Chapter 3

As she spoke, she made another show of trying to end her life. My brother quickly held her and comforted her.

At the same time, the neighbors watching outside erupted:

"What terrible luck for the White family! Their child went missing at birth, and when they finally found her, she turned out to be a monster!"

"Carter assaulted Thomas's wife—what a sin!"

Ruth leaned in my brother's arms, sobbing as she threw more dirt on me.

I didn't know why she was framing me, but since she wanted to ruin me, I wouldn't let her off easy either.

I raised my head and stared straight at her:

"You say I assaulted you. So tell me—did I wear protection or not?"

The crowd instantly went quiet.

A flash of panic crossed Ruth's face, but she quickly cried harder, shaking her head repeatedly:

"I don't know... When I woke up, you were already on top of me. How could I possibly know..."

"You don't know?" I looked at her calmly. "If you don't know, how can you be sure I assaulted you?"

The moment I said that, everyone looked at Ruth.

She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white. A few seconds later, she released them and put on a desperate expression:

"When I woke up, you were on top of me. I was so scared I pushed you away, frantically put on my clothes and ran out. As for whether you used... I was too frightened. I really don't know."

After speaking, her face grew even paler, looking so fragile a gust of wind could knock her down.

My brother held her tighter in distress and roared at me:

"Carter! Ruth is pregnant! How could you be so heartless!"

I ignored him and continued:

"Then let's go to the room right now and look. It hasn't been that long—I couldn't have hidden it well. If there is something, we'll take it for testing. If not, you can take her to the hospital for fluid analysis."

My mom trembled with rage:

"You... you bastard! You're trying to push Ruth to her death!"

A neighbor chimed in: "Making the victim face the scene again—isn't that traumatizing her a second time? How could he even think of that!"

I found it laughable. Who was the one who screamed and brought everyone here in the first place?

She already threw away her dignity—why should I save her any face?

Just as I was about to drag someone to the room for confrontation, Ruth suddenly pulled open her collar, revealing a large expanse of obvious marks on her neck.

"Fine, you want evidence? This is the evidence. These are all from just now. I was thinking about the baby I'm carrying for Thomas and trying to protect your family's reputation, so I held back and didn't say anything... I didn't expect you'd still try to deny it!"

After speaking, she turned her head aside. A tear slid down her cheek. That image of bearing humiliation and looking so vulnerable made me, the supposed "assailant," seem utterly despicable.

Everyone present was thoroughly enraged. Their curses instantly drowned me out.

My brother was completely disappointed in me:

"How could a woman use her own reputation to frame someone? Now the evidence is clear, and Ruth is still pregnant. You should turn yourself in to the police."