Chapter 11
The sharp pain spread through Hannah’s body like a web of needles. She tensed her jaw, trying to break free from Jake’s grip, but he only held her tighter. The intense pain drained the color from her
face as beads of sweat formed at her temples.
In the heavy silence, the heart monitor suddenly emitted a shrill alarm.
Then, unexpectedly, Hannah smiled.
“You want to know? Why don’t you figure it out yourself?” She tilted her head, lightly tracing Jake’s jawline with her finger, her voice still seductive. “If you love me so much, why aren’t you willing to
raise another man’s child?”
“…Raise another man’s child?”
At those words, Jake’s fingers tightened reflexively. The hospital bed rail creaked under the pressure of his grip.
“Say that again?”
He could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Hannah’s smile grew brighter, all previous sweetness vanishing, replaced by unmistakable malice.
Her crimson–painted fingernails ghosted over her slightly swollen abdomen as she sighed softly.
“What, you don’t believe me? Or is the truth just too painful to hear?”
Her voice remained honey–sweet like always, but to Jake, it now sounded like a blade coated in
sugar.
“The great Mr. Landau followed me around like a lovesick puppy for ten years, and now you’re not even willing to be a ready–made father?”
Outside, the threatening storm finally broke, rain hammering against the windows like a barrage of tiny bullets.
The boutonnière from the wedding was still pinned to Jake’s suit sleeve, trembling visibly with his barely controlled rage.
17:06
She Moved On…. He Crashed and Burned
47.69
Chapter 11
“Hannah, Jake, is everything okay in here?”
The hospital room door swung open. Jake didn’t turn around, which allowed him to notice Hannah’s momentary expression of alarm at the sound of that voice.
In that split second, numerous inconsistencies from the past suddenly clicked into place.
Jake had previously had minimal contact with Liam Shaw, either in business or socially.
It was Hannah who had introduced them.
And at every gathering Hannah attended, Liam had invariably been present as well.
Jake finally released his grip on Hannah’s chin. As the whiteness faded where his fingers had pressed, angry red marks remained.
“So it’s him…”
Liam seemed oblivious to the charged atmosphere in the room. He walked straight in, instinctively reaching toward Hannah to check on her condition. Midway, his hand froze in midair before he redirected it, casually draping his arm over Jake’s shoulder instead.
“Come on, Hannah. Wearing a corset while pregnant? You’ve got poor Jake here worried sick. I know you want to look beautiful, but there are limits!”
He grinned, clapping Jake’s arm twice with the easy familiarity of a close friend.
But his words were met with complete silence.
Since Liam’s entrance, Hannah had kept her head down, her tangled curls falling forward to shield
her face from scrutiny.
Liam’s fingers twitched nervously before he turned to Jake, only to meet a pair of dangerously dark
eyes.
“What’s going on here?”
He involuntarily leaned back.
Jake’s gaze was so intense that Liam felt sweat breaking out across his back.
“So the child is yours…”
17:06
She Moved On.. He Crashed and Burned
48.8%
Chapter 11
In a flash, Liam dodged the fist aimed at his face. He seemed genuinely confused, still questioning
aloud.
“Jake, have you lost your mind? What are you talking about–yours, mine?”
The antiseptic smell of the hospital room hung heavy in the air. Hannah’s nails dug into her palms, the pain bringing clarity.
Seeing Jake’s bloodshot eyes, she suddenly burst into laughter–a harsh, cutting sound like shattering
glass.
Hannah yanked out her IV drip. Blood droplets arced through the air, landing on the white bedsheet
like scattered crimson tears.
“Jake, stop acting crazy!”
The two men halted their struggle, both turning to look at her.
She threw back the covers, fully exposing her slightly rounded stomach. “You guessed right–this baby is Liam’s. He promised me that if I could manipulate you into marriage and successfully deliver this child, he would marry me!”
Jake’s fist finally connected with Liam’s face, using all his strength. His knuckles immediately
swelled and reddened.
“So you’ve been using me all along? Those love letters, those photos…”
His burning gaze turned to Liam. “And you… I treated you like a brother, and this is how you repay
me?”
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Liam touched his bloodied lip, leaning against the doorframe. After a long silence, a smile spread across his face. He seemed almost amused by Jake’s rage as he shrugged his shoulders.
“You can’t have it both ways, Jake. You were stringing Avery along while planning to marry your ‘true love.‘ Life doesn’t work that way.”
“So I just stepped in to lighten your load a bit.”
As he spoke, Hannah grabbed the water glass from the bedside table and hurled it at him. “You fucking idiot! Can you believe that stupid Avery loved you for eight years?”
17:06
She Moved On He Crashed and Burned
50.00
Chapter 11
The glass grazed his temple, blood.mixing with water as it trickled down.
Contempt dripped from her words: “Why don’t you go find her now? Let’s see if she’ll even look at you again!”
17:06
