LOGINJessica and Alex are complete introverts, who are drawn to each other due to their shared love for solitude. They both have imperfections stemming from their past, which influences their approach to the present moment and their interactions with each other. Can they find a way to provide mutual support and find happiness on their own?
View More「おめでとう、妊娠してる!……双子だよ!一条くん、きっと驚くね!」
専属医の三上先生の言葉が何度も頭の中で復唱されている。
「信じられない!嘘?本当に私のお腹に子どもが?しかも二人も!?」
嬉しいというよりも頭の中が真っ白だ。結婚して三年。妊活に励み子どもを授かることを待ちわびていた。ずっと、ずっと待ち望んでいた瞬間が今日、いきなり二倍になってやってきた。
病院からの帰り道、窓の景色を眺めながら私は夫の瑛斗に報告する場面を何度も想像した。彼のくしゃっと笑った顔。少し照れたような心の底から嬉しそうな顔。早くその顔が見たかった。
長年仕えている運転手が私の変化に気づき話しかけてきた。
「華お嬢様、何か良いことでもあったのですか?さきほどからとても幸せそうなお顔で微笑んでいらっしゃいますね。」
「ええ、とっても素敵で幸せなことがあったの。」
夫の一条瑛斗は、一条グループの若きCEO。切れ長の瞳、通った鼻筋、そしていつも自信に満ちた佇まい。初めて見た時、私はその完璧なまでのルックスに息を呑んだ。瑛斗のことを高校の時からずっと好きで初恋の人だった。
神宮寺家の令嬢である私は、父や祖父が決めた相手と結婚をしなくてはいけなかった。いわゆる「政略結婚」だ。家のために自分の気持ちとは関係なく結婚することは絶望的な未来に思えた。しかし、運命は残酷なだけではなかった。
お見合いの席で、一条家の御曹司として瑛斗が現れた時は信じられなくて言葉を失った。まさか初恋の相手が夫になるなんて想像もしていなかった。その夜、喜びと幸せで胸がいっぱいになり興奮して眠れなかった。こうして私たちは夫婦になった。
あれから三年。瑛斗は社長に就任して多忙な毎日を送っているが、私は初恋の相手瑛斗の妻になれたことに幸せを感じながら毎日を過ごしている。
(念願の妊娠だもん。こんな嬉しいニュースは直接伝えて瑛斗の喜ぶ顔が見たい)
病院を出てすぐに電話で報告しようと思ったが直接伝えることにした。
病院から帰ってきてすぐに瑛斗が好きなラザニアを作って帰りを待つことにした。もちろんソースは一から手作りだ。料理長の作るご飯も美味しいが、こんな特別な日は自分で作って瑛斗を喜ばせたかった。
(どんな顔をするだろう。どんな言葉をくれるだろう。)
ソースを煮込みながら、彼の喜ぶ姿とこれから始まる家族4人の生活を想像しながら彼の帰りを待っていた。出来立てを食べて欲しくて帰りが何時になるか連絡したが返事は来ない。ソファで待っているうちにうたた寝をしてしまい、車のエンジン音で目を覚ました時には既に22時を過ぎていた。
瑛斗を出迎えるため慌てて玄関へ向かう。
「おかえりなさい」
「ただいま。」
「なんだか疲れているみたいだけど大丈夫?」
「ああ。……話があるんだ。少しいいかな」
いつもより冷たく沈んだ声で瑛斗が静かに言った。疲れ切った様子の瑛斗だが、大人の男の色香をまとい、疲れた顔さえも魅力的だった。3年たった今でも瑛斗と目が合うとドキドキして胸が高鳴る。
表情がどこか硬い瑛斗の後ろを歩きリビングへ入った。
(仕事で疲れているのかもしれない。でも妊娠のことが分かったら気持ちも変わるかも!)
