Chapter 8

At dusk, Keith walked out of the flower shop with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

A car key was hidden in the middle of the bouquet.

He gazed at the flowers, wondering if he would be spoiling me too much if he gave in just like that.

Even so, he couldn't help but smile when he pictured the surprise and joy on my face when I received the flowers.

Opening the front door of their home, he gently called out, "Clara."

It was quiet.

In fact, it was too quiet.

The house looked empty, and it didn't feel like home at all.

Frowning, Keith pulled out his phone and called me, only to receive an automated response. "The number you have dialed is currently busy…"

Keith's heart sank.

He quickly opened the door leading to the balcony.

The balcony was empty as well.

The plants I had carefully taken care of for five years were all gone.

Only several plant stands remained. They gave off a sense of desolation with nothing but empty space between their thin frames.

Keith was stunned for a moment. An unknown panic began welling up inside him.

Then, he rushed to the closet and opened the door.

He froze on the spot.

All the bags he had given to me were missing. My jewelry and clothes were nowhere to be found, either.

Keith's expression turned foul as he grabbed his phone and continued dialing.

The line was still busy.

He tried again and again, but the results remained the same.

He knew then, without a doubt, that he had been blocked.

The uneasiness grew even stronger, so much so that he almost couldn't breathe.

"Clara…" Muttering my name under his breath, he strode toward the bedroom.

All traces of me had vanished, as if I had never been a part of his life before.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several documents laid neatly on the bedside table.

His heart skipped a beat as he made his way over to the documents.

The first document had two words printed across its cover in large text, "Divorce Agreement".

His breath caught in his throat, and he trembled as he turned to the last page.

His name, which he had signed himself, was staring back at him.

That day at the hospital, Sonia had told him it was the home purchase agreement from me.

He had signed the agreement right away without checking the contents.

As it turned out, it had been a divorce agreement all along.

Keith thought in shock, "Divorce? She's divorcing me!"

His head was spinning.

Just then, another document slid out from under the agreement.

Keith bent over and picked it up.

The next second, he felt like he was struck by lightning.

It was an ultrasound scan from early pregnancy, three weeks along.

His breaths began to quicken as countless thoughts raced across his mind. "Clara was pregnant? When? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

But before he could come to terms with it, the last document was already in view.

It was an abortion record.

At that moment, Keith felt like the whole world had turned silent.

He stared at the lines of text, his eyes gradually reddening.

He thought, "My child… My child with Clara… Our child was gone… I wasn't even aware of the child's existence, but they were already gone…"

The procedure was just a few days ago.

Back then, he was still questioning me over the phone, demanding to know why I wasn't home.

And now, he finally figured out that I had just lost our child at that moment.

Keith staggered backward, the documents in his hands scattering across the floor.

He felt like someone had sliced open his chest. It hurt so much that he couldn't breathe.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from Sonia.

Keith stared blankly at his phone for a few seconds before answering the call.

"Keith?" Sonia's voice sounded gentle over the phone. "Did you make it home? Did Clara like the car I picked out?"

After a long while of silence, the man's extremely hoarse voice rang out. "Clara is gone."

Sonia froze.

Keith looked down at the documents on the floor, his eyes rimmed with red. "She's gone. She's really gone. She didn't want me anymore…"