When they brought me into the station,
the male officer assigned to question me stopped short.
"She's pregnant?"
The female officer nodded.
"What did she do that you had to bring her in this far along?"
"Theft."
"How much?"
"Three thousand."
"That's more than enough to open a case. Where's the victim?"
"Her husband."
The male officer's eyes went wide.
He looked over at me.
My eyes were red.
I lowered my head.
"All right, bring her in."
They cuffed me to the questioning chair.
But the male officer didn't start the interrogation right away.
Instead he took out his phone.
"What's your husband's number? Let me see if I can get him to drop the case."
I froze.
The female officer was looking at me too.
"Yes, be honest with us. Marital property is shared property. There's a lot of room to work something out."
My hands curled into fists.
"There's nothing to work out."
"He already made me sign a marital property agreement."
The female officer stared at me, surprised.
I pressed my lips together, embarrassed.
"After the day my father-in-law died, he stopped handing over his salary.
"And he had me sign an agreement. From then on, his money was his."
"That's..."
The male officer didn't quite know what to say.
The call had already gone through.
Jordan's voice came over the line.
"Mr. Simmons, your wife isn't in any condition for this right now. Would you consider taking her home for now? You can file the case later."
"No."
On the other end,
Jordan's voice was cold and final.
"Handle it by the book. Don't go easy on my end just because she's my wife.
"Officer, I won't write a single word of a statement of forgiveness."
"But... hello?"
The line went to a dial tone.
The male officer stared, a little stunned, at the phone he'd already ended.
"It's fine. We'll try to talk him around again."
"Don't bother."
I shook my head.
I forced out a pale smile.
"Just handle it by the book."
"But you..."
"It's fine."
I held on through the exhaustion. "The due date's still a month off."
The male and female officers exchanged a glance.
One of them let out a sigh.
"If that's how it is... ma'am, are you all right?"
The female officer suddenly stood up.
I was hunched over myself.
The next second,
I dropped hard out of the chair.
When I woke again,
I was in the hospital.
Jordan had come with me.
So had my mother-in-law.
She looked at me,
wiping at her tears without meaning to.
"Ada, don't be scared. I already made that rotten boy drop the case. It's over now."
I looked at Jordan, surprised.
He stood off to the side, saying nothing.
His face cold and distant.
My mother-in-law had rushed here because of me.
She had to head straight back.
At the airport entrance,
I sat in the car.
I could hear the scolding outside.
"Your father, back then, she truly did everything she could! Do you think your situation was actually good at the time?
"Ada never did anything to be ashamed of by this family!
"When I had my asthma, she was the one who borrowed money to buy my medicine!"
Curious, I leaned a little closer to the car window.
I heard Jordan's cold laugh.
"Mom, back then my whole salary was in her keeping.
"The money she used to buy your medicine.
"Was mine."
My fingers gripped the edge of the open window.
I watched my mother-in-law stand there, facing him, unable to get out a single word.
She turned away in silence.
The driver's door opened.
Jordan got in.
"We can go home now."
I cradled my belly.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Back home, the housekeeper had already made dinner.
Jordan hung his coat on the rack.
"Let's eat."
"Okay."
"The doctor said you're malnourished. From now on every meal has to have protein.
"Mom had me order the ingredients online for you. To eat before the delivery."
I went still for a moment.
"Th... thank you."
The dishes on the table were all light and nourishing.
Well suited to a pregnant woman.
I was just about to sit down.
A hand caught me.
"So. How are you paying for it?"
