3: 3

3

Back home, Hubert was in the shower.

I picked up his coat and dug through the pockets.

Sure enough, I found the ring box.

But when I opened it, only the men's band was left. The women's ring was gone.

I held the box, my eyes stinging.

I didn't have to guess who he'd given it to.

"What are you doing?"

Hubert pushed open the bathroom door and came out, and the moment he saw the ring box in my hand, he frowned.

He had nothing on but a towel around his waist.

I turned toward him and caught sight of a few faint red marks scattered across his chest.

The sight cut deep, and my nails pressed into my palm.

"I went to pick up the ring today. The clerk said you'd already taken it. Did you give it to Melody?"

"Oh, Mel was playing with my phone and saw the ring design. She really liked it, so I gave it to her."

Hubert grabbed a towel and wiped the water off his skin.

He hadn't noticed anything wrong with my mood, or maybe he had and simply didn't care, because he said it offhand.

"When I propose, I'll buy you a more expensive diamond ring. This one was cheap, only a few thousand."

But this ring could only be bought once in a lifetime, under one person's name.

The meaning was nothing alike.

And the design was one I'd chosen myself. I'd looked forward to it for so long, and now I was just as let down.

I pointed at the marks on his chest and threw the ring box straight at it.

"What are those? We're both adults. Don't tell me a mosquito bit you."

"Online you want to link couple accounts with Melody, and you two want matching rings. So let's just break up."

"Kathy, what has gotten into you?"

Hubert caught the ring box and bent to pick the men's band back out of it.

He frowned, his voice edged with irritation.

"Mel and I grew up together since we were kids. If there were anything murky between us, we'd have been together long ago, and there'd be no you. On these little things, if Mel likes something, let her have it. Why are you always so petty?"

"It's just a ring. I already told you, when I propose I'll buy you one dozens of times more expensive than this."

His face went cold as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door harder than he needed to.

I closed my eyes, bitterness rolling through my chest in waves.

What exactly counted as a big deal in his eyes?

Or rather, whether something was big or small was his to decide.

I was so angry my stomach started cramping in sharp pulls.

I sat hunched on the couch, my face growing paler and paler.

When Hubert came out dressed, he saw me looking sickly like that.

He rushed over and steadied me, his voice suddenly anxious.

"Kathy, what's wrong?"

He bent down and scooped me up sideways, not even bothering to dress properly as he headed for the door.

"Your stomach hurts. I'm taking you to the hospital first."

I clutched my stomach, the pain too much for me to speak.

At the hospital, after the exam, the doctor pushed up his glasses.

"You're pregnant, and there are signs of a threatened miscarriage. You need to cut down on fatigue and stop overthinking things for a while."

"I'm pregnant?"

Pale-faced, I touched my stomach.

Only then did I remember my period this month never seemed to have come.

I'd just been so angry these past days that it hadn't crossed my mind.

We picked up some medicine and went back.

Hubert helped me fasten my seatbelt, his expression earnest as he apologized.

"Kath, I'm sorry about the ring. I handled it badly. I shouldn't have done it without asking you first."

4: 4

But the ring's already been given away. I can't exactly ask for it back.

When you say yes to my proposal, I'll give you a better one.

I said nothing.

Today the kiss mark on him was like a thorn driven into my heart, slowly rotting there.

As for the red marks on his skin.

Right up until we went to bed that night, Hubert never once brought it up or offered any explanation. He just let the whole thing quietly pass.

But it stayed lodged in me all the same.

That weekend we'd arranged to get together with a few friends.

I pulled open the car door and saw the girl already sitting in the passenger seat. My hand froze.

Hubert paused, then explained.

"Mel knows everyone at today's get-together too, so I brought her along."

I didn't say anything. I opened the back door and got in.

Once we were moving, Melody reached over and laced her fingers through his big hand.

Matching rings sat on both their ring fingers.

She was thrilled, delighted, playing it up.

"Hubert, the ring's a little loose on me. When we get back later, take me to have it resized."

"I wore this little dress today just to go with it."

The ring had been made to my measurements. Of course it didn't fit her.

