The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Alice had a knack for tugging at Monica's heartstrings, sharing her woes in such a way that made it hard for Monica to be too harsh. If Alice outright demanded that Monica leave Jason, it would only have sparked Monica's rebellious streak, leading to an argument. Monica softened her tone a bit, "Look, Alice, it's not like I'm trying to steal Jason away. He came to me, confessed his feelings. He's my boyfriend now." The message was clear; she wasn't backing down, but she wasn't being aggressive either.

Alice played the sympathy card, "Monica, you're so beautiful and talented. You could have anyone you want, but Jason's all I've got. My daughter, Will's grandparents, we all depend on him. He's the pillar of our home. I love him too, Monica. Can't you just let him be with me? Without Jason, our family would lose its backbone."

"Jason will still help you out, even if he's with me. Whatever he owes you, he'll make it right," Monica said, clearly troubled. "Alice, love isn't something you can just hand over."

Alice's eyes welled up with tears, making Monica feel as if she was the bad guy in Alice's tale. "Alice, please don't cry," Monica said, unable to bear the sight of tears.

Alice, her voice thick with emotion, managed, "Monica, are you trying to drive me to despair? Without Jason, how am I supposed to live? I belong to him now."

"What are you saying?" Monica's face went pale. "What do you mean you belong to Jason?"

Alice hesitated, then confessed, "Last Wednesday, Jason and my father-in-law had drinks, got drunk, and he stayed over. And then we... we... Monica, I can't live without Jason. That night, it was my choice. I don't blame Jason, but I'm his now. My daughter's looking forward to calling him dad. If he doesn't want us, I might as well be dead."

Monica connected the dots; no wonder she couldn't reach Jason that day, no wonder he'd been avoiding her. Alice kept up her woeful act, each word cutting into Monica's heart. Alice was smart, not claiming mutual love with Jason but playing on Monica's sympathy, framing that night as a drunken mistake. This way, even if Jason found out, he couldn't blame Alice, only his own actions.

Unable to sit through any more, Monica left without waiting for Jason, her eyes slightly red. Hank noticed her distressed state, but before he could ask anything, Monica was already driving away.

After Monica left, Alice wiped away her tears, a smug smile on her face. She'd said it before; no one could take Jason from her.

Soon after, Jason rushed in, looking for Monica. "Where's Monica, Alice?" he asked.

He cared about Monica, and that one question felt like a stab to Alice. Yet, she didn't show it, maintaining her facade of the devoted wife and mother, saying lightly, "Monica had to leave for something. But hey, Isla's almost done with school. Let's go pick her up together. She's been missing you."

Jason tried calling Monica, but when she saw it was him, she hung up and blocked his number. Realizing something was wrong, Jason confronted Alice, "Did you say something to Monica?"

Alice feigned innocence, "Oh, we just chatted. She was asking about last Wednesday. I mentioned you were drinking with my dad, got a bit too drunk. Oops, I might've let slip about that night. But Monica's your friend, she wouldn't gossip about it." Alice knew very well Monica was his girlfriend but played ignorant, making her slip seem like a harmless mistake.