Chapter 54

Jane wished she could utter, "Yes, I am. But you need not worry. This is not yours. You can keep going with your punishments," but refrained, unwilling to add lying to her sins. Instead, she asked Dean, "If I were pregnant, would that change anything?" with a hopeful undertone.

Dean, momentarily taken aback by her question, pondered, 'Ah. Would it change anything? The fact that it cannot bring back Kaitlyn, then no. It won't change anything.' Jane, aware of his unspoken response, smiled and continued descending to the basement, seemingly accepting her fate and martyrdom.

Observing her disregard for his words, he hurriedly approached and halted her.

"But are you pregnant?" he demanded, his grip on her arm intensifying, leaving a bruise in its wake.

Jane, still uncertain, cast her gaze downward. She harbored a lingering desire to win him back and secure her unborn child's right to be acknowledged by its own father.

"Yes, I have been pregnant when you decided that you did not want me aft