She had never done anything wrong-how could her life be so thoroughly wrecked? Clearly, she just wasn''t strong enough emotionally.


    Thinking this made Amara feel a little better. She realized what she needed now was to calm down and figure out how to handle things.


    First, she should talk to her grandfather. He was getting old, and his heart wasn''t what it used to be. She couldn''t imagine how worried he might get if he saw the


    news.


    She went to the bathroom, sshed her face with cold water, changed her clothes, and then headed to Mr. Kevin Everly''s room.


    "Grandpa, there''s something I need to tell you."


    As soon as she entered, Amara was about to speak, but she immediately noticed something off in Mr. Everly''s expression.


    He looked at her, hesitating as if about to speak but holding back. Amara''s heart skipped a beat-had he already seen the news?


    She nced over at Lisa, who wore a simr expression.


    It made sense. Mr. Everly might not keep up with current events at his age, but Lisa watched the news regrly. If Lisa had seen it, she''d definitely have told him.


    Steeling herself, Amara said, "Grandpa, you already know, don''t you? I''m pregnant.” She added, “The news is right—the baby isn''t Keith''s."


    Mr. Everly took a few shaky steps forward and gently held Amara''s hand. "You''re really pregnant? Ama, then... how far along are you?"


    He clearly didn''t know what else to ask-he just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.


    Amara answered, "A little over four months. Do you remember when I said I was going on a trip? I wasn''t wasn actually traveling. I was nning go somewhere else to have the baby I''m sorry I lied to you, O Grandpa."


    Mr. Everly was a smart man. Once he heard about the pregnancy, he immediately


    understood what the so-called ''trip'' had really been about.


    But he was still in shock-the baby was already over four months along. He


    muttered, “You hadn''t even divorced Finnian at that time.....”


    Guilt washed over Amara.


    She didn''t believe she''d done anything wrong. Her marriage to Finnian had been a contract, not a real marriage. Besides, Finnian had already had a child with na so she didn''t owe him anything And this baby-this baby was Einnian''s anyway.


    Still, she knew that in Mr. Everly''s eyes, she must have done something wrong.


    Amara cared deeply for her grandfather, so she couldn''t help but feel guilty.


    But to her surprise, Mr. Everly''s eyes grew moist and his voice trembled. “Who is the father, Ama? Please, tell me the truth. Did someone hurt you...?"


    Hearing the tremor in his voice, Amara froze for a moment. Then a wave of sadness and bitterness rose in her chest, and she found herself on the verge of tears.


    So many people knew she was pregnant, but their first reaction was to judge her to assume she''d been unfaithful during her marriage and gotten pregnant by some stranger.


    Only her grandfather''s first thought was that she had been wronged.


    And really, hadn''t she been hurt?


    That night, Finnian had beenpletely out of it-he hadn''t even realized who she


    was. He''d grabbed her, pulled her onto the bed, and then...


    Though she loved Finnian, and in a way had willingly helped him, from another perspective, she really had been taken advantage of.