Rejected Their Broken Luna Chapter 189: Chap-189*The Game Has Begun Now.*

Cynthia Dion:

It struck me as amusing how everyone readily gave him a pass when he claimed that I had seduced him into committing the unforgivable act of killing his own child. It seemed as though they believed his excuse somehow mitigated the gravity of the crime. Maleeka, driven by an unhealthy obsession with him, appeared willing to go to extreme lengths, even contemplating self-harm, whenever Atticus spoke against him.

"Stay back from my wife!" Atticus thundered in his deep, resonant voice, effectively preventing Mr. Holt from advancing any further.

Determined not to become a victim of physical aggression, I stood my ground. Though I braced myself for a potential attack, Atticus' protective stance ensured Mr. Holt couldn't simply just raise his hand on me anymore. While I anticipated his reaction to the damning recording, I remained prepared for any assault.

"Get away from me!" Maleeka witnessed Atticus defending me, and the sight stung enough to provoke her into shouting at him and forcefully pushing him away.

"She pushed me, and you're still defending her?" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Sister, please tell me exactly what happened here," Atticus implored, attempting to touch her, but she slapped his hand away. Genuine tears now marked her distress. Atticus's disbelief only heightened her upset.

"I'll tell you what happened." Clearly, Mara was the mastermind behind this plan, so she took charge while Mr. Holt hugged Maleeka and sat down with her.

"Maleeka and I were discussing how we would prepare the room for the baby when Cynthia came and started taunting Maleeka. She made a comment about how Maleeka shouldn't be thinking about all these things because who knows when she'll lose her baby again. That upset Maleeka, rightfully so," Mara averted her gaze from Atticus, his glare proving too intense.

"And then Maleeka started recording the conversation. When Cynthia saw it, she became furious and lunged at us, desperate to get her hands on the recording while keeping her mouth shut because she knew she was being recorded," Mara seized the phone from Maleeka and played the audio clip.

They executed their plan masterfully; I can't believe they were this cunning. Every time I spoke, they paused the recording.

Mr. Holt appeared perplexed, for he knew very well that I never asked him to harm Maleeka. He understood that these accusations of me being a monster were baseless.

"Now, tell me, are you still blind enough to trust her?" Maleeka implored through tears, searching her brother's face for a sense of justice.

"I'm sorry, but that proves nothing," Atticus spoke up, and they exchanged intense glares. "It's like I was only listening to you two. Why didn't you make a video recording?" He appeared confused yet strangely convinced that I hadn't done anything.

"Because that would have thwarted their plan," I mumbled, and they seemed perplexed. "I have my own version where you can hear me having no clue what they are doing." Just because I didn't disclose I was recording doesn't mean I wasn't.

As I played the recording, Atticus realized that his sister hadn't recorded my parts. It wouldn't conclusively prove anything, but one thing was clear: they intentionally tried to cut out my side of the conversation.

"What?" Maleeka seemed as if she had been struck by lightning.

"You planned all this?" Atticus turned to his sister for answers, and both she and Mara gulped miserably. It was about time he knew the truth: the claim that I killed her baby was always a lie.

"I didn't do anything; they planned it all against me," I declared loudly and confidently. Mr. Holt lowered his face and released a deep breath of exhaustion. I could sense his frustration, probably upset that they hadn't consulted him before orchestrating this scheme.

"This is crazy; she was moving too much, so it kept pausing and all," Mara continued to defend herself, while Maleeka, too ashamed to meet her brother's eyes, couldn't bring herself to confess that she had messed up.

"I can't believe this," Atticus was gradually becoming angrier, and that's when Mara said what I had been waiting for her to say.

"Why would we lie about that? You know how much trauma it is for Maleeka when somebody talks about her baby getting hurt? Why would she even play this game in this scenario?" She pouted and forced fake tears, but still, nothing came out of her eyes.

"Because you suggested that plan. You wanted her to do it, and she did it," I couldn't solely blame the two of them; I wanted to unravel the truth and ensure everyone involved faced consequences.

Today was not just Mara's day; it was also the day Maleeka would come to realize the extent of the mess in her life and her relationship.

"Why would I do that? What am I going to get out of this?" Mara scoffed. "If that was a plan, it's pretty obvious that it was poorly orchestrated. We would have come up with a better plan if we were to do something so outrageous," she shrugged her shoulders and awkwardly avoided eye contact with everyone.

"Because you wanted the plan to fail," I lied. I wasn't certain if she would be foolish enough to get herself into trouble by concocting such an absurd scheme, but I was strategically trapping her. It seemed like I had caught Maleeka's attention, as she quickly turned her face to Mara, demanding answers.

"What? Don't you see she is playing a game with us?" It was unnerving how silent Atticus remained when Mara spoke, and I was certain that was another reason she appeared apprehensive.

"I am not playing a game, but you certainly played Maleeka," I said, scrolling through my phone slowly, biding my time for the right moment to confront them.

"And why would I do that? Why would I trap the only person who wants me here in a mess?" She folded her arms across her chest and laughed at my suggestion, dismissing it as foolishness, perhaps thinking I was too naive to even consider such a notion.

"Because you want Mr. Holt!" As I uttered those words, the reaction I received was priceless. Mara stepped back, visibly shaken, and her phone nearly slipped from her hands.

Mr. Holt's jaw practically hit the floor, his eyes widening as he scrutinized my face and then stole glances at Maleeka, who was gradually realizing there was more to what I was saying.