Spring Grass
Being fair and treating everyone equally has always mattered most to Chase Russell.
That's why he has a specialized chip implanted in my uterus.
Whenever his childhood sweetheart, Joanna Reynolds, suffers from morning sickness or any other discomfort during her pregnancy, every bit of her pain is transferred to me.
"Didn't you always dream of experiencing what it's like to be a mother? I'm making that dream come true for you."
The day Joanna goes into labor, the pain hits me so hard that I pass out in the hospital corridor.
But Chase is in the delivery room, gently comforting her.
"How are you feeling? It doesn't hurt at all, does it?"
Later, he tells me he wants to hold a wedding with Joanna, so she and their child can have a proper place in the family.
"Although Joanna will be the one marrying me, you'll still be the one whose name is on the marriage certificate," he says. "I told you… I've always treated you both equally."
I say nothing. I simply take off the wedding ring he gave me and return it to him.
When the wedding march begins to play, I have already boarded a one-way flight to a faraway place.