She bit her lip and shrank back two steps, playing fragile.
When Sebastian came out, she asked right in front of me how the baby was doing.
My vision blurred red on the spot.
Before I could say a word, Sebastian dropped to his knees：
“Joel, I had no idea you were here too……”
“I was only worried about Professor Baxter going through the abortion alone, so I came with her.”
“I'm sorry, but there really is nothing between us! Please, I'm begging you, just let me be……”
As he spoke, he turned to Julia and broke into sobs.
Julia's brow creased. The look she gave me was terrifyingly cold.
“Joel, instead of wasting time looking for trouble, why don't you go deal with that garbage you bought.”
“If Sebastian hadn't pointed out that a baby soaked in formaldehyde was never going to be viable, we wouldn't even be here.”
The garbage she meant was the stroller I'd bought for the baby. The little toys.
I stood there for a long time, frozen, until the doctor called my number.
I walked in and set down the prenatal report confirming the malformation.
“She's not coming.”
The baby was gone. Everything I'd prepared could be thrown away.
I dragged myself home.
Julia was standing at the door. She paused, then said：
“You rushed out this morning and left all those jujube slices from your tea sitting in the sink. Clean it up.”
“And there's hair on the floor. Sweep it.”
“Tessa's coming by later to revise her paper. She can't stand mess.”
I braced myself against the sink and wept.
After that, I never went home again.
I threw out every pair of shorts, every short-sleeved shirt—anything that bared skin—and buried myself in long sleeves, long pants, drifting through the days and nights like something hollowed out.
I was probably sick too.
Julia's apology didn't come until half a month later. I put on a pinstriped shirt, took the divorce papers, and went to meet her.
I wanted to give this marriage a decent ending.
What I got instead was the end of my life.
I came back to the present and heard Julia's answer, sharp as a blade.
“Impossible! Sebastian isn't Joel. He wouldn't gamble with his own life!”
“Besides, I'm his wife. I can tell he's terrified.”
Her voice cracked as she went on.
“Sebastian has low sperm motility. It took us so long to conceive. If anything happens to him, I won't survive it either.”
“Captain Bennett, please. Help me find him.”
“We've already got people running down the gown buyer. Tech is working on reconstructing the kidnapper's face right now.”
“Before midnight. We'll have him.”
Right then, a cheer erupted from the tech unit.
“Got it!”
Julia's head snapped up, her eyes full of hope.
“We've cracked the mosaic data. Our specialists are reconstructing the facial composite now.”
Claire stood and handed Julia a cup of water.
“Relax.”
Her tone was easy. Her gaze was not.
Julia murmured her thanks and took the cup without really seeing it.
Claire's eyes flickered：“Professor Baxter, do you know the kidnapper? You're both left-handed.”
The water in the cup lurched.
“No.”
Julia lowered her head.
The next second, the expert's video call connected on the main screen.
“The facial reconstruction is done! She's……”
Julia Baxter's face filled the screen.
