Chapter 2

Five minutes later, Jason replied with a "2". He didn't even ask why or where I'd gone. It was just a single, solitary number, and that was it.

I smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath to steady myself.

Since I had decided to break up, I needed to sever all ties with him. So, I clicked into the hospital website and booked an appointment for an abortion with trembling hands.

It was late at night when I finally returned home. The house was silent and completely pitch-black.

I knew that Jason was already fast asleep, and suddenly, I was reminded of how I used to wait up for him whenever he worked late or overtime at the company.

Even if I was dead tired, I would always leave a light on for him.

I turned on the flashlight on my phone and quietly walked back into my bedroom—which was actually a stretch, calling it that. It was more like a converted study.

Jason slept alone in the master bedroom, claiming that he couldn't sleep when I was next to him because my breathing disturbed him.

He would only enter my bedroom whenever he had sexual needs, and even so, he would just go through the motions mechanically like a robot, leaving the moment he was done without even lingering another second more.

Consequently, he hadn't set foot in this room ever since I got pregnant.

…

The next morning, Jason was already eating breakfast when I woke up. And as usual, he had only prepared breakfast for himself, listening to a financial podcast while browsing the news on his phone.

I walked past him, but he didn't even spare me a glance.

The hydrangea on the balcony that I'd bought the day I discovered I was pregnant had already withered into a clump of dead matter after just two days without water. For some strange reason, I felt a sharp pang of heartache strike me right at that moment.

I picked up a watering can and watered the hydrangea repeatedly, foolishly hoping that it would come back to life, but instead, the withered leaves and blossoms simply fell off as the water hit them. The plant was as dead as a doornail.

I suddenly felt all drained of strength and slumped onto the floor, my tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

I was weeping for the flowers, for myself, and for this seven-year relationship that had rotted away.

Jason didn't even glance my way at the dining table. He simply turned up the volume on his podcast to drown out my sobbing.

I slowly stood up and walked over to him.

"Let's talk."

He paused the podcast and clasped his hands on the table, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the surface. It was always like this every time I said I wanted to talk. He'd adopt this posture, his eyes would be unfocused, and his expression would be distant.

I knew the signs. His mind was wandering elsewhere.

Still, I spoke anyway, asking, "Did you see the breakup message I sent?"

He nodded.

A sharp, stinging ache spread through my chest. But I was unwilling to let it go, so I pressed on, "Is there nothing you want to say to me?"

He simply looked at me in bewilderment. His lips parted for a bit, but he didn't even make a sound.

Just then, his phone alarm went off, and he picked it up before walking right past me, not even hesitating for a single moment. It was as though I were completely invisible to him.

The moment the door opened, I heard a familiar voice floating in. It was Stella, greeting me with a huge smile in the doorway.

"Tammy! Jason's driving me to work today. Wanna come along?"

Jason and I had worked at the same company for seven years, and yet, he had always insisted on keeping our professional and personal lives separate. He had never once driven me to work, whether rain or shine.

And yet, on Stella's very first day of work, he was already acting as her chauffeur.

A gust of wind blew in from the balcony, and I felt enveloped by a sudden chill.

I instinctively moved to close the window, but I tripped over the watering can, spilling water all over my pants.

I hurriedly righted the watering can, but when I looked up, both of them were already gone, and the sound of a car driving away outside the house faded away into the distance.