What's Broken Can't Be Made Whole

"I'm... going to be a father...?"

When I showed Zachary the pregnancy test, his face was pure disbelief.

I smiled and flashed a peace sign. "Two lines!"

Zachary stared at me, his eyes suddenly welling up.

"Ella, we're really going to be parents?"

"Mmm-hmm."

I nodded, with a soft smile.

Zachary pulled me into his arms, his voice catching. "Ella, from now on, we'll be the happiest family of three in the world."

Family of three?

I froze, then tears started flowing.

Isn't that how life works? The things you pray for always show up at the worst possible time.

Like this baby.

During our nine years of marriage, his parents had pressured me countless times, even threatening that if I couldn't have a child, they'd cut ties with Zachary...

Deep down I knew they couldn't be that heartless. They just wanted to force Zachary to divorce me.

Zachary always reassured me that having a child didn't matter—he loved me, and he'd rather die than divorce me.

Yes, he truly loved me. He even threatened to cut ties with his parents if they kept pressuring me about having a baby.

But my love for Zachary was every bit as strong as his for me.

I can't even drink black coffee without adding sugar, yet I forced myself to swallow those awful herbal medicine without complaint. I even managed to get down those strange fertility boosting supplements his parents sent from back home—gagging the whole time but somehow keeping them down.

And then there were the monthly ovulation shots.

I'm terrified of needles, but I endured them for three years.

My mom felt sorry for me and urged me to divorce Zachary.

She couldn't care less about the Williams family fortune. She just couldn't bear to see her precious daughter suffer.

But her daughter was stubborn.

Once I committed to someone, it was for life.

At least for the past nine years, my love for Zachary was undeniable.

Zachary shared the pregnancy news with everyone.

During his phone calls, he'd cry one minute and laugh the next.

In all our years of marriage, I'd never seen him like this.

Clearly, he really wanted this baby.

"Oh no, honey, my stomach..."

I suddenly clutched my belly. Zachary rushed over and held me, his face filled with worry. "What's wrong? Should we go to the hospital?"

I grinned mischievously. "Honey, my stomach is... really hungry."

"You little trickster. Hang on, I'll make you something to eat."

Zachary shook his head helplessly but affectionately ruffled my hair before heading to the kitchen.

Seeing how eager he was to do things for me and the baby, I felt some satisfaction.

Even though I wouldn't need it much longer.

My best friend Ava sent a voice message congratulating me. I sent her a photo of Zachary cooking.

Even through the phone screen, I could feel her envy.

"Wow, Zachary's love has always been something special!"

I smiled as my eyes welled up.

"But I want to get rid of the baby. I don't want to stay with Zachary anymore."

My hands trembled as I typed those words.

Ava called me immediately.

"Ella, have you lost your mind? Zachary treats you so well, you finally got pregnant after all this time—why would you want to abort the baby and get divorced?"