Chapter 4

I went to the hospital with the pregnancy test to confront Rose. When I walked past the gynaecology department, I saw her sitting in the consultation room, looking pale while clutching a medical report.

There was a small gap at the door, and I could hear the doctor say, "You're six weeks pregnant. The pregnancy is progressing well, and all the test results look normal. Are you sure you want an abortion?"

All I could hear was ringing in my ears as I froze. She was six weeks pregnant, which meant that the baby was mine!

Rose and I had always loved children, and we could never stop talking about having them one day. Not only did we decide the names of our future children, but we even made sure to buy a house in a good school district.

I had imagined countless times just how happy I would be if Rose got pregnant, but she would rather secretly give birth to Alan's baby overseas than have a baby with me.

The consultation room was silent for several seconds before the doctor tried talking her out of an abortion again. "The baby is very healthy. Maybe you should reconsider the abortion if there is no reason to have it."

Rose was silent for a long time before I heard her answer calmly, "I don't need to reconsider. I already have a baby, and this one wasn't planned."

Her words were enough to hurt me. It was painful, and I wanted to dash into the room to confront her. Why? Why did she refuse to have this baby?

However, I stopped myself because I realized I did not have the courage to hear her answer. I was in a daze, and before I realized it, I was outside little Jay's hospital room. The door was not fully closed, and I could see Alan sitting by Jay's bed through the gap in the door, carrying Jay in his arms.

Not long after, Rose walked toward the room from the other end of the corridor and sat next to Alan as if nothing had happened. They sat together alone without any awkwardness, and they interacted like they had been married for years.

Alan kept playing with Jay with a toy, and when Jay laughed, Rose's expression softened.

"Thank you, Alan. Thank you for taking such good care of Jay."

Alan's eyes filled with tears as he gently hugged her around the shoulders.

Rose suddenly looked up and met my eyes through the gap in the door. The gentle look on her face melted away and was replaced with a look of caution. However, her voice was still gentle when she turned to Alan. "Stay here with Jay. I need to take a call outside."

She walked out of the room quickly and grabbed my wrist, pulling me into the fire escape. "What are you doing here?"

It hurt to see her look at me so warily. "Am I a malicious man who would hurt an innocent baby in your eyes, Rose?"

Rose was taken aback, and a pained look flashed in her eyes. "That's not what I mean. I was just worried you couldn't take the truth that Alan and I have registered our marriage, and you might get into a fight with him.

"Alan cares about you a lot, and he feels really guilty about everything that has happened. I don't want things to end badly between both of you."

Rose kept calling out Alan's name with tenderness and focused her concern on him. It never occurred to her to wonder what I was doing at the hospital, and all my suppressed emotions burst to the surface.

My eyes were filled with tears, and everything I wanted to yell at Rose got stuck in my throat. I wanted to confront her about choosing to abort our baby. I wanted to question her about her decision to keep Jay but refuse to give our baby a chance to be born.

Why would she do that when she loved children?

However, I suddenly felt exhausted when I saw the distant look in Rose's eyes. What was there to confront her about? Was I supposed to question her about why a night with Alan resulting in her accidental pregnancy became more important than six years of our relationship?

Should I question her about what the unborn baby in her belly meant to her? Was the answer important?

Rose's husband now was Alan, and I lowered my head to hide my tears from her. "You should get back to Alan and the baby."

She was hesitant. "But you…"

"I won't disturb them."

Rose was relieved by my promise. "All right. You should head home early."

She turned to leave after that, leaving me behind to lean against the cold wall. I stayed that way for a long time without moving, and it was only when Rose completely vanished from my sight that I looked up.

The next patient was called into the gynaecologist's consultation room, and I continued standing where I was, staring in the direction Rose had left while slowly clenching my fists.

That afternoon, I sat at the hospital for a long time. By the time I realized it, the sky had turned dark, and I still had not received any texts from Rose. All I received was a notification from the airline about my flight ticket being issued.

I had been on standby for the earliest flight available, and a ticket was finally available for me in five days to fly to Lunshire.