“Only mine.”
6
Lily’s situation hadn’t been resolved.
And I had a problem.
I was pregnant.
My usually punctual period was late, and I
belatedly realized something was wrong.
Ethan usually took precautions, except for
that one time.
I was too tired that day to even lift my finger,
and the next day, we were too busy bickering,
that we completely forgot about birth control.
Ethan probably remembered.
He specifically asked me what medicine I was
taking when I was taking Vitamin C.
Why didn’t I think to take a birth control pill
then?
<
I sat listlessly waiting for the doctor to call my
number for the exam.
Half an hour later, I held the pregnancy test
report, my eyes vacant.
Damn.
It really happened.
I took a picture and sent it to Mr. Thompson.
[How’s Lily?]
[I’m pregnant, if you still want to switch, hurry
up, it’ll be too late once I show.]
It would be even more impossible if I waited
until after I gave birth.
I couldn’t abandon the baby and let someone
else raise it.
As for abortion…
I wasn’t ready to give it up.
Mr. Thompson probably didn’t see the
message; he didn’t reply.
I sat on a bench outside the hospital.
My phone screen lit up.
く
I thought it was Mr. Thompson, but it was
Ethan.
“Honey, what do you want for dinner?”
I tapped on the screen: “Not sure yet, but I
want street food.”
He replied: “Wait for me after work, we’ll go
together.”
A cold north wind swept in.
Winter was coming.
So cold.
7
That night, I didn’t know what to eat, so
Ethan and I went to the supermarket. We
bought a lot of groceries and filled the
refrigerator.
I said I would cook, ordering him to prepare
the ingredients.
After giving him the most troublesome task of
preparing the ingredients, cooking was a
breeze.
I made honey garlic shrimp, broccoli with
mushrooms, mapo tofu, and sweet and sour
pork ribs.
After I finished, Ethan took off my apron and
kissed me, “Thanks for the hard work, honey.”
I pushed him away, “My face is oily from
cooking, don’t kiss me.”
After dinner, he cleaned the table, and I sat
on the sofa playing video games when I
received a message from Mr. Thompson.
“Lily agreed, when can you switch back?”
I instinctively looked towards the kitchen.
Ethan put the dishes in the dishwasher and
was now wiping the table.
He looked back when he noticed my gaze,
“Honey, I’ll be done cleaning soon, then we
can play together.”
I lowered my head and replied.
[Next week, Ethan has a business trip next
week, she can come early to get used to the
<
house. Give me Lily’s WeChat, I’ll tell her
about Ethan’s habits.]
8