Abandoned by All I Took It All Back novel Chapter 20

Janina said, "If it comes to that, I'll have to. But right now, I don't have any direct evidence of their affair—no photos, no recordings. I'll need to get proof to file a lawsuit."

"I asked for five million, but with Julius's attitude, I doubt he'll give it to me."

"Wait, Nina, you're overlooking the most important thing," Wendy said. "What about the baby?"

At the mention of the baby, Janina's hand instinctively went to her lower abdomen. She was already over two months along.

On the day she found out she was pregnant, she had felt like the happiest woman in the world.

She had imagined what the baby would look like a thousand times over, even planned out its life through kindergarten, elementary school, college, and its future career.

But on that very same day, her beautiful dream had been mercilessly shattered.

Janina sighed. "I wasn't planning on keeping it before, but now…"

Seeing Janina's hesitation, Melody offered her practical take. "You have to be realistic. If you do keep the baby, you need to demand a much larger settlement in the divorce. You don't have a job or an income right now. Raising a child on your own… that's a huge financial drain."

Melody continued her analysis. "If it's a boy, you'll have to buy him a house and a car someday, help with his wedding. If it's a girl, you'll want to give her the best of everything. And if you go back to work, you won't have time to take care of the child, so you'll need a live-in nanny. All of that costs a fortune."

"Melody's right," Maggie added. "If you decide to have this baby, you need to fight for more in the settlement. You have to ensure the child's future is secure."

Thinking about the child made Janina's heart ache, and fresh tears streamed down her face.

Janina nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good idea. Her pregnancy is a ticking clock. If I just wait, Yvonne is bound to get impatient."

Melody sipped her orange juice, a worried look on her face. "But didn't you say Yvonne has a kidney problem? What if she gets too stressed and something happens to her? Julius would definitely blame it all on Nina."

Maggie swallowed her food and joked darkly, "It'd be better if she just croaked. Would save us a lot of trouble!"

...

The dinner lasted until nine o'clock. As they all parted ways, Maggie drove Janina home. She waited until she saw the living room light turn on and received a text from Janina in their group chat confirming she was safe before finally driving away.