It was our third wedding anniversary, and Barret Gomez had always been distant from me.

My mother's illness became serious, and her greatest wish was to see me pregnant and with a child.

I pleaded with Barret, tears streaming, to let me get pregnant, and he reluctantly agreed.

But when labor pains gripped me, he was nowhere to be found.

The next day, I saw his name in the Twitter post of "Plum".

[Barret's so attentive. He rallied a big support for my minor injury.]

I commented: [Wishing you both happy together！]

——

Alone at home, I suffered a miscarriage and was rushed to the hospital.

I called Barret countless times that day.

But all I got was a silence before the line went dead.

At the hospital, my baby was born still. That night, my mother passed away, her last breath drawn upon hearing the news.

In a heartbeat, the two pillars of my life crumbled away.

Maybe my tears had drained my sorrow, for I felt an unexpected calm within.

Quietly, without fuss, I arranged my mother's funeral, my body still recovering from a miscarriage.

The blame, I realized, rested solely on me.

Barret and I were together for five years before marriage. On our wedding day, his first love "Plum", Ruby Sanders, reappeared.

That wedding night, a call from Ruby was all it took to pull Barret away, just to buy her favorite fruit for her.

Despite my fantasies and the cherished memories of our love, no one could compete with first love's allure in those three years.

After the funeral, I returned home alone.

As I entered the house, I found Barret tending to Ruby's ankle in the living room.

Her ankle appeared red and swollen, indicating a recent sprain.

Yet, in contrast to my recent brush with death in the hospital, her injury seemed trivial and hateful.

Was this why he abandoned me during childbirth?

I glanced at my postpartum belly, feeling the absurdity of the past few years growing heavier.

Without wanting to intrude on their moment, I headed straight for the guest room, beginning to pack my belongings.

"Lauren Moreno, hold on."

Barret's voice cut through, icy and unyielding.

"Could you refrain from calling me for trivial matters in the future?

"You're an adult, capable of taking care of yourself."

His words struck me dumbfounded.

Hadn't I been managing on my own all this time?

But Barret still saw me as lacking in sensibility, continuing his tirade.

"I understand you might be feeling sensitive now, being pregnant.

"But Ruby is like my sister. I have a duty to be there for her when she's hurt. Why did you call me so incessantly?

"Do you realize the disruption it caused?"

His barrage of questions left me speechless.

Barret said when he parted with Ruby, she suffered a lot.

So, he wanted to love her as a sister now. Out of love, I had allowed him to maintain contact with her, treating her like family, fearing that denying him this would erase me from his heart completely.

Yet, my leniency only emboldened their disrespect.

It wasn't until the loss of my child and my mother's passing that reality hit me like a sledgehammer.

"Barret, let's end this marriage."

Unable to bear witnessing Barret and his affectionate companion any longer, I turned on my heels and departed with my luggage.

Without lifting his gaze, Barret's voice carried a hint of concern. "Lauren, where are you going with your pregnant condition? Are you planning to stir up trouble?"

Trouble?

At the mention of trouble, I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Over the past three years, whenever I expressed even the slightest discomfort with Ruby, Barret labeled it as causing trouble.

All he wanted was for me to accept Ruby's place in our family willingly.

And it seemed that way now.

This room, once our wedding chamber, now felt alien with Barret and Ruby nestled together in the living room.

"Barret, I won't cause any more disturbances.

"I'll keep to myself from now on.

"Whether I'm carrying a child or not is none of your concern."

Throughout, Barret never met my gaze.

My words were firm, tinged with a calm resolve.

It had been days since my miscarriage and my mother's passing. If he truly cared, he would have reached out.

Whenever he glanced my way, he must have noticed the deflated state of my once-swollen belly.

Perhaps my newfound determination surprised Barret. He finally looked up, his initially angry eyes softening as they landed on my stomach.

"Your belly? Where's the baby?"

Seeing my shrunken abdomen, Barret shot to his feet.

"The baby? Are you even worthy of caring for it?"

My tone grew colder than ever before. I'd never dared to confront Barret like this, but today was different.

Barret hesitated, processing the weight of my words.

At that moment, I opened the door and wanted to leave with my luggage.

"Explain to me! What happened to the baby?"

Barret rushed after me, his face etched with concern.

"Barret!"

In an instant, Ruby's voice rang out, accompanied by a pained cry. She was struggling to stand with her injured ankle.

Barret, who had just appeared anxious, immediately set me down and hurried back to assist Ruby.

"Ruby, please, don't try to move with your injured foot."

Barret's concern was evident, his worry for our child momentarily forgotten upon hearing Ruby's distress.

I couldn't help but sneer.

My hands instinctively moved to cradle my belly.

Baby, did you already sense what kind of father you have? And was that why you were hesitating to enter this world?

But perhaps it was for the best. So when you were born, you wouldn't have to know the absence of a father's love.

A tear trickled down my cheek.

It was a product of my utter despair towards Barret.

Once more, I reached for the door, ready to leave this desolate home, only to be stopped by Barret's firm grip.

"Don't you owe me an explanation about the child?"

Barret's cold voice came from behind.

After being halted repeatedly by Barret, I made a decision not to depart.

I pulled my suitcase back, meeting Barret's icy gaze, and spoke deliberately.

"Since I became pregnant, have you ever shown concern for the baby in my womb?

"Have you ever accompanied me to a prenatal appointment?

"Do you even know how our child is progressing?

"Have you ever listened to our baby's heartbeat?

"Barret, what right do you have to demand an explanation from me now, about the child?"

I gestured towards Barret, releasing a torrent of pent-up emotions all at once.

In that moment, I felt like a woman on the brink of madness.

Barret appeared stunned, likely because he'd never witnessed me so hysterical before.

"But... that child is mine too," he muttered.

A flicker of guilt crossed his features as he lowered his gaze.

"Barret, please don't be like this. This child is just a tool for her to ensnare you.

"I've lived abroad for years and seen countless such schemes.

"If it weren't for her claiming her mother was gravely ill, would you have agreed to this child?

"And who's to say she won't use it as leverage for child support in the future? Maybe it's her mother's idea!"

Ruby pulled Barret and said quietly, full of contempt.

My head spun.

I discarded my luggage and seized Ruby's shoulders firmly.

"What are you talking about?"

My eyes blazed with fury as I held Ruby's shoulders.

She could do whatever she wanted to me.

But she could not slander my mother and my child.

"Barret, she is hurting me."