"Be a good girl and wait for me. I'll be right there."
He hung up and didn't so much as glance in my direction before heading for the door.
I lay on the cold floor, something warm and wet pooling beneath me. "Please... don't go..."
Lester's steps faltered for a split second, but he didn't turn around. "Something urgent came up at the office. I don't have time to watch you put on a show."
"Enough with the theatrics. Don't disappoint me."
The door slammed shut behind him.
When I woke again, it was the next day.
After Lester left, I'd scraped together the last shred of strength I had to dial 911. By the time the ambulance arrived, I was already unconscious.
The moment I came to, I grabbed the young nurse's hand beside my bed. "The baby. How's the baby?"
Her eyes rimmed red. She shook her head gently. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Delgado. We did everything we could."
"The pregnancy was still early, and you were already showing signs of instability from overexertion. On top of that, you ingested something you were allergic to..."
An allergen?
I froze. I'd been so careful since the pregnancy. I never ate anything I hadn't prepared myself.
Except... that bubble tea from yesterday.
The pain was so sharp it nearly suffocated me.
It hit me almost instantly. The bubble tea had herbal jelly in it.
I'd told Lester a long time ago that I was allergic to herbal jelly. But anything that had to do with me never seemed to stick in his memory.
Maybe the baby was disappointed in his father too.
Maybe he wanted to give his mom a chance to start over.
That was why he chose to leave me.
I wiped my tears, pulled myself together, and got ready to leave.
As I passed the nurses' station, I caught snippets of their conversation.
"Did you hear? Some big shot came in last night."
"I know, right? The whole production. Apparently the girl just had period cramps, and the guy called in every specialist in the hospital. He was practically in tears over it."
"Must be nice, being that adored. Meanwhile, that pregnant woman from last night had to crawl to the phone and call 911 herself. Two completely different worlds. Her husband still hasn't shown up."
I followed their gaze and saw Lester, his arm wrapped around Lucy, about to walk out.
Lucy was nestled against his chest, cheeks rosy, whining for him to carry her.
Lester tapped her nose with an indulgent smile and scooped her up in his arms. "Just wait till we get home. I'll deal with you then."
I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached. I didn't cry. I didn't scream. I pulled out my phone and took a photo.
...
When Lester came home, he looked perfectly normal.
The second he saw me, he pulled me into his arms on instinct. "How's my wife doing? Was the baby good today?"
"Work's been crazy the past couple of days. Once things settle down, I'll take you to your checkup, okay?"
I twisted away from him. "Don't touch me."
I wasn't going to waste my breath arguing. I tossed my phone onto the table.
On the screen was the photo of him and Lucy.
A flicker of panic crossed Lester's eyes before it was swallowed by sudden, explosive rage. "You followed me?"
His voice was so loud it made my eardrums throb.
"Wendy, are you ever going to stop?"
"She's just my assistant. Can you quit being so unreasonable? She's nothing like you. You're independent, you don't need me. But Lucy is young, she lives alone, and she wasn't feeling well. What's wrong with me taking her to the hospital?"
"No wonder your parents didn't want you. You've got no one to blame for your personality issues but yourself."
He didn't wait for my reaction. The door slammed shut behind him.
