3: 3
3
Back home, Hubert was in the shower.
I picked up his coat and dug through the pockets.
Sure enough, I found the ring box.
But when I opened it, only the men's band was left. The women's ring was gone.
I held the box, my eyes stinging.
I didn't have to guess who he'd given it to.
"What are you doing?"
Hubert pushed open the bathroom door and came out, and the moment he saw the ring box in my hand, he frowned.
He had nothing on but a towel around his waist.
I turned toward him and caught sight of a few faint red marks scattered across his chest.
The sight cut deep, and my nails pressed into my palm.
"I went to pick up the ring today. The clerk said you'd already taken it. Did you give it to Melody?"
"Oh, Mel was playing with my phone and saw the ring design. She really liked it, so I gave it to her."
Hubert grabbed a towel and wiped the water off his skin.
He hadn't noticed anything wrong with my mood, or maybe he had and simply didn't care, because he said it offhand.
"When I propose, I'll buy you a more expensive diamond ring. This one was cheap, only a few thousand."
But this ring could only be bought once in a lifetime, under one person's name.
The meaning was nothing alike.
And the design was one I'd chosen myself. I'd looked forward to it for so long, and now I was just as let down.
I pointed at the marks on his chest and threw the ring box straight at it.
"What are those? We're both adults. Don't tell me a mosquito bit you."
"Online you want to link couple accounts with Melody, and you two want matching rings. So let's just break up."
"Kathy, what has gotten into you?"
Hubert caught the ring box and bent to pick the men's band back out of it.
He frowned, his voice edged with irritation.
"Mel and I grew up together since we were kids. If there were anything murky between us, we'd have been together long ago, and there'd be no you. On these little things, if Mel likes something, let her have it. Why are you always so petty?"
"It's just a ring. I already told you, when I propose I'll buy you one dozens of times more expensive than this."
His face went cold as he walked into the bedroom and shut the door harder than he needed to.
I closed my eyes, bitterness rolling through my chest in waves.
What exactly counted as a big deal in his eyes?
Or rather, whether something was big or small was his to decide.
I was so angry my stomach started cramping in sharp pulls.
I sat hunched on the couch, my face growing paler and paler.
When Hubert came out dressed, he saw me looking sickly like that.
He rushed over and steadied me, his voice suddenly anxious.
"Kathy, what's wrong?"
He bent down and scooped me up sideways, not even bothering to dress properly as he headed for the door.
"Your stomach hurts. I'm taking you to the hospital first."
I clutched my stomach, the pain too much for me to speak.
At the hospital, after the exam, the doctor pushed up his glasses.
"You're pregnant, and there are signs of a threatened miscarriage. You need to cut down on fatigue and stop overthinking things for a while."
"I'm pregnant?"
Pale-faced, I touched my stomach.
Only then did I remember my period this month never seemed to have come.
I'd just been so angry these past days that it hadn't crossed my mind.
We picked up some medicine and went back.
Hubert helped me fasten my seatbelt, his expression earnest as he apologized.
"Kath, I'm sorry about the ring. I handled it badly. I shouldn't have done it without asking you first."
