Chapter 3

After a moment of silence, James spoke up. “You can’t even raise one child, much less two. Right now, I just want to make sure Max grows up well.”

I stared at him, my eyes stinging.

“I was joking.”

That was all I could manage to say before I ran to the toilet to throw up. When I reemerged, James was rushing out of the door with his phone in hand.

I tried to stop him, but he shoved me aside, roaring in rage, “A life is at stake here, and you’re still being jealous? Her stomach hurts because she drank too much beer to score a business deal! Unlike you, she can’t make a living just by staying home all day!”

I took a business card out of the drawer nearby. “It isn’t safe to drive while you’re drunk. This is a cab driver’s number. Call him to pick you up.”

James took the card, opening his mouth as though to say something. When no words came out, I turned around and gave him a bunch of painkillers from the first-aid kit.

“Your assistant is always having aches and pains. You should take her to the hospital.”

As I watched him dash away, I remembered the time when we first started the company.

I did not have a college degree, but I was a talented jewelry designer. Until now, my designs still sold the best out of all the company’s products.

When I fell pregnant, James and his mother convinced me to take a backseat at the company. When I applied for a part-time college course, James accused me of abandoning my family for my own ambition.

At the time, Max had just started speaking. The way he called me “Mama” melted my heart, so after some hesitation, I gave up the college offer.

I put my life on the line to give birth to that boy, so I loved him with everything I had.

Now, though, he was scratching my hands and screaming at me.

James never came home after going to care for Pearl that night. Max called him several times to no avail, then he placed the blame on me.

“I want Dad and Aunt Pear! I don’t want to stay with you, you meanie! Give me back my daddy!”

He punched me several times in the stomach. I gritted my teeth through the pain and took him to the company.

The new receptionist did not know me, but she knew Max.

I took Max upstairs. Once the office door opened, I saw Pearl sitting on James’s lap. She cried out when she saw us and buried her head in James’s shoulder, saying softly, “Why are you here, Wendy? It’s not what you think it is!”

James quickly put her down and shielded her behind her back. “Don’t misunderstand, Wendy.”

I completed his next sentences for him. “Let me guess. You’re going to say you spend every day together at work anyway. If you really wanted her, you wouldn’t have waited this long.”

James frowned. “There’s no need for sarcasm, Wendy. There’s nothing between us, and I have nothing on my conscience.”

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah. You’re perfectly innocent.”

I shoved Max toward them. “Max kept yelling for you, but you wouldn’t pick up his calls. Send him to your mom’s place later. I got something else to do.”

I walked out of the office briskly, and James did not give chase. When I reached the stairwell, I leaned against the wall and forced the tears back in.

“Hello, Dr. Richards? I want to schedule an abortion.”