Chapter 3
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Three days after giving birth, I still had no milk. Harry said the formula was better and that it would make things easier for me.
I cried again.
Tom wanted to video call me to show me the snow scene and the
snowman they built. I told him I was eating with Harry, so he
gave up.
Tom: [With Harry there, I feel a lot more at ease. You’re about to give birth, and I’ve been so worried.]
I scoffed. He hadn’t been worried about me when he had left.
I’d already seen the snowman on Isabel’s post. The two of them had rolled around in the snow, their faces and noses flushed red. Their smile was bright.
Last winter, when it snowed, I bought some molds online and happily placed a row of ducks in front of his car. He casually smashed one of them, saying, “You’re 27. Isn’t this childish?”
That night, I couldn’t sleep. While I deleted the photos, Isabel sent me a video. It didn’t have any visuals, just their voices, sounding like they’d been drinking.
Isabel asked, “If I had been braver back then, would we be
different now?”
Chapter 3
Tom said, “Isabel, there’s no ‘if‘.”
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Isabel replied, “Didn’t you say you’d celebrate my birthday carly? My wish for this year is for you to answer this question.”
Tom said, “Maybe. But Isabel, no matter what our relationship is, I’ll take care of you for the rest of my life, as long as you need
me.”
Isabel choked up, “I do need you.”
There was the sound of fabric rustling, and the progress bar reached the end. The next second, she withdrew the video.
The need from a childhood friend weighed heavier than a wife in
labor.
Late into the night, Tom suddenly sent me a message: [Honey, I love you, I miss you and Bella.]
I laughed at his hypocrisy.
Four days after giving birth, I was discharged from the hospital and moved into a confinement center. It wasn’t the one Tom and I had booked, but the one Harry found for me, which was even
better.
Tom wanted another video call to see the baby, but I told him the phone’s camera was broken.
“Okay. When I get back, I’ll buy you a new one,” Tom said.
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“What did you do today?”
“Sleep,” I replied.
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He asked why I seemed down and why my voice sounded so lifeless. I couldn’t help but sneer. Of course, I wasn’t as happy as them, reunited after a long separation. Now, just hearing his voice made me feel disgusted.
But I savored this feeling, almost masochistically. The more miserable I felt, the less shaken I would be.
“I just didn’t sleep well,” I replied.
“Did Bella keep you up again?” His tone was full of concern. “I have a flight tomorrow morning, but I’ll be there by tonight, hopefully without any delays.”
“Tom, are you ready?” Isabel called out.
Tom hummed to her and told me, “Isabel and I are going to go out for a while. Is there anything you want? If it’s a bag or cosmetics, I don’t know much about those, but you can tell Isabel.”
Before I could answer, Isabel snatched the phone away. “Hey, Sara, what do you want? Send me a list, and we’ll make him spend big.”
“No, I don’t want anything.” I replied. “Tom, just come back early.”
Chapter 3
Tom laughed and asked, “Miss me?”
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Tom’s flight was delayed by another day, and he managed to get back just a day before my due date.
The timing was perfect, and he was proud of it.
“Has the baby moved yet?”
“No, it’s still sound asleep.”
“I’ve called a cab. I’ll be home soon.”
I took my time washing my hair and having some afternoon coffee before slowly answering Tom’s call.
“Sara, where are you? What’s going on at home? Did a thief break in?” he asked in a panic.
Harry had taken all my and the baby’s things, and he had broken everything that could be smashed.
“I don’t know what happened.” I replied.
He seemed to realize something. “Sara, didn’t you say you were no longer angry?
“Where are you now? At Harry’s place? I’ll come over right now to apologize in person. How about that?”
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“No, it’s not okay,” I refused.
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“Honey, I’m sorry. You’re about to give birth. Don’t be stubborn.
It’s not good for you or the baby,” he urged.
“You still remember I’m about to give birth?”
He grunted in pain, as if having bumped into something.
“Sara…” He sounded helpless. “Please, tell me where you are. You can hit me or yell at me. Just let me see you. I’m really
worried.”
“Aren’t I talking to you just fine? What’s there to be worried about?” I sipped my soup. “I’m not even angry with you.”
“Sara Bains, can you stop talking like that? I’m trying to communicate and solve the problem with you,” he sulked.
I chuckled, “Right, solve the problem. Tomorrow, Harry’s lawyer will contact you. I’m going to divorce you, Tom.”
“What? Divorce?” He still thought I was just being emotional. “Honey, please, stop joking. You’re pregnant and about to give birth. Let’s talk about other things once the baby is safely born.”
I hung up the phone.
Harry came over after work and said that Tom had gone to his company to find him. Tom had first gone to our neighborhood but was stopped by the security guards at the gate.
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I smiled and said, “Then you’d better be careful. Don’t let him follow you here.”
“Don’t worry. Even if he finds it, he won’t be able to get in,” he replied.
Tom refused to sign the divorce agreement and nearly punched the lawyer.
After his outburst, he begged Harry to let him see me. He insisted that I could go into labor at any moment and that he needed to be with me.
Harry gave him a solid punch, and I could even hear flesh hitting flesh through the phone.
I asked Harry to hand the phone to Tom.
“Bella, are you full?”
Bella babbled a response.
“Sara…” Tom was shocked. “She…”
“I told you. My water broke,” I replied.
