Chapter 2

There was a knock at the door, and James walked in.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, gently pulled my hand away from my eyes, and looked surprised to see my tear-streaked face.

"Olivia, what's wrong? Are you crying because you're so happy about the baby? But don't cry like this. You need to be careful, as it's not good for the baby," he said.

James placed his hand on my belly, over the blanket. "Olivia, I'm really happy you're having our baby," he said.

I looked up at James, searching his face for any clue, but he was just too good at pretending. All I could see was what looked like deep concern and happiness he couldn't quite hide.

If I hadn't just overheard their conversation, I might've really believed he was happy about my pregnancy. But after what I just heard...

I lowered my eyes, my voice rough. "Jamie, do you really want a baby that badly? Pregnancy is tough for women, you know."

James reached out and gently touched my face. "Don't be silly. You're already pregnant, so stop worrying about things like that. I'll take care of you."

"Mm," I murmured.

James helped me up. "You fainted because of the pregnancy, but you're fine now. Let's get out of here. It's my birthday today. Since Michael is out of town, I invited Emily to celebrate with us, so we can share the good news with her."

I paused while putting on my shoes. "Jamie, I'm not feeling well today. Will you come home with me?"

James stood in front of me, his voice giving nothing away. "I'll have the driver take you home. The housekeeper will look after you. I invited Emily yesterday to celebrate my birthday, so I can't just cancel on her."

As he spoke, James wrapped his arms around my waist. "Olivia, you wouldn't want to see your sister upset, right? She married Michael because of you, but he's always busy and hardly ever spends time with her."

I could feel James's hold on me getting stronger.

Was he feeling bad for Emily, or was he just bitter about it?

Without saying a word, I slipped my hand out of his and walked out by myself, my heart frozen.

For me? Please. I was just the pawn in their game.

In the end, James ditched me to celebrate his birthday with Emily.

The driver took me home. When I walked in, I saw the birthday cake still sitting in the kitchen, completely melted.

The housekeeper noticed me staring at the cake and came over to explain, "Mrs. Foster, after I took you to the hospital and came back, the cake had already melted. I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I just left it."

Seeing I still didn't say anything, the housekeeper asked tentatively, "Mrs. Foster, what should we do with the cake?"

I snapped out of it. "Since it's melted, just throw it away. It's no use anymore." Without another glance at the cake, I headed straight to my room.

After all the ups and downs, I was just too exhausted to do anything else, so I went straight to bed.

But in the middle of the night, half-asleep, I suddenly felt someone wrap their arms around me. The strong scent of alcohol mixed with perfume from behind snapped me awake.

I turned around and saw James, drunk out of his mind.

His hands wandered until he finally placed his hand on my lower belly. "I'm going to be a father. This child will surely take after you. Whenever I see this kid, I'll think of you..."

Hearing his slurred words and smelling another woman's perfume on him, I felt sick to my stomach. I pushed him away and ran to the bathroom to throw up.

When I came back to the room, James was already passed out, but he was still muttering something in his sleep.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I leaned in to listen, only to hear him whispering, "Emily, Emily..." so lovingly.

It hit me like a bolt of lightning. Everything suddenly made sense.

In our three years of marriage, James had never been drunk in front of me.

I always thought it was just because he didn't like drinking, and that actually made me happy. I never imagined that when he finally did get drunk, he'd end up calling out another woman's name.

I just couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my phone and walked out to the living room. I sat on the couch all night, thinking about all the happiness we shared over the past three years. Was it all just a lie?

My phone screen kept flickering on and off, stuck on the hospital's abortion appointment page. Even when the sun came up, I still couldn't bring myself to hit 'confirm.'

Because of my health, this might be the only child I could ever have. If I went through with this, I might never be able to have a child of my own.