My Cousin's Pregnant Girlfriend - Chapter 7: Chapter 7

I found out later that Vanessa had returned to our village, her belly swollen with Ryan's child, searching for the Roscentes.
Life with Ryan had spoiled her—accustomed to reckless spending, she couldn't shake the habit even after he was gone. At first, the Roscentes put up with her, if only for the sake of the baby.
But then the whispers started. The village buzzed with rumors—about the vile things Ryan and Vanessa had done, about how she was nothing but a cheap whore, about how the child might not even be his.
Ryan's mother was livid. She blamed Vanessa for her son's downfall, for his prison sentence. Life in the village must have been hell for Vanessa after that. And with that belly, she couldn't just run.
Years later, when the village was slated for demolition, I went back for one last look.
From a distance, I saw a woman being dragged by her hair, beaten to the dirt, her clothes ripped and barely clinging to her bony frame.
At first, I didn't recognize her. She was a far cry from the seductive temptress I once knew.
Then I saw Ryan's mother—her fists flying, her face twisted in rage—and it all clicked.
Vanessa.
Her eyes locked onto mine. Hatred burned in them, sharp enough to cut. Her jaw clenched, her stare venomous.
The last I heard of them was on some true-crime show.
They'd gone back to their old tricks.
This time, they were looking at ten-plus years in prison.
As for me?
I went back to giving massages.