Chapter 4

I turned off my phone and went back to Bellevue to pack.

This apartment would soon belong to Jolie.

In three days, after my mother finished her surgery, I would take her and the child in my belly and leave this city.

Halfway through packing, William called. “Get to the hospital now. It’s urgent.”

I thought my mother’s condition had taken a turn for the worse. I rushed out without even grabbing a jacket.

However, everything in my mother’s ward was normal.

At the end of the hallway, William and Jolie stood along with Timothy Howard, the doctor in charge of my prenatal checkups.

“What’s going on?”

William handed me an amniocentesis result.

“The test shows that the fetus has a severe chromosomal abnormality. The doctor is recommending termination.”

My mind went completely blank.

“How is that possible?”

Every checkup during my pregnancy had come back normal.

William, however, stared hard at me. His expression grew darker by the second.

“You’re pregnant, and you’ve been hiding it from me this whole time?”

I clutched the result as my fingers trembled uncontrollably.

“I wanted to wait until my mom was out of surgery before I told you.”

The truth was that I had wanted to tell him this news countless times.

Yet, every time I came home, the apartment was either empty or Jolie was there.

He frowned. “How could you make a decision like that without me?”

“Luckily, Dr. Howard called me today about the results. If there’s something wrong with the baby, we shouldn’t have it. We can’t let the baby suffer just because you can’t let go.”

I forced myself to stay calm. “I want the original lab results. I’m getting a second opinion at another hospital.”

Timothy looked unbothered. “Amniocentesis is a diagnostic test. The error rate is extremely low. Every day you wait raises the risk of induced labor.”

Jolie sighed and said, “Sonnet, my cousin is a doctor. He has no reason to make this up.”

My legs went weak, and I could barely stand.

So many nights, I dreamed about what our baby would look like.

Doctors were not always right. Who was to say they got it right this time?

Maybe the baby saw what his father was really like and decided he did not want to be born into this world.

William was still trying to persuade me.

“Sonnet, you’re this child’s mother. You have a responsibility to him. Do you want him to spend his whole life feeling like he’s less than everyone else?”

I clenched my fingers. “The baby is yours, too!”

“Precisely because he’s my child, I refuse to let him live in misery.”

His tone was as calm as if he were discussing a failed project.

In that moment, the last bit of hope I had left was extinguished.

In the end, I still signed the surgical consent form.

Before lying down on the operating table, I gently touched my belly.

“I’m so sorry, little one.

“If I ever get another chance, I promise I’ll find you a father who actually wants you.”