Chapter 3

The insurance agent greeted me warmly. “Ms. Shore, what kind of coverage are you looking for?”

I sat down on the sofa and accepted the glass of water she offered me.

“I want a life insurance policy.”

I looked at her calmly and said, “The highest coverage you offer.”

The agent glanced at my pregnant belly, slightly surprised. “Since you're pregnant, some policies may have stricter underwriting requirements.”

“That’s fine. I’ve done my research.”

I took my bank card out of my purse. “If something happens to me during childbirth… How much would the payout be?”

The agent quickly ran the numbers on her tablet.

“Based on the coverage level you’re choosing, the accidental death benefit would be around two million dollars.”

I nodded and said, “I’ll take it.”

“And who would you like to name as the beneficiary?”

She picked up her electronic pen and asked, “Your parents, or your husband?”

I fell silent for a moment. I pictured Lucas sitting there with his calculator, carefully tallying every expense.

Given his personality, he’d never spend a single extra penny on the child. The only way was to leave this huge sum to him.

Maybe, for the sake of the money, he'd make sure our baby grew up safe and well.

“My husband.”

I gave her Lucas's name and identification information.

“Lucas Craig.”

After signing the paperwork and paying the premium, I had less than five hundred dollars left in my account. That was all the money I had to live on for the rest of the month.

By the time I got home, it was already dark. The lights in the living room were on.

Lucas was sitting on the couch, reading documents in a foreign language.

On the coffee table was an elegant pastry box bearing the logo of a popular old-fashioned bakery in the southern part of town.

He looked up when he heard the door open. There was a faint smile in his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

“You're back,” he said as he put down his papers and came over to take my bag.

“I was passing through the south side and remembered you saying a few days ago that you wanted some chestnut pastries.

“I waited in line for half an hour to get them.”

He opened the box, and the sweet aroma of chestnuts filled the room. I looked at the pastry, and the smallest ripple stirred in my heart.

He was always like this. After hurting me with his cold logic and detached attitude, he'd turn around and use some tiny, insignificant gesture to remind me how much he supposedly cared.

“Thank you.”

I reached for one, but Lucas gently caught my wrist. Then, he pulled out his phone and brought up his Venmo QR code with practiced ease.

“They were sixty-eight dollars in total.”

He looked at me, his voice so gentle it almost sounded affectionate. “I won't charge you for my time or the half hour I spent waiting in line.

“Just send me thirty-four.”

My hand froze in midair. My fingertips trembled slightly.

I stared at the utterly matter-of-fact look on his face and that tiny ripple in my heart froze solid.

I took out my phone, scanned the code and entered the amount of thirty-four.

My fingerprint confirmed the payment.

Ding. The money was transferred.

Lucas put his phone away, satisfied, and pushed the box toward me.

“Go ahead. They're still warm.”

I picked up a pastry and took a bite. It was very sweet, so sweet it tasted bitter.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Lucas sat back down on the couch and continued, “The building management came by for the utilities today. It was two hundred and ten dollars altogether.

“Remember to Venmo me a hundred and five.”

I swallowed the pastry.

I didn't argue, nor did I protest. I simply picked up my phone again and transferred the money.

For the first time, I realized that whatever tiny bit of hope I'd still had for him had finally disappeared.

That transfer had brought the balance down to zero.

The final months of pregnancy became a long, exhausting ordeal. My belly grew so large it frightened even me, and my legs were so swollen I couldn't fit into my old shoes anymore.

Every night, I could only lean against the headboard, lying awake through the entire night.

The pressure and pain of my uterus stretching to its limit felt relentless, as though countless dull blades were scraping away at me.