Chapter 3
After all, I'd gotten a photo from Cherry at 2 a.m. last night.
She and Daniel were cuddled up on the bed in my childhood room, with Snuggly Bear—the stuffed toy I used to sleep with every night—placed on the headboard.
And set right in front of Snuggly Bear was a photo of Cherry wearing a princess dress.
After all, after being lost for five years and struggling so hard to finally make it back home, everything was different.
My room became Cherry's.
My brother became hers.
Even my parents became hers.
What hurt the most was what happened that one night, when I woke up crying from a nightmare about my evil foster father, who was in prison.
I got up, sobbing, and went to find my parents.
But when I got there, I saw my parents and Alex all surrounding Cherry, comforting her as she clutched her stomach in pain. Their faces were full of concern.
"The guest room's drafty," Mom said. "Cherry must've caught a chill, and that's why her stomach hurts."
As soon as Mom finished, Alex jumped in. "If only Sherry hadn't come back, Cherry wouldn't have been kicked out. You guys don't even want Cherry here, do you?
"Look at how hard she is to deal with now. But you're all pretending, acting like everything's fine, and never admitting it.
"And you even gave Cherry's room to Sherry. Do you really think she deserves it?"
As soon as Alex finished, Dad smacked him on the head. "Shut up. If Sherry hears you, she'll start throwing another fit."
After that, I could hear soft voices from the living room. They were coaxing Cherry not to cry.
That night, after I went back to my room, I ended up burning with a high fever.
But not a single one of them outside even noticed.
By the fourth day, my fever finally went away on its own. I told them I wanted to move out of the room that used to be mine and suggested I go stay at Grandma's place.
Only then did they finally realize they hadn't seen me come out of my room for four whole days.
Whenever I remembered those painful days, my heart felt like it was being squeezed so tight that I could barely breathe.
I struggled to get out of bed and brushed my teeth. The moment I stepped out, I saw Daniel in the kitchen, wearing an apron and carefully preparing a pregnancy meal for me.
The scene hit me so hard. My eyes instantly burned and turned red with tears.
When Daniel saw me, he took off his apron and walked up to me.
"I noticed you had some morning sickness last night, so I slept in the study so I wouldn't disturb your rest," he said.
As he spoke, Daniel helped me sit down at the dining table.
"I read online that eating well is supposed to help with morning sickness," Daniel said.
With that, he went into the kitchen to pour me some milk.
But when I looked at the table and saw that every single breakfast dish was made with eggs, that familiar ache hit my chest again.
I was allergic to eggs.
My eyes stung again, and then, my phone buzzed with WhatsApp notification.
It was messages from Cherry. [Enjoying the egg feast I made Daniel whip up for you?]
[Think of it as a little treat for your lonely night.]
[Hope you and that bastard in your belly wind up in the hospital, and nobody even cares where you end up.]
[By the way, Daniel will probably make up some excuse about a business trip soon. But the truth is, he promised to go with me to visit my parents' graves.]
[Obviously, since I got back from abroad, I have to go see my parents.]
[And guess what? Your parents and Alex are coming along too.]
I gripped my phone hard. My knuckles turned pale.
Meanwhile, Daniel finished pouring the milk and walked back over to me.
He set the glass down on the table and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
He said, "Babe, I have to go on a business trip today. There's an emergency with the project in Salihood."
As he spoke, he reached behind and untied his apron.
"You and this little naughty one stay home. I'll be back in a couple of days," he said.
He didn't even notice how pale I looked.
He didn't care whether I'd had a single bite of the egg feast he'd made for me.
He rushed back to his room, grabbed the suitcase he'd packed ahead of time, and headed straight out the door.
The whole time, he never even said goodbye.
Without even asking why my eyes were so red, he slammed the door shut behind him.
The sound of the door slamming echoed through the room, and my tears kept falling, one after another.
Before I knew it, I'd pressed the fork Daniel handed me so hard into my palm that it broke the skin.
Bright red drops slid down the fork, falling one by one into the milky glass, turning the milk a soft pink.
I sat at the table for two whole hours before I could finally pull myself together.
That day, I reached out to Claire and told her I wanted the abortion done right away.