Manipulated Manipulator

"You didn't have to kill the baby to get back at Jerrick," Jessamyn's voice was calm, yet laced with an undercurrent of sadness as she turned to face Imogen.

The revelation had shaken her to the core. Despite the anger she harbored toward Imogen, Jessamyn couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity. Jerrick's actions, however misguided, seemed cruel now that she knew the full extent of what had transpired. Imogen's pain, her desperation, was real, and Jessamyn found herself softening, if only for a moment.

But that moment passed as quickly as it came. She knew better than to be swayed by Imogen's tears, especially when she could see the faint glimmer of manipulation behind them. Imogen's sudden vulnerability, her confession, wasn't born out of a desire for redemption; it was a ploy, a carefully crafted performance designed to garner sympathy.