Deep Love, Wounded Heart

It was our third wedding anniversary, and Barret Gomez had always been distant from me.

My mother's illness became serious, and her greatest wish was to see me pregnant and with a child.

I pleaded with Barret, tears streaming, to let me get pregnant, and he reluctantly agreed.

But when labor pains gripped me, he was nowhere to be found.

The next day, I saw his name in the Twitter post of "Plum".

[Barret's so attentive. He rallied a big support for my minor injury.]

I commented: [Wishing you both happy together！]

——

Alone at home, I suffered a miscarriage and was rushed to the hospital.

I called Barret countless times that day.

But all I got was a silence before the line went dead.

At the hospital, my baby was born still. That night, my mother passed away, her last breath drawn upon hearing the news.

In a heartbeat, the two pillars of my life crumbled away.

Maybe my tears had drained my sorrow, for I felt an unexpected calm within.

Quietly, without fuss, I arranged my mother's funeral, my body still recovering from a miscarriage.

The blame, I realized, rested solely on me.

Barret and I were together for five years before marriage. On our wedding day, his first love "Plum", Ruby Sanders, reappeared.

That wedding night, a call from Ruby was all it took to pull Barret away, just to buy her favorite fruit for her.

Despite my fantasies and the cherished memories of our love, no one could compete with first love's allure in those three years.

After the funeral, I returned home alone.

As I entered the house, I found Barret tending to Ruby's ankle in the living room.

Her ankle appeared red and swollen, indicating a recent sprain.

Yet, in contrast to my recent brush with death in the hospital, her injury seemed trivial and hateful.

Was this why he abandoned me during childbirth?

I glanced at my postpartum belly, feeling the absurdity of the past few years growing heavier.

Without wanting to intrude on their moment, I headed straight for the guest room, beginning to pack my belongings.

"Lauren Moreno, hold on."

Barret's voice cut through, icy and unyielding.

"Could you refrain from calling me for trivial matters in the future?

"You're an adult, capable of taking care of yourself."

His words struck me dumbfounded.

Hadn't I been managing on my own all this time?

But Barret still saw me as lacking in sensibility, continuing his tirade.

"I understand you might be feeling sensitive now, being pregnant.

"But Ruby is like my sister. I have a duty to be there for her when she's hurt. Why did you call me so incessantly?

"Do you realize the disruption it caused?"

His barrage of questions left me speechless.

Barret said when he parted with Ruby, she suffered a lot.

So, he wanted to love her as a sister now. Out of love, I had allowed him to maintain contact with her, treating her like family, fearing that denying him this would erase me from his heart completely.

Yet, my leniency only emboldened their disrespect.

It wasn't until the loss of my child and my mother's passing that reality hit me like a sledgehammer.

"Barret, let's end this marriage."