“You don't look so good. Don't overthink it. He was drunk and running his mouth.”
I took the glass from her. My fingertips pressed against the warmth of the cup.
Warm.
But it couldn't reach anywhere inside me.
I looked up at her and asked quietly：
“Angela, did you ever actually love me?”
Her expression froze. She was about to speak.
But Carter got there first, laughing, swirling his glass lazily：
“Bro, that's a real mood-killer of a question.”
“She married you. She's having your kid. Isn't that enough?”
“After all, this princess slept in my arms for years, and she never gave me that much.”
I looked at him. And then, somehow, I smiled too.
“You're right.”
“The title. That should be enough.”
Except from this moment on,
I didn't want it anymore.
On the drive home, the only sound in the car was the windshield wipers.
Angela gripped the steering wheel. A long time passed before she spoke.
“Don't take what Carter said seriously.”
“We were young and stupid. He never knew when to shut up.”
She paused, her tone the kind you'd use to calm someone being unreasonable.
“I married you. The baby is ours. Isn't that enough?”
I watched the neon signs slide backward past the window. My nails dug into my palm, slowly, deeper.
“So you think I should be grateful?”
Angela frowned.
“You're too emotional tonight. Let's just go home and get some rest.”
Back at the house, she took off her coat and went through her usual routine. Poured water. Washed her hands. Checked her phone.
Calm. As if the humiliation in that private room had never happened.
I stood in the bedroom doorway, my throat tight.
In that moment, I needed to know.
Was it that she felt nothing for me, or that she simply didn't want me at all?
I clenched my jaw, loosened my collar, and walked up to her.
My fingers were shaking, but I still reached out and pulled her into my arms.
“Angela……”
“Look at me.”
Her body stiffened for a second, then she pushed me away.
No desire. No warmth. Just exhaustion and irritation.
She picked up the coat beside her and draped it back over my shoulders, her voice flat：
“Stop it.”
My eyes burned red instantly.
“You're three months along. The doctor said once you're in the stable period, we can……”
“I'm not messing around. I just want to know if you still want me.”
Angela looked at me, her expression darkening inch by inch.
“Lucius, are you really that desperate?”
The words hit like a slap across the face.
I stood frozen. Even my breathing shook.
She had already turned away, grabbed her car keys, and walked out.
The door slammed “shut”.
The whole house was empty now. Just me, and the wreckage of my dignity.
I sat on the edge of the bed. Tears hit the backs of my hands, one by one.
Half an hour later, my phone lit up.
Carter had posted on social media.
The photo showed a woman's wrist on the driver's seat. The bracelet was the one I'd given Angela.
The caption was a single line：
【Someone blamed me for talking too much when I'm drunk.
But she still showed up in the middle of the night.】
Below it, he'd added another post：
【Back when we were broke college kids, we tried every place imaginable. Except this one.】
【Looks like tonight we unlock a new spot.】
I stared at those two lines, and I laughed.
Kept laughing, and the tears came harder.
So when she told me not to overthink it,
she meant for me to stay home and keep up appearances.
While she went to him, where she could let herself be real.
I wiped my eyes, opened the family group chat, and typed a message.
“Dad, Mom, I need you to set me up with a lawyer.”
