My Husband And His Intern Did Me Dirty

"I know you don't like me, but how could you use scented powder to harm a baby?!"

My mother-in-law snapped her head up and glared at me. "Lauren! How dare you harm the baby!"

I stood there, stunned. "I didn't even wear makeup today, and not even a drop of perfume!"

But before I could say another word, a loud, stinging smack landed across my face. Five bright red marks bloomed across my cheek.

My mother-in-law stared at me with venom in her eyes. "Lauren, you're vicious enough to take your anger out on a child?!"

I clutched my face as tears streamed down. "I didn't do it! I'm a makeup artist. I know exactly what causes allergic reactions. I would never—"

I turned to Jaxon, hoping he would speak up for me. But he just stood there, brooding, not even glancing my way.

He took the baby into his arms, gently soothing him. "Enough arguing. Let's go to the hospital and get the child checked out first."

Before leaving, he shot me a glance—one filled with unmistakable disappointment and blame.

In that moment, a bitter chill spread through every bone in my body.

I touched my still-burning cheek and suddenly caught a faint scent of powder on my sleeve.

It was Sophie.

She had deliberately brushed against me when handing me the baby, just enough to plant the evidence.

Maybe this home had never really been mine.

…

When they returned home from the hospital, my mother-in-law slammed the door open and pointed a trembling finger at my face.

"Lauren, get out of this house!"

I bit down hard on my lip, forcing back the tears.

Jaxon gently pulled at her arm, but still avoided looking at me. "Mom, please calm down. Let's talk this through."

Then he turned to me. For the first time in a long while, he truly looked at me. The eyes I once loved so deeply now brimmed with nothing but fatigue.

"Lauren… maybe it's best if you resign. I can support you. But if you insist on working, then move into the other apartment for now. Let's wait until the child recovers to discuss everything else..."

I stared at the man before me. I felt the taste of blood on my lips from biting down too hard. My tears finally broke free, pouring down like a flood.

I turned, opened the wardrobe, and pulled out my suitcase.

Seven years of marriage, yet everything I owned fit into a single case.

Sophie leaned lazily against the doorway, a satisfied curve in her brow as she watched my humiliation.

"Lauren, you should just leave on your own. Don't make Jaxon choose. It's hard on him."

I didn't bother responding, but a memory from three years ago surfaced in my mind.

Jaxon had burst out of the bathroom, collapsed at my feet, and clung to me in anguish. "Lauren, at the drug trial, I was given the wrong medication. I made a terrible mistake. But I paid her to keep quiet. I had her fired. She won't ever come near me again."

I'd been crying, cradling my belly after yet another failed IVF attempt. In the end, I forgave him.

The very next day, I'd even helped him clean up the lab, only to find ninety-nine used condoms scattered across the floor.

Several months later, we were out shopping for maternity supplies when he took a call. His expression turned frantic, and he crashed the car into a guardrail.

The baby I was pregnant with then… was gone forever. The doctors said the damage to my uterus was irreparable. I would never be a mother.

I remembered Jaxon weeping into the curve of my neck, trying to comfort me. "Darling, I'm so sorry. I don't deserve you. Please don't cry. We don't have to have children. We have each other. That's all we need, right?"

Every time he came to visit me in the hospital, he brought two lunchboxes—one large, one small.

I always thought the big one was his, and the small one was mine.

Until one day. It was the first day I could finally get out of bed on my own. I grabbed my empty lunchbox, thinking I'd surprise him.