No More, Never Again

“Miss Simmons, congratulations. You’re pregnant.”

The news hit me like a wave of euphoria and left me lightheaded and overwhelmed. Holding the pregnancy test report in my hands, tears welled up in my eyes.

Before I left the hospital, I called Shawn Parker.

“Are you coming home tonight, Shawn? I have a surprise for you.”

Shawn said, “I got it. I’ll be home tonight. Just wait for me. Don’t worry. I’ve prepared a surprise for you, too. You’re going to love it.”

Unlike his usual cold and detached tone, there was tenderness in his voice.

The joy clouded my thoughts and made me subconsciously overlook the sound of laughter coming from his end of the line.

I hung up and held the pregnancy report in my arms as if it were a precious treasure while I made my way home.

I was pregnant. Shawn and I were going to have a baby. I was going to be a mom.

Shawn loved kids more than anything.

I could not help but start imagining what it would be like for our family when the baby was born.

My heart raced with excitement. My hands trembled with anticipation.

Mrs. Taylor looked at me with a smile.

“Why do you look so happy today, ma’am?”

I showed her the pregnancy test and told her I was pregnant.

Mrs. Taylor was just as excited for me. She bustled around and started preparing dinner for Shawn and me.

I sat at the dining table and eagerly waited for Shawn to come home.

However, as time passed, the hour hand ticked past twelve.

Still, there was no sign of him outside the door.

Mrs. Taylor came over with a look of concern. “Ma’am, it’s getting late. Maybe you should rest. Mr. Shawn is probably tied up with work.”

Before she finished, the phone rang.

I rushed to pick it up. “Shawn, are you coming home soon?”

“Hello, is this Mrs. Parker, wife of Shawn Parker? There was a fire in the southern part of the city today. Your husband passed away from asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation. We need you to come to identify the body.”

The words came at me one after another. It knocked the breath out of me and left me dazed. I was rooted to the spot.

By the time it sank in, tears were already streaming down my face.

I frantically called Shawn, but there was no answer.

I tried calling his friends, but all I got was this. “Shawn left as soon as work was over. He said he was going to surprise you.”

My heart sank into despair. I rushed to the hospital in a panic.

All that remained was a charred corpse.

It lay on the hospital bed. The skin had burned away. The face was unrecognizable.

My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest. Instinctively, I shook my head and said with a trembling voice, “This can’t be him. This can’t be Shawn.”

Smack!

Jenna Roberts, with her red eyes, stormed over and slapped me across the face.

“What are you talking about? Everyone knows that Shawn left work early today to get you a birthday present. If it wasn’t for you, this would never have happened to him!”

I did not evade it. I collapsed to the floor.

At that moment, Shawn’s parents arrived. They grabbed me and started hitting me.

“This is all your fault! You took our son from us! Rachel, you cursed woman, why couldn’t it have been you instead?”

Tears blurred my vision.

I also thought to myself. “Yes, why couldn’t it have been me?”