Ivan rubbed his temples and softened his tone. "Alba had a fever today while helping me clean up the mess. She has got Nettie to care for. I'll check on her and be back to talk."

He left in a rush, not noticing the blood dripping from my hand, cut by the broken glass.

Thunder rumbled outside, and, as expected, Alba's message arrived.

I knew it would hurt, but I opened it anyway.

[How does it feel to wear my leftover ring? You always get my hand-me-downs. Here's a secret, since I'm in a good mood. Remember your appendicitis surgery before you got pregnant? Ivan wasn't there because he was with me. That client wasn't as important as he told you. I was.]

She then sent over a voice message. In it, Ivan was humming a lullaby.

[He sang this to my daughter that night he stood you up. Isn't it beautiful?]

My heart broke at the revelation.

I scheduled an abortion for the following Monday, packed my things, and left the house.

...

The next evening, Ivan called.

He didn't ask where I was or if I was okay. He just said, "Moving out to calm down is probably good. When you're ready, I'll come take you home."

I snorted and hung up.

My friends, knowing I was pregnant, suggested I visit an early education center to reserve a spot. I didn't tell them about the abortion, but I went to pass the time.

As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Ivan in a class with Alba and her daughter.

The two looked cozy and interacted like a married couple.

I froze, recalling Ivan's habit of leaving weekly meetings early every Wednesday. Looking back, he started it since Alba gave birth.

Things started to fall into place, and a suspicion formed in my mind.

While a staff member poured me water, I glanced at her schedule book.

It showed Ivan had signed up for the most expensive package for Nettie Lawson and attended classes with them every Wednesday.

All my strength seemed to drain in an instant.

The staff member, unaware of my reaction, pushed their maternity center. All smiles, she pointed to Ivan in the classroom. "That's Mr. Knowles. He signed up for both our maternity and early education programs for his wife and their child. They're our VIP clients, and Mrs. Knowles loves our services. You can talk to her after class if you'd like."

She paused and added, "We offer special privileges for our VIPs. If the parents decide to purchase a growth fund for their baby later, we'll gift them a set of gold couple mugs as a souvenir."

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks.

I was stunned. 'If Alba is Mrs. Knowles, then who am I? A mistress who doesn't even rate?'

For seven years, Ivan had barely given me any gifts, but for Alba, he'd gone all out, even taking care of things like the maternity center.

I suddenly remembered that I had once seen the same gold mugs on their desks.

"It's just a company anniversary gift. Don't be so paranoid," Ivan had said.

I still remembered how the marketing manager couldn't stifle a laugh and got punished by Ivan with a one-month bonus deduction.

I left the early education center and wandered to the maternity center.

Just then, my phone rang with a call from Ivan.

"Where are you?" he asked. "I'm picking you up for lunch. A friend gave me barbecue coupons. You've been craving it, right?"

His tone was cheerful, indicating his good mood from having the class with Alba and Nettie.

I was about to respond when a TV on the wall caught my eye.

A saleswoman walked over with a smile. "This is our promotional video, showing our members' daily lives and class snippets."

My grip tightened on the phone as I watched Ivan in the video, braiding Alba's hair during a post-pregnancy recovery class.

"Isn't it sweet?" the saleswoman said. "He's an entrepreneur but always makes time for his wife, no matter how busy."

I hung up, rubbing the mark on my ring finger. My tears started to fall uncontrollably.

The saleswoman looked flustered. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

"Yeah," I said, forcing a smile, and left.

As I passed a corner, Ivan's car passed by.

Through the window, I saw him hand a piece of durian-flavored candy to Alba.

I recognized the wrapper. It was my favorite.

I pressed my hand against my chest and wandered down the street, but I couldn't shake the memory of how Ivan had grimaced when I ate that candy.

"This stuff tastes awful," he had said.

Because of that, I'd stopped eating them. But now, he doted on Alba with them.

...

Days passed without contact from Ivan, likely because I'd hung up on him twice.

I used the time to clear out everything tied to him.

On Monday, I went to the hospital for the abortion. Just before I could enter the operating room, Alba texted, [Mr. Knowles asked me to order rose-flavored cookies from you for Nettie's 100-day celebration tomorrow. He wants it to be grand.]

Those cookies were my creation, perfected over sleepless nights for our engagement, but Ivan had dismissed them as childish.

He had denied all my efforts without even tasting them, and I had been upset for days because of it.

But instead of comforting me, he had accused me of overreacting.

Yes, I had overreacted, but not anymore.

I sent Alba the recipe, deleted her contact, and walked into the operating room.

As the anesthesia took hold, my tears fell. The baby I had been hoping for all these years was leaving me.

I whispered, "I'm sorry, baby. I couldn't protect you. I hope you find a happy family in your next life."

After the surgery, weak and exhausted, I ran into Ivan and Alba at the pharmacy.

He stormed over and shoved me. "What's your problem, Betsy? How dare you hang up on me? Did you get the ingredients for the cookies? Are you slacking off here? Planning to fake a medical report to get out of it?"

I stumbled and fell to the ground. Pain shot through my abdomen, and sweat beaded on my forehead.

"Drop the act!" he sneered. "You're as strong as a horse."

Alba, holding her medicine, walked up and linked her arm with his. She cooed, "Mr. Knowles, take it easy. It's fine if Betsy doesn't want to help."

I wanted to argue, but the pain was too much.

Ivan clicked his tongue, about to taunt me further, when a nurse passing by screamed, "Someone's bleeding heavily!"

Ivan's expression shifted. He cried out in a panic, "Betsy!"