Chapter 22


    Meanwhile , I continued feigning ignorance as I


    consoled her for a while before leaving her . I opened the door and saw Joana and my mother-in –


    w outside . The two looked at me nervously , as if they feared that Pam had let something slip that


    she shouldn’t have..


    With an air of guilt , Joana began to probe me asking : “ Linda , is Pam still mad ? ”


    When I noticed the good facade that Joana managed to put


    Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    on , I pushed away the nausea inside me before answering : “ It ‘s okay . Pam is just having  a tantr


    um , so she ‘ll be fine soon . “


    Joana, on the other hand , was still in acting mode . “ It’s all my fault , for bringing all these problems on


    you … If it were n’t for my pregnancy … ”


    “ It’s not your fault . You never wanted all this either .


    “ Yes … If the child ‘s father were still alive , I wouldn’t be alone . She seemed to be really enjoying her


    acting as she started alluding to her non-existent boyfriend again .


    “ Joana , have you noticed that you’ve changed a


    lot since your pregnancy ? If you asked me , I think you should abort this child . Keeping the baby will o


    nly bring you more problems !  _ _


    “ Okay , enough is enough . ” Abortion was a taboo subject for my mother-in-w ; it


    was as if Joana would lose the child she was carrying as


    soon as I mentioned it . So she interrupted our conversation and said, “ Linda , you should go rest .a litt


    le bit after a day at work . You too , Joan . Do n’t forget you ‘re pregnant ” .  _


    “ I’ll check on Bianca . ” I thanked my mother- in –w before running to Bianca ‘s room . ,


    I assumed that Pam ‘s hostility towards Joana wouldst for some time , but I got home the followin


    g afternoon and saw the two talking like best friends . As I looked at Pam , I


    noticed that she had a new bracelet on her wrist , which made memade


    a mental mockery when realizing that Joana managed to win her over using that .


    An idea came to mind when I saw the bracelet on Pam ‘s wrist . I sat down opposite the two while as


    king : “ The bracelet you have there is beautiful , Pam ! _ When did you buy this ? ”


    “ Do you think so too ? Joana gave it to me as a gift ” , said Pam with great pride .


    “ It must have cost a fortune , right , Joana ? ” I said as I turned to look at her .


    “ It’s not that expensive .” The smile that Joana had seemed quite forced , as things were going awry fo


    r her .  _


    Although Pam had risen socially since she came to live in the city with Carlos , in reality she


    did n’t have good taste , nor did she know how to


    appreciate the beauty of things . The only reason she wanted to buy things was to show them off , so _


    _most of what she owned was chosen on  the basis of brand and price .


    To win over Pam , Joana would need


    to buy her something expensive , but with her current financial situation , buying a bracelet like


    that would be a heavy burden for her . Meanwhile , Carlos and my mother – inw grew closer as we


    talked . knowing full wellJoana ‘s financial situation , Carlos frowned when he looked at Pam . _ _ “ Y


    ou ‘re an adult now , so why do you keep asking people for things ? ”


    “ I didn’t ask for this ! Joana insisted that she wanted to give it to me as a gift ! ” Pam retorted .


    Upon hearing this , Joana quickly added : “ I  decided to give you a present , because it will


    be your birthday soon ” .


    I almostughed out


    loud because I knew that Pam ‘s birthday was in a few months . That bitch sure did n’t know how to


    lie .


    “ Linda , what are you going to buy me for my birthday ? _ ” As


    soon as Pam took over  the conversation , she shifted everyone ‘s focus to me .