The Cheater [JenLisa]

Chapter 24

The late afternoon light draped the living room in a soft glow as Lisa sat on the couch, exhaustion heavy in her bones. Somi rocked their sleeping son gently in her arms, humming a quiet song that filled the space with warmth. Liam was in his room, the faint sound of his laughter drifting from upstairs as he played with his tablet.

The peace was fragile, like a glass ornament balanced on a ledge.

Lisa's phone buzzed beside her, a message from Jennie.

Can we talk?

Lisa stared at the screen, a familiar knot tightening in her stomach.
Jennie. The name still tasted bitter.
She tapped back, What about?
Almost immediately, the reply came.

I want you to meet her.

Lisa's breath caught.

Who?

My daughter.

Her fingers trembled as she read the words again. Jennie had a baby. A daughter.

Lisa's heart hammered not with joy, but with suspicion.

She thought of Kai. The reckless nights, the betrayals. Jennie and Kai had been tangled long after she and Jennie had split. The sharp sting of that night, years ago, when she caught them together, still haunted her.

Lisa wasn't ready to believe otherwise.
The idea gnawed at her: Jennie had a baby with Kai. Of course she did. How else could it be?

The next evening, Somi was busy preparing dinner when Lisa sat at the kitchen table, her mind racing.

"I don't know if I can do this," she confessed quietly. "If Jennie's baby is really... his."

Somi paused, wiping her hands on a towel. "Have you talked to Jennie about it?"

Lisa shook her head. "No. And I don't want to. After everything, how could I?"

Somi sat down beside her, voice steady. "You need to hear her out. For Liam's sake."

Lisa glanced at Somi, the woman who had stood by her through every storm. She wanted to believe, but the wounds ran too deep.

Days later, Lisa found herself standing outside a small café, waiting. Jennie arrived, baby in arms. A fragile little girl wrapped in a soft pink blanket.

Lisa's eyes flicked immediately to the baby, then back to Jennie.

"Is she Kai's? because it's been 18 months Jen" Lisa blurted out before she could stop herself.

Jennie flinched but met her gaze.

"No."

Lisa's heart wrenched. "Then whose is she?"

Jennie hesitated, voice trembling.

"She's yours, her name is Gail. She's already 9 months old"

The words landed like a thunderclap.

Lisa shook her head, disbelief flooding her features. "No. That can't be."

Jennie's eyes filled with tears. "Lisa, please. I know it's hard to trust me after everything. But this baby—she's ours."

Lisa looked at the baby again, so small, so perfect, and yet her mind screamed betrayal. "After you cheated, how am I supposed to believe that?"

Jennie's voice cracked. "I was scared. I was lost. But the baby—she's yours. I swear."

Lisa backed away, the world tilting beneath her feet. The protective walls she'd built around her heart threatened to crumble.

She wanted to believe Jennie, but the shadows of the past loomed too large.

Lisa walked out of the café, her hands trembling as she pushed the door open. The cool air hit her face, but it did nothing to calm the storm inside her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.

A daughter? The words echoed in her head like a cruel joke. Her wife, soon to be ex wife. The same woman who cheated on her year ago now telling her they had a daughter together. Lisa's chest tightened, and she clutched at it as if that could ease the ache.

She kept walking, eyes stinging, trying to escape the noise, the truth, everything. But no matter how far she went, the shock followed her — heavy, unreal, and breaking her apart.

_________________

Lisa sat there, staring at Somi's hand over hers. Warm, steady, grounding. Yet it did little to quiet the chaos swirling in her chest.

She wanted to believe Somi was right that trust could somehow be rebuilt but how do you trust someone who already burned every bridge between you?

"She said the baby's mine," Lisa whispered, still trying to make sense of the words. "But it doesn't make sense, Somi. After what she did, how could she even say that?"

Somi exhaled softly. "Maybe it's not about what makes sense right now. Maybe it's about finding the truth."

Lisa leaned back, exhaustion sinking into her bones. "The truth," she murmured bitterly. "That's what destroyed me last time."

The room fell silent except for the soft hum of the refrigerator and the faint laughter of Liam upstairs. Somi's fingers brushed Lisa's knuckles gently, an anchor in the storm. "Then maybe this time, it'll set you free."

Lisa looked up at her fiancée. Somi's eyes were full of quiet strength, the kind that had held Lisa together when everything else fell apart. She didn't deserve her—at least, that's what Lisa believed most days.

Later that night, when the house grew quiet and Somi had gone to check on their daughter, Lisa sat alone by the window. The city lights shimmered outside, distant and indifferent. Her phone rested on the table beside her, Jennie's messages still open.

She scrolled up, rereading them over and over until the words blurred.

My daughter

Each time she read it, her chest tightened.

Lisa rubbed her face with both hands, her thoughts dragging her back to the past—the laughter, the late-night drives, the dreams they once shared. And then the betrayal. The night she walked in and saw Jennie with Kai, the world collapsing around her like glass.

"Don't," she whispered to herself.

"Don't go back there."

But her mind did anyway, replaying every image, every lie, every tear.

She didn't notice Somi approaching until a soft hand landed on her shoulder.

"Still thinking about her?" Somi asked quietly.

Lisa sighed. "Yeah. I can't turn it off."
Somi sat beside her, the dim light outlining her calm expression. "You don't have to pretend it doesn't hurt. But you also don't have to let it destroy you again."

Lisa nodded weakly. "I just don't know what's real anymore."

"Then find out," Somi said simply.

"Talk to her again. If she's lying, at least you'll know. And if she's not... then maybe this baby deserves to be known."

Lisa looked at her fiancée, torn between guilt and gratitude. "You'd be okay with that?"

Somi hesitated. "Okay? No. But I understand. She's part of your past, and maybe, whether we like it or not, part of your present too."

Lisa swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You're too good for me."

Somi smiled faintly. "I know."

For the first time that day, Lisa almost laughed.

Almost.