Chapter 1

The doctor at the clinic glanced at me.

"Have you discussed this with your partner?"

I looked down at my chat with Shane Holland.

The last message was sent by me three days ago: [My period's late. Any idea why? I want to visit the hospital.]

I had just found out I was pregnant back then and wanted him to guess the surprise. That way, I could naturally ask when he was going to marry me.

He replied, [Stay hydrated.]

As I scrolled further up, our chat was filled with jokes I shared, work frustrations, and places I wanted to visit with him.

However, every single line received the same dismissive reply.

The opposite of physical attraction must be physical repulsion, right?

I looked at the doctor and smiled.

"There is no partner. No discussion needed."

So the surgery was scheduled in five days.

By the time I returned home, it was already afternoon.

Astrid White had resigned to change jobs and had been staying at my place for nearly a month.

The moment I walked through the door, I saw Astrid and Shane standing at the kitchen entrance.

Astrid used her own fork to pick up a piece of rib for Shane to try.

He ate it and even praised it for tasting good.

I fell into a slight daze. In the past, when I cooked, I had also subconsciously wanted Shane to taste it.

His reaction then was massive.

"Do romantic partners just ignore hygiene habits? This is disgusting."

He used quite a bit of force that time, knocking over the bowl.

The hot soup poured entirely over my hand, leaving it swollen for two weeks.

I realized I was truly blind.

They acted so intimately, yet I had actually never thought twice about it.

After all, one was my partner of five years, and the other was my friend of twenty years.

The sound of the door closing drew attention from the kitchen.

Astrid walked out carrying the pot of barbecue ribs.

"Mabel, you're back just in time. I just made ribs. Come, try some."

She intentionally switched to a new fork and smiled sheepishly at me.

"The two of us already used that one, so I won't let you use it, in case you mind."

"The two of us", as if I were the outsider.

I only wanted to return to my room, terrified that saying a single extra word would expose my emotions.

"I'm not hungry."

Shane’s brow furrowed slightly, and he placed a piece of rib in front of me.

"Astrid made this specially. Don't let someone else's hard work go to waste."

I looked at him, suddenly really wanting to laugh.

I can't eat pork. I was forced to eat it as a child, which left me with a psychological stress response.

Once while eating with Shane, I accidentally consumed a tiny bit of ground pork and vomited until I nearly went into shock.

Shane was the one who sent me to the hospital.

Astrid, my childhood friend of twenty years, knew this perfectly well too.

Seeing that I wasn't moving, Shane’s brow furrowed even tighter.

"Is this how you treat guests?"

Astrid hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

"Maybe her appetite isn't good. It's fine, really."

I locked myself inside my room and couldn't hold back my tears anymore.

I just couldn't understand.

If Shane felt a physical repulsion toward me, why did he choose to be with me?

And Astrid, whom I had known for twenty years, her father used to abuse her and never cared for her.

I was the one who gave her bread, brought her toys, and took her to school. So why was she stealing my boyfriend?

At 11 p.m., Shane entered the room just as I finally pulled myself together.

However, right after he finished showering, Astrid came to knock on the door.

"Shane, I just scrolled past a post that cracked me up. Come out and take a look."

Shane had just lain down but was already about to head out.

I stopped him for a moment.

"Calling you out late at night, does she have any sense of boundaries?

"Listening to someone else tell jokes, don't you think it's a waste of time?"

He didn't look at me, lifting the blanket to get out of bed.

"We can't neglect a guest.

"Besides, we click well, so it's not a waste of time."

The moment the door shut, I heard Astrid's laughter out in the hallway.

"Let me tell you, this one is especially funny..."

I covered my eyes.

I had told Shane that same joke three times before.

Every single time, he had said, "Wasting my time with boring jokes, don't you think you're being very selfish?"

To teach me a lesson, he blocked me for an entire month.

The laughter outside the door didn't stop even at midnight.

I picked up my phone and scrolled to my chat with the company manager.

"Sir, regarding the overseas assignment mentioned before, I'd like that opportunity, please."

My manager called back.

"Didn't you decline, saying you were pregnant?"

"I'm not keeping it."

The other end of the line fell silent for a moment.

"Alright, there is still one spot left, and it leaves in six days. Can you make it?"

"Yes."