"Lainey, be good. I’ll fight for you. That brat has gotten completely out of hand!"
She pulled out her phone and began calling Jeremiah.
She dialed again and again. No answer.
Her smile turned awkward as she looked at me, forcing a strained chuckle.
“Lainey, Maybe Jeremiah's just… busy right now, you know…"
Before she could finish, I handed her the explicit photo Margaret had just sent me two minutes ago.
"You’re right, Auntie. He is indeed very busy."
Naomi stared at the provocative message. The smile on her lips collapsed.
She looked at me, eyes heavy with sorrow, and whispered, "Lainey, I’m sorry. This is all my fault."
"If I had known Jeremiah would become like this, I would’ve never pushed the two of you together. During those five years, you were in prison, I kept urging him to visit you. Every time, he told me he did…”
Seeing her try to shift the topic, I followed her lead and revealed the truth.
"The one who stabbed someone back then… it was Margaret. Jeremiah was the one who found me and begged me to take the blame. I didn’t want to, at first. But he said if I did he’d consider marrying me."