「先にご飯にする?今日ね、話をしたいことがあって瑛斗の好きなラザニアを作って待っていたんだ。」
「……そうやって機嫌でも取っているつもりなのか。」
「え……?」
瑛斗の言葉に耳を疑った。普段はそんなことを言う人ではない。頭の回転が早く、いつも冷静で落ち着いて、人が不快に思うような台詞は今まで一度も言ったことがないので信じられなかった。
「瑛斗、仕事で何か嫌なことや問題でもあったの?何か疲れている?私に出来ることがあるなら……」
ソファに座る瑛斗に近寄り、膝をついて手を重ねると怪訝そうな顔をしてすぐさま振り払った。
「触るな。もう放っておいてくれ。それよりここにサインをしてくれないか?」
彼は深くため息をついた後、鞄から一枚の白い封筒を取り出した。
何の書類か分からず受け取ったがタイトルを見た瞬間、頭の中が真っ白になった。
(なにこれ……)
【離婚協議書】 彼から渡された書類にはこう記されてあった。
"I pushed open my front door, keys in one hand, noodles in the other. Finally, it was Friday night, and I felt I deserved it after the week I'd had. "Jessica!" I heard my upstairs neighbor Janet call. She'd lived here longer than I've been alive. I left my food by the door, heading towards the stairs."Hey Janet, everything okay?""Yeah, something arrived for you today, one sec." I caught her halfway down the stairs. She handed me a huge brown box."Thanks, Janet," I said, puzzled. I dropped it in my tiny hallway, taking up most of the space, and, using my keys, ripped it open."Oh my god," I chuckled, pulling out an oversized brown teddy bear and burst out laughing."What the hell?" I asked myself, flicking open the tag attached to its ear.Jess,Hope he cheers you up. I'm sorry I'm a dickAlex xLaughing through tears, I marveled at Alex getting a shop to write 'dick' on a note. My heart smashed into my chest. I put my new friend under my arm, grabbed my food, threw on a new tank t
Alex and I had been playing for a couple of hours without much conversation. As he was killed yet again, I could hear a sigh through my headphones. It made me chuckle, and he spoke softly, apologizing for pushing me to talk. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I sniffed to control them."It's okay, I shouldn't have hung up on you like that. I just don't like discussing my dad," I admitted."And that's your right. But I want you to know that I'm here for you, if you ever want to talk," he reassured me.I replied softly, uncertain if I actually wanted to open up. I groaned, feeling like he deserved to know at least a little. "He was shot," I said matter-of-factly."Fucking hell," Alex gasped. I nodded. "We were robbed at gunpoint, and he got shot," I explained, throwing my controller aside and closing my eyes."At your home?" he asked gently."No, at a gas station. It was just my dad and me. He had taken me to a gaming convention. I always feel like my mom..." I stopped talking, my voice br
I breezed through work the next day, anxiously anticipating Alex's call. Just before it was time to go home, my office mate Drake looked up at me and chuckled."What's got you so happy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Sharing an office with Drake was a stroke of luck. He was the nicest guy who always knew how to lift my spirits.I shrugged and replied, "No reason.""Bullshit," Drake laughed, and I gave him a side-eye. "Tell me, what's going on?""I met someone," I sighed dramatically before adding, "online, while playing Call of Duty.""No way!" Drake exclaimed, and I threw my head back, laughing. "Damn, Jess, it's about time. Where did you meet him?""Online," I whispered. "He knows I'm a woman, Drake. I'm not a girl anymore.""Where does he live?" Drake asked, packing up his bag."Liverpool. I don't know how it's going to work," I shrugged, knowing I was getting ahead of myself. Drake stroked his beard, looking around the room."Well, it's not that far, just a different country. Have
I was snuggled in my bed, the covers pulled up to my neck, almost drifting off to sleep. After a quick dinner, I was eagerly awaiting a call from Alex. Although I didn't know exactly when he would call, he was usually online around this time at night. The temptation to log onto my PlayStation to check if he was online there was strong. However, just as I was about to get up, my phone rang. I quickly jumped back into bed, taking a deep breath."Hello," I spoke quickly, getting comfortable."Hey," Alex breathed out, and his voice sent shivers down my spine. "It feels so strange to talk to you like regular people," he chuckled, and I couldn't help but grin."We are regular people," I laughed. "It is weird to hear your voice though. How long have we been playing that game?""Feels like forever, like four months," Alex paused as I lay back down, balancing my phone on my face. "So, you like my voice, huh? Do I have a sexy voice?" I rolled my eyes at his obvious attempt to flirt, although s
As my PlayStation loaded, connecting agonizingly slow, my heart pounded against my chest. "Please be on," I mumbled to myself, relief washing over me as the home screen finally appeared. It was a bit pathetic, really. I had never seen Alex's face before, but every time I logged on, I silently prayed that he would be online. For the past three months, I had been playing this online game with Alex. We had communicated solely through messages, never hearing each other's voices or seeing each other's pictures. I knew he was thirty and lived in Liverpool, which was quite a distance from my tiny one-bedroom flat in London. Yet, there was something about him that consumed my thoughts. My imagination had conjured up an image of Alex in my head – strong, handsome, and mischievous. One thing was certain, he had a great sense of humor. His messages never failed to make me laugh on a daily basis. Having been an online gamer since the age of fifteen, I had accumulated a wealth of experience by












Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments