Send you tenderness

Megan’s reaction was almost instantaneous. Suppressing the sharp pang in her chest, she gritted her teeth and called after him.

“You made the other girl get rid of her baby. Why is Abigail allowed to keep hers?”

She knew Aaron never bothered with protection—scattering his seed without a thought. It was always left to her to step in, pay them off, and clean up the mess.

Aaron paused mid-step as if considering. His eyes darkened, hard as flint.

He was looking forward to this child. “I find her interesting. I imagine our child will be, too.”

But with Megan, it was always a morning-after pill. Every single time. The only reason she’d ever gotten pregnant was one missed dose.

His words drove straight into her chest. Her breath caught. Finally, she lowered her gaze.

“Fine. But our agreement has one more month. When it’s over, I’m leaving.”

Silence hung in the air.

Just as she glanced toward the doorway, the door slammed shut with a violent *bang*. In the darkness, she stared at the ceiling, awake the entire night.

The next morning, Megan dragged her suitcase from the corner. Aaron had told her to move to the guest room, leaving this one for Abigail to rest and recover.

She did as she was told. As she finished packing, it struck her just how much Aaron had bought for her over the years—clothes, jewelry, more than she could ever wear before they went out of style.

She didn’t touch any of it, planning to leave everything for Abigail. She knew she couldn’t take it with her anyway.

Opening a drawer to retrieve her own things, she froze at the sight of a dusty gift box. Inside was the silver baby bangle—the gift Aaron had brought home, brimming with excitement, for their daughter on the day she’d miscarried.

He hadn’t expected to come home to the news that his daughter was gone. He’d thrown the bangle in the trash. Megan had fished it out.

An image flashed in her mind: a little girl, barefoot on the floor, the bangle’s tiny bell chiming in the breeze. A sudden ache tightened her nose.

The sound of the door opening jerked her back. Before she could see who it was, the bangle was ripped from her hand.

“Sis, what’s this? Is it for my baby?” Abigail stood suddenly before her, shaking the little bell on the bracelet.

The jingle snapped something inside Megan. She lunged for it, nearly tripping over her suitcase.

“Megan.” Aaron’s voice came from behind her, thick with disapproval. “What are you doing? Trying to stage a scene where Abigail pushes you?”

She stared for a moment, then pushed herself up from the floor with a bitter laugh. “Did it work?”

“You,” Aaron’s face paled, “are insane.”

His gaze caught on the bangle in Abigail’s hand. A flicker of—recognition? regret?—passed through his eyes before it vanished. His eyes swept over Megan’s packed luggage. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a sugary voice.

“Aaron, I love this little bracelet. But Sis doesn’t seem too happy about giving it to me.” Abigail stroked her belly. “Our little one will adore it, I’m sure.”

Megan’s hands, hanging at her sides, clenched into fists. Her nails dug into her palms. Finally, as if making peace with herself, she lowered her voice. “Everything else in this room is yours. But I need this.”

Aaron held her gaze a fraction too long. He said nothing.

“But what use do you have for it, Sis? It’s for a baby. You don’t have a child. It’s better left for Aaron’s and my baby.” Abigail giggled, shaking Aaron’s arm playfully before turning a mock-curious gaze on Megan. “Unless… you *do* have a child?”

“No.” Megan’s denial was swift.

She looked away, missing the sudden, faint spark of hope that ignited in Aaron’s eyes.

His expression hardened, final as a judge’s gavel. “Then it goes to Abigail! Anything in this room she wants, she takes.”

Megan froze, her heart sinking like a stone.

Before she could protest further, emboldened by Aaron’s decree, Abigail’s eyes landed on the flash drive in the open suitcase—the drive containing all the evidence Megan had gathered against the man who had assaulted her.

“Sis, what’s this? Study materials? I’m applying for grad school too, same major as you. Could I borrow it?”

In that moment, Megan was swamped with regret. She never should have left something so crucial where Abigail could see it.

Panic seized her. She snatched for it. “Keep the bangle. Take it. But not this.”

“Why not?” Aaron’s cold gaze sliced toward her, his face darker than before. “I said everything in this room belongs to Abigail.”

He pried the flash drive from Megan’s grip, his own fingers like iron. Then, right in front of her, he handed it to Abigail.

“If you want it, take it.” He took Abigail’s hand, as if he couldn’t bear to look at Megan another second, and turned to leave.

“Aaron!”

Megan’s sharp cry stopped him. She lunged forward to grab it back. She couldn’t let this evidence slip away again.

But his next words hit her like a physical blow, stealing the air from her lungs.

“Enough! What’s your problem?! Hurry up and move your things so the maid can clean! Abigail’s and my luggage needs to go in here!”

“You’re… moving in here?” The disbelief was raw in her voice.

He’d barely set foot in this villa since she’d started living here. The few times he had, he never stayed the night.

Before Aaron could answer, Abigail stroked her belly with a sweet smile. “You didn’t know, Sis? Aaron and I are getting married. What’s strange about a married couple living together?”

With that, the two of them left the room, laughing intimately.

Megan was left standing alone, trembling from head to toe. Aaron was getting married. All those years they were together, he had never once promised her that. He’d never even hinted at it.

At first, she’d thought it was about their different social standings. Aaron had told her to wait. So she waited. And waited.

In the end, it was never about status. It was simply that he hadn’t loved her enough.