Hubert nodded and made a sound of agreement.

"Sure, after dinner I'll take you to the shop and have them take it back and size it down."

We got out and walked toward the restaurant we'd booked.

In the elevator, the other two girls kept glancing over, comparing something on their phones.

The moment we stepped out, one of them finally couldn't hold back and chased after us.

She skipped right past me, looked at Melody a little nervously, then pointed at Hubert beside her.

"Hi, sorry, are you and your boyfriend the couple in this picture? The one being pushed on the app's homepage, in the trending section."

The angle of the photo let me see it.

It was the couple photo the two of them had taken during the send-flowers event on the couples-features app.

My nose stung again.

Thinking of the baby inside me, I tried hard not to let myself get so angry.

But I couldn't hold the bitter feeling back at all.

Melody was already happily gripping the man's hand and nodding, tilting her head against his shoulder.

"That's us. I can't believe it, what a coincidence. Did the photo really spread that far?"

They took a photo with the two girls, who left very pleased with it.

On the way into the private room she looked up at Hubert, eyes bright, and asked him,

"Hubert, does this count as us getting a little famous? We can't even go out to eat without running into people who recognize us."

Through the meal I just ate in silence.

Completely out of place with all the noise and laughter around me.

I finally made it to the end of dinner, got to the car first, and couldn't hold the question back any longer.

"Hubert, when those two girls took the photo just now, why didn't you deny you were a couple?"

Hubert had just shut the car door. At my words the smile that hadn't quite left his face vanished all at once.

He was irritated, at a loss for why I was angry again.

Everything had been fine at dinner.

"Deny what? They're strangers, people we don't even know. Was there any need to explain all that?"

"It's a small thing. We're never going to cross paths with them again anyway."

"You're my boyfriend. Introducing your girlfriend in public isn't something you should do? That's a small thing to you too?"

5

My voice climbed, out of my control.

Another cramp twisted through my stomach.

I bit down hard on my lip, pressed a hand to my belly, and held his eyes, stubborn, fighting back the tears.

All through dinner I'd been on my phone.

The photo the two of them had posted had been picked up by the gossip accounts.

Now everyone online thought they were a couple.

The air in the car was tight.

Outside, Melody suddenly pulled the door open and leaned her head in.

She climbed right in like she belonged there, her voice urgent and coaxing.

"Hubert, drop me home first."

"I just checked the camera on Bubbles. His bowl's out of food, he must be starving. I have to go feed him."

Hubert drew a long breath, turned his head, and swung the car around.

"I'll drop Mel off first. Whatever it is, we can talk about it once we're home."

I closed my eyes and leaned against the window.

But as the minutes passed, the pain in my stomach only got worse.

I couldn't bear it. My face went white as I spoke.

"Hubert, my stomach really hurts. Take me to the hospital first. I'm scared something's wrong with the baby."

"No."

Melody protested, worked up.

Her eyes rimmed red, she looked anxiously at the man beside her and bit her lip.

"Hubert, you know how much Bubbles means to me. We're the ones who picked him up as a puppy and raised him together."

"He's thirteen now, he's an old dog. If he goes hungry he won't be able to take it."

"We're already halfway there. Ten more minutes and we're home, then you can take Kathy to the hospital."

Hubert hesitated.

He stopped the car, turned to check on me, and soothed,

"Kath, Mel's right. Why don't you rest and wait a bit longer? Maybe the cramp will pass if you give it a minute."

"I'll drive fast. Five minutes at most, just hold on."

My face was white, cold sweat dripping from my forehead.

Watching the back of his head, warm tears slid from my eyes, and the corner of my mouth twisted in a bitter little smile.

So this was what he meant. Give in to Melody on the small things, side with me on the big ones.

Hubert drove fast the whole way and finally reached Melody's place five minutes later.

Once she was dropped off, he started driving again.

Racing along, he turned his head to ask about me.

"Kath, does your stomach still hurt? I'll get you to the hospital right away, just hang on a little longer."

"Don't bother."

I touched the wetness spreading beneath me and looked at him, calm.

"The baby's already gone."