“Didn’t he say she was kidnapped by enemies? That he mourned her for months? Thank God Malissa was there to comfort him—she helped him through it, they fell in love, had a baby… and now they’re finally happy again.”
I almost laughed. Dead wife? Funny, I didn’t realize I had died.
The murmurs were getting louder now, rippling through the shocked crowd.
“Wait… is that really Lorraine? She’s not dead?”
“Then doesn’t that make Malissa the other woman? She slept with her brother-in-law while his wife was still alive?”
“Lorraine’s clearly alive and breathing and Malissa still jumped into bed with him the second she had the chance…”
The words hit Malissa like a slap. Her face went pale, her eyes flicking to me with a look of barely concealed resentment. She had recognized me too.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she reached up with trembling fingers, pretending to take off the jade ring. Her voice cracked with practiced heartbreak.
“If that’s what everyone thinks… Milo, I don’t want the ring anymore. Cancel the wedding. I’m just a widow—I can’t bear that kind of shame. I never wanted to ruin anything. I just wanted to be by your side. You and the baby… that’s all I ever needed.”