Chapter 2

The doctor tried to persuade her, "This isn't a small matter, so I urge you to call your husband. This isn't the time for a tantrum. Also, if your husband doesn't come, then it'll be difficult for us to proceed with the surgery."

After some thought, Winifred called Timothy so he could come and sign the consent forms.

However, the call never went through, no matter how many times she called.

After the third try, she put her phone away.

Seeing her still losing blood and her complexion nearly void of color, the doctor gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, forget it. You can sign the forms yourself, and we'll get you ready for surgery right away."

"Thank you."

Winifred gripped the cold pen and shakily scrawled her name on the consent forms.

Once in the operating room, she changed into a gown and lay on the operating table. When the anesthetic syringe pierced her skin, tears poured out of her.

Timothy had always held her tightly as he imagined the day a baby arrived in their lives, and how they'd spend their days as a family of three.

He had described these hopes of his so vividly that she had been excited to get pregnant too. She had yearned for a child of their own—a child born of love.

And yet, though the child was now here, she had discovered that he was donating his sperm to someone else so they could have their own baby.

She closed her eyes, and her ice-cold tears slid into her hair.

The surgery was completed in half an hour.

The nurses then hooked her up to IV fluids and had her rest.

At 6:00 am, the nurses handed her some medication.

"Did you not get any rest at all last night? You look quite pale."

Winifred had barely spoken or cried, yet her voice was hoarse. "It's nothing."

"It's only a minor surgery, so you don't have to stay in the hospital. Just go home and rest, and remember to take your medication on time. Avoid cold food and beverages, avoid anywhere that's too cold or windy, and make sure you get enough nutrients."

Winifred left the hospital in a daze. She was physically tired and her mind was foggy, but she just couldn't sleep.

Though the sun had risen, and it was bright out, her world was still pitch-black.

She bought a bottle of vitamins, emptied it, and put the pills the nurse gave her inside. Then, she took a cab home.

While in the cab, her calendar app sent her a notification.

"29 days until I'm walking down the aisle to my beloved Mr. Stringer! Keep being diligent with the workouts and skincare routine! I'm going to be the most beautiful bride ever!"

She chuckled as she stared at those words, until eventually, the chuckles turned into tears.

Once she got home and got out of the car, the first thing she saw was the swing that had flowers wrapped all around it. Timothy had braided the flowers onto the swing with his own hands.

The Stringers hadn't approved of her marriage to Timothy. They had felt that her family couldn't be of help to him, and thus, they had strongly opposed it. Naturally, they hadn't been in favor of them living together either.

However, Timothy loved her and insisted on marrying her. Thus, the day after he proposed to her, he secretly took her to get their marriage certificate, and no one knew about it.

And because of this, they had lived apart for a while after they got married.

Coincidentally, his younger sister was diagnosed with aplastic anemia at that time and needed a bone marrow transplant. Winifred happened to be a match, and so she went and donated.

But the surgery left her with side effects. She would get constant backaches and experience random bouts of dizziness. The Stringers finally approved of their relationship and allowed the two of them to live together as an engaged couple.

And thus, Winifred moved into this house. Everyone thought she was just the fiancée, but she and Timothy knew—they were already legally married.

On the first day that she moved in, Timothy had made this whimsical swing for her.

He had whispered countless sweet nothings on that swing, making her feel as if she were the happiest woman in the world. She had felt like she had been living in a dream every day.

She thought that this dream could last forever.

But now, it was time to wake up.

Even though she hadn't witnessed Timothy and Selena going at it with her own eyes, her marriage was still tainted.

She truly loved Timothy, and so there was no way she could tolerate it.

She went to the bedroom and contacted her boss, Blake Lipp, to ask for leave.

"You're our head pastry chef. If you go on leave, I'll lose a lot of major clients."

"I'm sorry. I need at least half a month," she answered.

She needed to recuperate first.

Blake could only relent and give her paid leave.

She then went upstairs, turned her computer on, and then inserted an empty USB. In it, she detailed her whole relationship with Timothy, his promises, his proposal, and how he donated his sperm to Selena.

She also drafted a digital divorce agreement. They didn't have any shared property, and their social statuses differed greatly, so she didn't want any of his assets.

Even Selena's voice message from last night was added in. Then, she password-protected the whole file.

Right then, Timothy's car pulled in, and she went downstairs.

Timothy walked in wearing a fresh set of clothes. When he saw Winifred, he strode over and gathered her in his arms. As he rested his chin affectionately on the top of her head, she caught a whiff of body wash on him. He had just showered.

"Were you waiting for me, my sweet Winnie? I'm so sorry. It got too busy at work yesterday, and we had meetings all through the night, so I couldn't make it home."

Ever since they'd gotten married, Timothy had always let her know where he was, would always give her a message if he was running late, and any promises he made would be promptly kept. She had once believed that even if everyone lied to her, her fiancé, Timothy, wouldn't.

This was because he had made her feel so secure in their love.

If she hadn't experienced what she had gone through last night, there was no way she would believe that he could lie to her so easily.

The wounds from last night were still fresh, and his lies now were only making it worse.

She pushed her sorrow down and said, "It's okay."

She was going to leave him soon anyway. She was going to completely disappear from his world, so she wouldn't have to listen to any of his lies anymore.

"What's wrong with your voice?"

Timothy finally realized something was off about her. He grabbed her shoulders and studied her from head to toe before he frowned. "Why do you look so pale?"

Winifred looked straight into his eyes as she answered, "I dreamed that you were cheating on me, and that you were going to have a baby with someone else."

Timothy's heart lurched, but that odd sensation vanished as quickly as it came.

He didn't deny or explain anything. He just chuckled softly, his deep, magnetic voice sounding quite alluring.

"Are you going to hold a grudge against me because of this dream? Are you going to say that you won't let me in bed now? But I don't mind, babe. Because you're my wife, I'm happy to be bossed around by you for the rest of my life."

Was that so?

Winifred's expression paled even further. The breeze coming in from the windows made her feel weaker, and her body swayed.

Timothy felt sorry for her, and he immediately gathered her into his arms.

"I would never cheat on you, babe. I will always love you. Don't overthink things. Work has just been busy, so I couldn't make it home in time.

"And I showered at the office because I wanted to come home this morning to be with you, but I didn't want to bring my exhaustion home either."

Was that the truth?

Winifred closed her eyes and stayed silent.

Timothy's long fingers slid down her hair and onto her back. "Why do you feel so cold?"

Winifred answered in a low voice, "It's nothing. I just came back from being outside."

"What were you doing outside?"

"I went to the hotel you and Selena were at, and I also went to abort our child," she thought to herself.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a spin. Oh, right. I have a present for you."

She had placed the USB in a small box, and she now handed the box to him.

"I have some things I want to say to you, but I'm too embarrassed to say them right to your face, so I saved them on this USB. You can listen to it on the day of our wedding."

Timothy smiled warmly as he placed the box into his pocket carefully, as if he were handling a treasure.

"Okay, I'll be sure to listen to this on the day. And I won't listen to it by myself either. I'll play it for everyone, so they'll all know how much we love each other."