Chapter 60
The man’s strong arm jammed in the doorway as he forced his way in with Aveline at his side.}
“Althea, even playing hard to get has its limits. I came all the way to your hometown to coax you. What more do you want? If you keep this up, I’ll just go ahead and sign the divorce papers!“}
He shielded the woman beside him, his gaze flickering with irritation as he guarded her belly.
But I couldn’t take my eyes off the thing that had just fallen from Aveline’s clothes. My voice trembled.>
“Thayer, where is the safety amulet my mom gave me?”
Thayer pressed his lips together and pulled the person behind him even closer in protection. “Althea, you never liked wearing jewelry anyway. Since Aveline just got pregnant and isn’t feeling well, why not let her use it for now?“>
“That was my mother’s keepsake! What right does someone who hurt my mom have to wear it?“}
I stepped forward and yanked the peace pendant from Aveline’s neck. Thinking I was about to hit someone, Thayer raised his hand and shoved me to the ground.”
The pendant I had just pulled off shattered into pieces on the floor. Ignoring the sharp pain in my abdomen, I immediately knelt down in a frenzy to pick up the pieces. My fingers were pierced by the shards, bleeding profusely.
“Althea, don’t go too far! It was just a worthless trinket and now you’re trying to murder a pregnant woman?“}
Thayer picked up Aveline in a princess carry and gently stroked the trembling woman’s back.
As if he were in his own home, he walked into what used to be my parents‘ master bedroom. Not long after, more than a dozen workers arrived to throw out everything in the room and replace it with the finest bed from the county.
I clutched the shattered pieces, tears streaming down my face, when I faintly heard a voice coming from the room. “Aveline, the conditions here aren’t great. Please bear with it for now for you and the baby.”
My mother’s memorial photo sat on the table and from the room she once slept in, the heavy panting of a man and woman gradually filled the air. The pain in my abdomen was so intense that I couldn’t even straighten up to stop them.
All I could do was weakly curl up, hugging my mother’s urn tightly to my chest, shielding it beneath me as I cried and apologized, “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry… It’s my fault… I let you be wronged.”
The sounds from the room lingered endlessly. Blood kept flowing from beneath me. In the end, I had no choice but to call an ambulance. Seeing the doctors‘ grim expressions, I forced a bitter smile and asked, “It’s okay. Just tell me. I can handle it.“)
“Due to the emotional and physical trauma you’ve endured during the pregnancy… we’re afraid the baby can’t be saved.“}
I staggered toward the payment counter, the doctor’s words echoing in my mind over and over. When I looked up, I unexpectedly crossed paths with Thayer, who was holding Aveline, right there in the obstetrics department.
His gaze lingered on my face for a moment, but he still hurried toward the OB–GYN ward. Behind him, I heard the doctor’s reproachful voice.
“It’s normal for young couples to be passionate, but you really need to be more careful. Don’t scare the baby…”
The doctor’s voice faded into the distance.}
With trembling hands, I booked a surgical abortion for ten o’clock the next morning.
A child that no one looked forward to… shouldn’t have to come into this world to suffer.
So much had happened that day. As soon as I got home, I went straight to my room and fell asleep.
In the middle of the night, half–awake, I vaguely heard the sound of the door opening.”
Someone was gently caressing my belly–someone even leaned close. In a haze, I heard a man’s gentle voice. “Baby, I’m your daddy. You have to behave in Mommy’s tummy, okay…?“}]
But in the next instant, the whole building began to tremble and shake.
That fleeting warmth vanished without a trace.
I slowly opened my dazed eyes, only to see the ceiling starting to collapse above me.
