"What wonderful news!"
I stayed calm, while Tristan beside me held his breath.
The previous check-up wasn't as thorough as today's, so although I already knew my eyes and ears had recovered, I was still thinking about how to confess everything to him.
But the doctor's next words knocked the breath out of me.
"Congratulations, you're two months pregnant!"
She pointed at the screen with a cheerful smile.
Pregnant?!
I froze.
These past months, I had felt my body getting better—stronger even—without any of the discomforts of early pregnancy.
There was no joy on my face; my brows tightened instead.
A sudden child... was not a blessing to me.
Tristan, on the other hand, was so excited the veins on his neck bulged. He grabbed me into his arms, his smile so wide it practically curved his eyes into crescents.
But just as his excitement peaked, a thought struck him. He suddenly let go and his tone softened unnaturally.
I could tell his mind had drifted far, so far that he didn't even hear the doctor mention that my body had fully recovered.
Before heading home, I stopped by the restroom. As I washed my hands, a figure in the corner caught my eye.
Jasmine...
What was she doing here?
I quietly followed her into a dim side corridor.
"Tristan... why haven't you come back yet? I have something to tell you..." Her voice trembled with sobs.
Five minutes ago, she had received her own pregnancy result—she was expecting too.
Her eyes were bloodshot, her hands shaking as she clutched her report.
"That useless cripple Celine... how dare she use pregnancy to keep Tristan?"
I was ready to turn and leave—I didn't want to hear more filth—when the overhead announcement echoed.
"Number seventeen, Celine Mendoza, please proceed to the first floor for payment—"
At the sound of my name, Jasmine's expression twisted with disgust.
Tristan's call came through just then. The ringtone was loud—and she immediately spotted me.
I already knew what she looked like.
She still didn't know my vision had returned.
Her face darkened as she approached, veins pulsing on her forehead.
"Well, well... look who it is."
She noticed the absence of hearing aids on my ears. Her voice grew shriller.
"No hearing aids? Oh right. I forgot—you're blind, deaf, and pathetic. Whatever I say, you can't hear it anyway."
Smug and venomous, she continued to spit insult after insult.
I pretended to be confused, like I was simply trying to find my way.
I just wanted to walk away.
"If you accidentally fall here," she drawled, "I'm afraid the baby might not make it either."
A wicked grin spread across her face.
My blood ran cold.
How could a person's heart be this vicious?
Her hand inched closer, and I froze in fright.
There was no cameras in this area.
I pretended to be calm, but my palms were already drenched in sweat.
"Celine, go to hell!"
She rushed behind me and shoved me down the staircase.
The sudden drop tore a scream from my throat.
My vision spun, and pain shot through my abdomen.
I fainted.
Breathless, Jasmine finally released all her resentment and rage.
Before leaving, she left one last curse, "May your child die miserably."
I didn't die from the fall. After a short while, my eyes slowly opened.
My legs were covered in bruises, and blood seeped from my knee.
Tristan hurried toward me, arms full of bags—pregnancy supplements, prenatal care items—everything he had just bought.
"Celine, why are you here? I called you so many times. Why didn't you answer?"
"Come on, let's go home. Mom already heard the news and prepared a whole table of your favorite dishes."
He didn't notice the small but steady trail of blood sliding down my leg.
