Chapter 3
I glanced through the glass.
There was a onesie in the smallest size, priced at 30 dollars.
I had 29 dollars in my account. I was short by one dollar.
Ophelia quietly helped me out and bought the onesie for me.
It was light blue, with a little whale printed on the chest.
She left it next to my pillow and didn't say a word.
I stumbled across it around 3 am. I was wide awake, struggling with insomnia.
My hand felt something soft, so I turned on the bedside lamp and saw the little whale.
The price tag was still there, 30 dollars.
There was a note tucked next to it. "The little whale will protect you and the baby."
I held the onesie against my cheek. It felt so soft.
It was the only thing for the baby that anyone ever gave me during my whole pregnancy.
*****
Time just slipped by. My belly kept getting bigger, and even walking left me out of breath.
Ophelia got up at six every morning to make me breakfast, and every evening, she'd walk with me around the neighborhood.
She wasn't married, lived alone, and didn't make much money.
But she never once said she was annoyed, not even a word.
At my 36-week checkup, the doctor said everything was normal.
"The baby's in a great position. Looks like you'll be having the baby in about two weeks," the doctor said.
I could finally breathe easy.
A week before my due date, Alice came by. She found Ophelia's address in Lucas's contacts.
The doorbell rang at two in the afternoon.
I opened the door and saw Alice standing in the hallway.
She was dressed in a white cashmere dress and red-soled high heels.
Her nails were painted a lavender purple.
She was holding a document in her hand.
"Sarah," Alice said.
It irritated me to see her face.
I said, "Lucas and I are divorced. Why are you even here?"
Alice smiled and handed me the document.
She said, "Lucas asked me to bring this to you. It's a custody waiver agreement."
I glanced down at it. Lucas was listed as Party A, and I as Party B.
It read, "Party B voluntarily gives up all rights to custody, visitation, and any other related rights of the child from this marriage."
I asked, "Didn't he claim the baby isn't his?"
Alice just blinked at me and said, "Well, what if it turns out to be his? Signing now just makes things easier."
I shut the document and handed it back to her.
"Not signing," I told her.
Alice's smile stiffened for a moment.
She said, "Sarah, Lucas said if you don't sign, he won't give you any money for your recovery after birth."
I replied, "I don't need it."
Alice tried to argue, "You won't even have money for formula..."
I cut her off. "I don't need it."
I closed the door.
From behind the door, I heard her heels tapping as she walked away.
My hands were shaking. It wasn't fear. I was just furious.
*****
That night, my belly started hurting. It came in waves.
Ophelia was terrified. She slung the hospital bag over her shoulder and rushed me to the hospital.
We went straight to the ER, got registered, and I was wheeled into the delivery room.
It was 1:43 am. All I felt was pain. It was like someone was ripping me open from the inside.
I bit down on a towel, my nails digging into my flesh.
The nurse said, "Push! I can see the head!"
I gave it everything I had.
At 3:11 am, a newborn's cry echoed through the room.
The nurse brought the baby over to me.
"Congratulations, it's a boy. Seven pounds. Both of you are safe," the nurse said.
I looked down at him.
He was all wrinkled, red, and so tiny. He opened his eyes.
The nurse said, "Oh wow, look at those eyes. So pretty!"
I froze. Those eyes were deep, the corners tilted up just a bit, and the irises were unusually light.
They didn't look like mine. Or like Lucas's.
The baby's look had some weird, unexplainable sense of unfamiliarity.
But then his tiny hand gripped my index finger. He clutched it with surprising strength.
In that moment, nothing else mattered.
I rasped, "My baby. I'm right here."
Ophelia was bawling her eyes out outside the delivery room, even more than I was.
When she burst in, her eyes were so puffy they looked almost swollen shut.
"Let me see him. Let me see my godson!" she called out.
She leaned in for a closer look, and her face suddenly shifted.
"Sarah, this baby is just ridiculously good-looking! But... he really doesn't look like Lucas," Ophelia murmured.
I didn't say a word. My heart was pounding.
I still couldn't make sense of the whole blood type thing. And now, even the baby's appearance didn't add up.
But I never cheated. So, who did this baby actually take after?
On the day I was discharged, Ophelia went to handle the discharge papers.
I sat alone on a bench in the hospital corridor, holding the baby in my arms.
He was such a good baby. After nursing, he'd just fall asleep and hardly ever cried.
Footsteps came from the other end of the hallway. Leather shoes tapped steadily against the tile floor.
A man rounded the corner. He was tall, dressed in a black coat and a gray scarf.
He was on the phone. "Jason, get the admin department to swap out the flowers in the VIP rooms on the third floor. White chrysanthemums? Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?" he said.
His voice was deep, with that unmistakable tone of someone used to giving orders.
He hung up and walked by me.
Just then, my baby suddenly woke up and let out a wail.
The man stopped, turned his head, and glanced over.
Then he just froze. He stood there as if he'd been turned to stone.
He locked his gaze on the baby in my arms, his face shifting from cool indifference to outright shock, then to something so complicated I couldn't even begin to figure out.
"This... baby..." he said. He took a step forward, then hesitated.
"Is this your kid?" he asked.
I replied, "Yeah."
Instinctively, I hugged the baby close to me.
His gaze lingered on the baby's face for a long moment.
He took in the baby's features, the brows, the contours, and those eyes with their slightly upturned corners.
"How old is he?" he asked.
I replied, "Five days."
He was quiet for a few seconds.
Then he pulled a business card from his coat pocket and handed it to me.
"Raymond Pearce, Pearce Group," he said.
The card was dark gray with silver embossed lettering.
He added, "If you ever need anything, you can reach out to me."
With that, he turned and walked away.
He was moving a lot faster than when he'd come.
I watched his figure disappear down the hallway, then glanced down at the business card in my hand.
Pearce Group. The biggest real estate company in the city.
Raymond Pearce. He was the CEO.