I nodded silently. As I watched the doctor’s retreating figure, my heart filled with sadness.

Just as I was about to crouch down and rest, Theo came storming out and dragged me back inside. He pointed at Jenny who was lying on the bed and barked, "Apologize to her!"

Then he continued, "Amy, if you didn't stir up trouble tonight, Jenny would've been safe and sound at home and she would not be hit by a car."

I furrowed my brows then laughed angrily at his shameless accusation. "Huh, me? I'm the troublemaker? Didn't you hear the personal attack that she hurled at me tonight?"

"Theo, I’m carrying your child! When she insults me, she’s insulting you too! Are you that clueless?”

It was the first time in five years I had shown him such a cold face. This made Theo so angry, that his eyes turned red because of it.

Before he could say anything, Jenny, who was lying on the hospital bed, burst into tears.

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault! I just wanted to lighten the mood. I didn’t mean to upset Amy. Please don’t fight because of me. It’s all on me.”

“When I recover, I’ll resign and leave. I won’t ever appear in front of you two again," she wailed miserably.

Theo, suppressing his rage, clenched his teeth and growled, "This is the last time I'm saying this, Amy! Apologize!"

“Don’t stoop to her level. I’ve told you this many times before. She is just a little girl.”

I looked at him coldly and stared at him for a long time before turning away silently, walking out and leaving the room.

As I stepped into the hallway, his furious roar echoed behind me, "If you dare leave, don’t ever come back! Amy, sooner or later, you'll come crawling back and begging before me along with that belly of yours!"

Tears streaked down my face as I quickened my pace, ignoring the gawking eyes of the people around me.

Outside the hospital, the rainstorm hadn’t eased up. I wandered the vast hospital alone, wearing nothing but my thin pajamas.

The hospital was in a remote area and I couldn’t hail a taxi no matter how hard I tried.

As if sensing my distress, the baby in my belly finally stopped moving and grew quiet.

After waiting for two hours, the rain subsided and I walked three kilometers to the nearest hotel to check-in. By then, it was already four o'clock in the morning.

As I paid for the room, a notification of a friend update popped up. When I looked at it, it was from Jenny.

The post featured a candid photo of Theo. He was holding a steaming bowl of porridge while gently massaging her swollen ankle.

The accompanying text read, "Sweet words don’t compare to porridge at dawn. The one who loves you never complains of being tired. Thank you, brother.”

As soon as the picture was posted, it quickly gathered many likes., mostly from Theo's friends who had attended the birthday party earlier.

These people had always looked down on me but taken care of Jenny with special affection. It wasn’t hard to imagine what role Theo had played in shaping their opinions and what kind of lies he must have told them about my so-called clingy, desperate behavior.

I was about to put my phone away when the comments began flooding in.

“Wow, Theo! Is there anything you can’t do? You're worthy as a top student who is proficient in everything, even porridge-making! How come I never knew you had this skill in the ten years I’ve known you? So unfair!”

“Next gathering, you better make some for us too, Theo. Show off your skills in front of Jenny again!”

“If I remember correctly, didn’t you once say you’d never do anything for a woman in your life? What a slap in the face! Only our Princess Jenny could change that!”

***

Every comment was like a dagger. It was a highlight of how cheap and pathetic I, as his wife, must have seemed.

They were right. Although we had been together for five years and I was eight months pregnant, we had not obtained a marriage certificate. It was indeed cheap. No wonder, Theo never appreciated me.

I let out a bitter laugh, turned off the phone and headed to the bedroom to sleep.

In the past, I had always kept my phone on because I was afraid. Theo would call me in the middle of the night, asking me to pick him up at the hotel.

For once, I slept throughout the night, undisturbed and woke up the next day.

I slept until noon and when I woke up, my phone filled with his messages.

"Why didn't you come home? Where are you? Send me your location!" he wrote.

"Amy, are you blind? Can't you see my messages? Why are you ignoring them? Don't push it too far!" he added.

"Jenny had already forgiven you for what had happened last night. She even suggested to take you to a movie. Just take this opportunity to get everything off your chest. Stop throwing tantrums at me."

His tone carried the arrogance of someone granting me a monumental favor.

I rubbed my temples in exhaustion.

After thinking about it, I figured it was not a bad idea to talk this through once and for all. After all, I had to show him my stand on this. So, I sent him my hotel's location.

When his car arrived downstairs, he lowered down the passenger window. Theo scanned me from head to toe. His brow furrowed and he looked at me with disapproval.

"You went out with your pajamas?" he asked. "Are you trying to embarrass me?"

"Don't you know that Jenny defended you all night about what had happened? Now, you are causing trouble again, aren’t you?"

For one and a half days I hadn’t really talked to him and I did not have any energy left to argue with him. " “My clothes got soaked in the rain yesterday. What was I supposed to wear, huh?”

The rebuke that he was about to throw at me caught in his throat. For once, my word managed to make him speechless.

