Something seemed to dawn on Stephen, and his expression darkened.
Lily, furious, lunged at me. “You wretch! Are you spreading lies about me behind my back?”
Stephen stopped her, his tone sharp. “That’s enough, Lily! What’s gotten into you? When did you become so crude and disrespectful?”
Lily froze, a flicker of guilt flashing across her face. She quickly recovered, putting on a pitiful expression. “I acted out because I was jealous, Stephen. Don’t misunderstand me!”
Stephen’s suspicion deepened as he eyed her warily. “If you can fake your personality so well, what else have you been hiding from me?”
Lily rushed to explain, her voice trembling. “I’m an open book with you, Stephen. Please, don’t believe the rumors!”
As she finished, she shot me a venomous glare. “Teresa, I know you hate me! That car accident I had? You definitely had something to do with it! And now you’re trying to drag my name through the mud again.
“Do
you
think this is some kind of game? Stephen loves me, and nothing you do will change that. Why not just let go and step aside already?”
I gave a casual nod. “Fine, I’ll step aside. As long as you give me Nancy back, I’ll sign the divorce papers immediately.”
Lily’s face lit up with excitement, and she agreed without hesitation.
“Deal!” She turned to tug at Stephen’s sleeve.
“Stephen, just give her the child! We can have one of our own.”
Stephen’s expression darkened further as he shook off her hand. “Have you lost all sense of principle? You were the one who insisted on being Nancy’s stepmother–that’s why I brought her back. And now you want to hand her over so easily? Don’t you have an ounce of compassion?”
Inside, I couldn’t help but smirk coldly.
A man who had personally killed his own daughter was now talking about compassion with his mistress. The irony was almost laughable.
Lily, failing to sway Stephen, grew increasingly irritated. She no longer bothered to keep up her act.
“You want to talk about compassion? Weren’t you just using your daughter to secure a better future for yourself? You don’t even love your own daughter, so why should I? Just hand that little brat back to Teresa, and you’ll get the divorce papers you want.
