Chapter 4
Suddenly, I felt like laughing to myself.
Although Ethan always took his job seriously, he'd never been this nervous about any kid before.
If there was nothing feelings here, I really didn't believe.
After Ethan left, I found myself opening an app I hadn't touched for a long time.
During the years when I had a crush on Ethan back then, I used to stalk his and Chloe's couple account like some kind of creep.
Here used to be all about their everyday romance, and at its peak, they had 80,000 followers.
But six years had passed, and that number had dropped to just 20,000.
And just a minute ago, that account, which had been dead for six years, suddenly had a brand new post.
Chloe: [Thank you for always running to me, no matter how many times.]
The post came with a photo. It showed three hands joined together, two big, one small.
Of course, I immediately recognized that one of them was Ethan's.
His hand used to carefully trim my nails.
He'd patiently blow-dry my hair.
He'd carefully pick out the fish bones for me.
But now, that same hand was featured on Chloe's page.
The sudden update threw all the old fans for a loop.
After a while, there were comments one after another.
[The couple I shipped six years ago just made a comeback?]
[Not only are they back, but they've got a kid!]
[It turned out that you didn't break up, you just disappeared from the internet! Thanks for bringing us this awesome news. I believe in love again!]
Tears blurred my vision.
Then I snapped a screenshot of the post and sent it to Ethan.
I wanted to know how he planned to explain it.
It wasn't until the middle of the night that he finally replied to me.
Ethan: [Honey, you're overthinking it again. Chloe said Luna wants me to be her dad, so she hoped that I could play along for a bit. Keeping Luna happy is good for her recovery, so I just went along with it. Don't think too much.]
I let out a bitter laugh. If it was just pretend, why did Chloe snap a photo and share it on social media?
We were supposed to go home this week to talk about the engagement with my parents.
But Ethan didn't mention it as if he had forgotten about it.
I should've seen this coming.
That night, when he knew Chloe was divorced and just sat there lost in thought, everything started to change.
The next day, Ethan was playing games with Chloe and Luna.
Suddenly, Luna grabbed Ethan and Chloe's hands, stacked them together, and beamed.
"Mommy, I have a daddy now!" she said happily.
Chloe's face turned red as she looked at Ethan, feeling an impulse.
She said, "Ethan... Why don't we..."
But Ethan interrupted, "I just remembered I have another patient to see. I'll leave now."
Chloe just bit her lip, unwilling to give up.
Just as Ethan walked out of the ward, a nurse walked towards him and looked at him, puzzled.
She asked, "Dr. Reed, why are you here?"
Ethan couldn't help but laugh, asking, "Where else am I supposed to be?"
The nurse said, "I just saw that your wife is in the obstetrics and gynecology department and is about to have an abortion. Aren't you going to accompany her?"
Ethan suddenly froze, his face drained of all color.
He practically sprinted to the obstetrics and gynecology department, even tripping and falling along the way.
Everyone at the hospital knew Ethan was always calm, so they really didn't know what was going on with him.
He found the nurse, Zara Foster, who had examined me and anxiously asked where I was.
Zara pointed to the door of the operating room.
She replied, "The surgery's happening now."
Ethan's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.
He whispered in a trembling voice, "No, why..."
Ethan was basically a celebrity in the hospital, so everyone knew him.
Zara was totally stunned seeing him like this.
She asked, "Dr. Reed, what's wrong with you?"
Ethan smashed the ground with his fists over and over, not stopping until blood was dripping from his hands.
Zara immediately went to grab him and said, "Dr. Reed, your hands are meant for surgery! Don't do stupid things!"
But it was like he couldn't hear a word. He just kept smashing his fists down harder.
He muttered, "It's all my fault... I hurt Nora badly..."
In the operating room, my consciousness floated, weaving through countless fragments of memories.
I saw my younger self back in high school.
On the first day of school, wearing an oversized school uniform, I stood at the front of the classroom nervously, unable to say a word.
The other students burst out laughing.
They said, "Come on, it's a self-introduction. Is it really that difficult?"
"Wait, are you mute or something?"
"That's enough," a voice cut through the laughter.
The boy sitting by the window tapped his pen on the desk, sunlight streaming across his face. He looked like a TV star.
He smiled at me and said, "Don't worry. I've got your back."
When I picked seats, he patted the empty spot next to him and waved at me.
He said with a smile, "Hello, the little one, come sit here."
I really was a little one compared to Ethan, who was very tall.
I had a small appetite, and just a little bread in the morning was enough.
Ethan misunderstood and thought I had no money.
From then on, every day I went to school, there'd always be a lot of snacks on my desk.