Jenny, who was sitting in the front seat, squinted her eyes and flashed me a sweet smile. "See, I've told you, Amy isn't not a bad person. It must have been a misunderstanding. Let’s just talk it out. Oh, Theo gave me a jacket earlier. Why don’t you try it on? It might fit you.”

My mouth stretched into a smile with a deadpan expression. "No thanks. I’m not interested in second-hand items. For me, it's dirty.”

Noticing that she had no intention to move, I got into the backseat without a word.

From his expression, it seemed Theo was about to explode but when he turned his head to look at me, he did not expect to see me so calm and this made him hesitate for a while.

When she noticed his hesitation, Jenny spoke, "I'm sorry, Amy. My injured foot hadn't healed yet, so I needed a lot of room for it. I have to trouble you to sit at the back.

I could feel Theo's eyes directed at me from the rearview mirror but I was simply too tired to care. So, I kept my mouth shut and closed my eyes.

During the drive home, Jenny kept talking about how I should have changed clothes. I knew that she subtly mocked my disheveled appearance, but I did not take her bait. I was too drained to argue.

Eventually, even Theo grew annoyed at her and spoke up, "Leave her alone. She can wear whatever she wants. Who’s going to care how a heavily pregnant woman looks?”

His dismissive tone made Jenny's face beamed with triumph. She kept chattering, recounting how delicious the porridge was last night or how much fun the party games were. In short, they were all their memories, the ones that I had no part in.

Yet, I didn’t mind. I felt relaxed. I was also glad that I had time to rest. Pregnancy had left me constantly exhausted. It was hard to keep my eyes open every day.

Theo kept glancing at me, waiting for my reaction and the lack of it made the uneasiness in his heart grow by the minute.

When we arrived at the cinema, he said, “Stay close to me. The theater is dark and the floors are uneven. Hold onto me so you don’t trip.”

I couldn’t help but smirk bitterly. I never expected that I would watch a farewell movie, thanks to Jenny. How ironic.

However, as soon as we stepped inside, Jenny eagerly grabbed his hand and dragged him far ahead and once again, I was left alone.

When I finally found my seat, Theo was busy helping Jenny unscrew the cap of her drink.

In the dim light, I caught a flicker of guilt in his eyes.

“She got a bit excited earlier and I didn’t notice you. Don’t be mad,” he murmured.

I nodded, indifferent. “I’m not mad. In fact, I won’t get mad anymore … not this time, not ever. After the movie, stay behind. I have something to tell you.”

He didn’t seem to catch my words, distracted as Jenny called him over to open her popcorn bag.

Halfway through the movie, a sudden crash echoed above us. In just two seconds, the steel frame overhead came tumbling down.

Around me, people ducked or bowed their heads instinctively, shielding themselves.

I was the only pregnant woman who was at a loss. I stood frozen and my body was drenched with sweat.

After the deafening crash, a steel frame fell. Theo shielded Jenny with everything he had. 

Fortunately, the frame stopped just inches before me. A little closer, it would have pierced my abdomen.

Without sparing me a glance nor asking for my condition, Theo bolted out with Jenny in his arms as soon as the light turned on.

In the end, it was the rescue team who helped me out and once I was outside, I tried to find Theo but there was no trace of him.

Worried about my condition, the rescuers insisted on taking me to the hospital for a check-up.

At the emergency room entrance, I finally spotted him. He was busy standing in line for Jenny.

“You’re surprisingly lucky, Amy,” Jenny’s voice rang out, cold and malicious, a stark contrast to her usual sweetness.

"Well, you're just as resilient too," I retorted. My gaze fixed on Theo’s back as he paid the bill.

My battered heart shattered completely at this moment. Any lingering feeling I felt was extinguished by his action. 

This relationship had reached its end, there was no point in holding on.

Jenny's hand suddenly reached for my belly, her sinister smile sending chills down my spine. I wrinkled my brow and slapped her hand away as a sense of uneasiness bubbled inside me. 

However, my reaction was too slow. Jenny managed to grab my wrist and hurl herself backward, straight toward the staircase. Her bracelet snapped by her own hand and it shattered on the floor as she fell.

A loud crash echoed as Theo rushed past me. He shoved me aside like I was an obstacle.

The force of his push was so great that it sent me tumbling down the stairs. My stomach slammed against the wall, before bringing me to a halt.

Pain shot through me and it numbed my senses and blurred my vision. With a barely audible voice, I pleaded weakly, "Theo … help me …."

However, he did not spare me a glance at all. He just held Jenny in his arms and flashed into the emergency room.

Before my consciousness faded, I heard the doctor on duty that passed by me. He immediately called out for help. "Prepare for emergency surgery! I had to induce labor now …"

The doctor looked at the blood that flowed underneath me and stammered, "Even if you want to keep it now, it might be impossible."

"Hurry! Prepare the induced abortion. The patient already scheduled this procedure!"

Hearing that, I finally let go, closing my eyes in resignation.

As the anesthesia took hold, a faint sound reached my ears. It was Theo's.

“What? Where did you take my wife?”