I ignored her and went about my business, but she wasn't the type to leave well enough alone.
She walked up to me, contempt dripping from every word.
"You saw everything that night. Otis loves me. Why won't you let go? I've never met a woman so shameless."
"Once my baby's born, you're out whether you like it or not. The Hensons aren't going to keep a hen that can't lay eggs."
I raised an eyebrow. "Being the other woman really gives you that much confidence?"
Vivian sneered. "You want to know what happens when you cross the other woman?"
"You end up just like your mother. Mine took everything from her. Kicked her out like a stray dog."
The words hit me like a bolt of lightning. I stood frozen.
"You're Lisa James's daughter?"
Lisa James had been our family's housekeeper. While my mother was still recovering from childbirth, Lisa seduced my father.
She'd hidden unidentifiable hair in my mother's meals. Poured toilet water into her cup. In the end, she even tried to kill me.
When my mother discovered the affair and threatened to take them to court, they turned the tables on her. They framed her as a murderer and had her arrested.
I was two years old when they dumped me at an orphanage and left me to fend for myself.
And now, her daughter had wormed her way into my marriage.
Vivian looked at me with triumph in her eyes.
"You're just as useless as your mother. Can't even hold on to a man. Both of you, worthless."
Slap.
My hand connected with her face before I even thought about it.
Vivian crumpled to the floor on cue, clutching her stomach and wailing in agony.
The commotion brought Otis and Melvin running down the stairs.
Melvin pulled Vivian into his arms, his face tight with concern.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Vivian leaned against him, her voice small and pitiful.
"Don't blame her. She probably can't help it. She can't have children of her own, so seeing me pregnant must have set her off. She didn't mean to hurt me or the baby."
Otis's expression darkened in an instant.
"Elaine, what is your problem? You can't have kids—that's your cross to bear. Don't take it out on other people."
"Apologize to Vivian. Now."
I let out a cold laugh and pointed to the security camera mounted in the corner.
"There are cameras in this house. They record audio too. Why don't you watch the footage before you start pointing fingers?"
The color drained from Vivian's face. She shifted uneasily.