Jessica and Linda went ahead and brought Ryan and the boy back to the house.

Linda hovered protectively over her precious grandson. "As long as I'm alive, Noah is my grandson. I won't let anyone bully him."

Her eyes kept darting toward me, guarded and suspicious.

Ryan caught her meaning. A flicker of smugness crossed his face. Gone was the uncertainty from before. He puffed out his chest.

"Don't worry, Michael. I'm not trying to take your place. I just want my son to be able to stay close to his mother. I don't want Noah to grow up with the stigma of being labeled a bastard."

I curled my lip, unable to hide the sarcasm. "That label wouldn't be undeserved. No matter what you do, that fact isn't going to change."

Ryan's face went pale. He turned to Jessica with a wounded look.

Jessica frowned. "Michael, where are your manners?"

Her cold words made my heart clench. My hands hung limp at my sides, uselessly gripping and releasing. My voice came out dry and cracked. "Five years ago, I said there wouldn't be a second time…"

Jessica rubbed her son's palm absently and answered in a careless tone. "I already signed the divorce papers. I'm not stopping you from leaving. But have you forgotten? I'm still carrying your child."

She rested her hand on her swollen belly.

"Michael, I just want to bring Noah home. He's only five years old. He can't grow up without his mother. Can you please stop being so petty? Besides, wouldn't it be nice for our child to have an older brother?"

She didn't seem to think she'd done anything wrong. Her casual, breezy words snuffed out the last shred of hope I had left.

Before I could respond, she added, "Mom and I already talked it over. We're throwing a party next week. We're going to have Noah officially recognize you as his godfather. That way, people will stop talking."

I swallowed the ache rising in my chest. I couldn't believe she'd already thought that far ahead.

"I won't agree to that."

Jessica let out a short, mocking laugh. "Fine. Then I'll go to the hospital right now and get an abortion."

My head snapped up. I shouted, "Are you out of your mind?! The baby's not even eight months yet!"

Jessica's face stayed perfectly calm, but her words were brutal. "I'm the mother. I have that right. If it's born, it's a child. If it's not born yet, it's just a clump of cells. So you think it over. Either Noah becomes your godson, or I go to the hospital."

She turned and left with Ryan and Noah without another word.

For a long time after that, we didn't speak at all. She didn't come home.

Maybe because everything was finally out in the open, Jessica started posting on social media constantly—something she never used to do. Most of the posts were pictures of her with Ryan and Noah.

Even the captions were suggestive, making it look like the three of them were the real family.

Friends who saw her posts started calling me, trying to figure out what was going on.

[Michael, who's that guy in Jessica's photos? And that kid—he looks just like her. Please tell me that's not…]

[And who's the man?]

I didn't have the energy to answer any of their questions.

Only the friends who knew what had happened five years ago tried to warn me. "Are you and Jessica having problems? I told you back then—you never should have forgiven her. Once a cheater, always a cheater."

I gave a bitter smile. Everyone else could see it so clearly.

Only I had been stupid enough not to.

A week passed quickly.

The party to welcome Noah into the family was a lavish affair. Almost every big name in our social circle showed up.

Jessica looped her arm through mine and muttered a low warning in my ear. "You've had plenty of time to think this through. Don't cause any trouble today."

I didn't answer. I didn't even look at her.

Then the five-year-old boy came up and took my hand. Right in front of all the guests, he called me "Dad."

That's when I finally spoke.

"I'm not your father. And I will not accept you as my son."

The room erupted.

Guests exchanged glances, and suddenly, the unspoken clicked into place. The looks people gave Jessica were full of mockery.

Her face flushed, then went pale. Humiliated, she grabbed my wrist. "What are you doing?"

"If you don't accept Noah today, I will go to the hospital right now."

Her tone was absolute. I couldn't believe it. A mother, saying something like that. She knew better than anyone how hard this pregnancy had been—all those bitter herbal drinks, all those shots to keep the baby from miscarrying. And now, for the sake of a child born out of wedlock, she was ready to throw it away.

"I'm not raising another man's son."

Across the room, Ryan put on a wounded face.

And then, out of nowhere, the screens around the hall flickered to life.

Graphic photos of Jessica and Ryan in bed together started scrolling across every display.

The timestamps on the photos were from five years ago.

Chaos erupted.

Jessica froze, staring at the screens.

Ryan immediately pointed a finger at me, his face turning red. "Michael! I know you have a problem with me, but how could you put pictures like that up in front of all these people?!

"Fine! Yes, I was wrong five years ago. Jessica got drunk and mistook me for you. But what does that have to do with anything now? No matter how angry you are, you can't deny that Noah is Jessica's biological son."

His little speech made everything crystal clear to everyone in the room.

"Ohhh, so the kid's a bastard. That explains a lot."

"Well, this certainly is entertainment."

Muffled laughter rippled through the crowd.

Jessica scrambled to have the screens turned off. Then she drew back her hand and slapped me across the face.

The taste of blood filled my mouth. I felt dazed.

I looked up and met Jessica's eyes—full of pure hatred. Her chest was heaving with rage. She clutched her cramping stomach, her face twisted in pain.

Linda immediately called an ambulance.

By the time they got Jessica to the hospital, she was ghostly pale.

The doctor was about to give her medication to stop the contractions and save the pregnancy. That's when Jessica spoke.

"Help me get an abortion. I don't want this baby anymore."

My head went blank.

"I didn't put those photos up!"

Jessica gave a cold, tight smile. "It doesn't matter if you did or not, Michael. I just want you to learn a lesson. I want you to never dare to hurt them again."

I thought about the baby. Our daughter. I lowered my head and begged. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that. The baby is innocent. That's a life…"

But no amount of begging made a difference.

Jessica went into the operating room. They induced the labor. The baby was born dead.

My daughter never even got to open her eyes and see the world.

I covered my face and laughed and cried at the same time. I tucked the signed divorce papers into Jessica's bag.

Then I left the hospital, carrying my dead daughter in my arms.

Five years ago, looking back was what put me in this hell. This time, I wasn't going to look back again.