What?”
Mom let out a bitter, broken laugh through her tears. “You really thought she didn’t know? You thought Zara wouldn’t find out?”
My chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. “No… no.”
“She knew before the funeral,” Mom continued, voice cracking. “Messages. Late calls. The way you two looked at each other. She told me she was suspicious.”
Of course that was old story. I rolled my eyes disappointed at the state my mum was in, “What else?”
Mom hesitated, her gaze dropping to the floor. Too long. My stomach plummeted. “Mom.”
She finally met my eyes, hers devastated. “She has something.”
Aaron froze. My heartbeat hammered in my ears. “What kind of something?”
Mom’s voice dropped to a whisper. “A tape.”
Silence crashed over us. I turned slowly toward Aaron. All color had drained from his face. Real fear flickered across his features before he could hide it.
Everything clicked—the panic in his voice, the way he kept warning me about Zara, his desperate need to “get ahead” of this.
“You knew,” I whispered.
“Sarah—”
“You knew?” My voice rose, sharp and unsteady.
He dragged a hand through his hair. “I was trying to fix it.”
“Fix what?” I demanded. “The tape? What tape, Aaron?”
Mom started crying again, harder this time. “She said she was going to destroy all of you. If she couldn’t have peace, none of you would.”
My heart pounded painfully against my ribs. Aaron stepped closer. “Sarah, listen to me—”
I backed away. “No. What tape?”
He exhaled sharply, jaw clenched. “She has our tape. I told you didn’t I or did you think I was kidding?”
The words landed like ice water. The room seemed to tilt.
“She what?”
I didn’t think Aaron was tell you the truth until now I could see the anger, fear and seriousness in his eyes. But how was that even possible?
Mom grabbed my hand, her fingers cold and trembling violently. “You have to leave. You don’t understand how Zara is right now. She’s not okay. She blames you for everything.”
Fear clawed up my throat. “She said she would ruin you,” Mom whispered.
Then her eyes darted nervously toward the door, her voice dropping to something almost terrified. “Sarah…”
She leaned in closer.
“You need to understand something.”
A heavy pause stretched between us.
Then—
“She knows where your baby is.”
The room fell completely silent.