But at that moment, I suddenly mustered a kind of reckless courage.

"I want to get married and give birth to the baby!"

I quickly typed a line of text, pressing send before I could regret it.

Another long wait, until the end of the workday, Jack still hadn't replied.

Dragging my already exhausted body, looking at my reflection in the subway station glass, I felt my supposedly self-righteous courage was so laughable.

The subway was crowded. I felt like a sandwich cookie being compressed to its smallest.

I felt my stomach churning, a sharp pain in my lower abdomen.

''Fine, if it can crush this child out, so be it!''

The tears I had held back all day finally broke through at that moment. I bowed my head and cried silently, the crowd too dense, no one saw me.

I had already thought it through. I would abort this child and pretend to live as if nothing happened.

Or, I would follow my mom's advice, break up with Jack, go back to my hometown for a blind date and find a reliable man to settle down with. After all, no matter how I lived, as long as it wasn't like this, I just wanted a way out of this life!

When I reached the door of our rental, I indulgently bought a Haagen-Daze, the sweet taste of cream melting in my mouth, and my troubled heart gradually stabilized.

I wiped away my tears, casually straightened my hair.

"Let's break up!"

"Have you ever thought that maybe we are not suitable!"

I practiced these inevitably awkward topics as I walked to the rental.

I couldn't tell if I was just angry or really ready to leave.

However, all the hesitations weighed down as I opened the rental door, rationality once again suppressed by emotion.

As the door opened, a delicious smell of stewed meat wafted towards me.

Jack was wearing an apron, stewing ribs in our small pot on a tiny electric stove.

''Angel, sit down. I made meat soup for you.''

I ignored him, threw the empty Haagen-Daze wrapper on the floor, then sat down on the bed, feeling a mix of emotions, still upset he hadn't replied.

"Angel, I went around several streets to buy the meat. It is perfectly marbled. You eat more later."

Jack clearly noticed my displeasure, yet habitually played dumb.

''Why didn't you reply to my messages?''

I looked coldly at Jack, my tone not gentle.

The ashtray was filled with countless cigarette butts. I knew, Jack couldn't have missed my messages.

'Angel, I was on the phone with my mom for an hour. She and my dad sold the cattle back home, scraped together a few tens of thousands for us. Along with what we've saved, it's just enough to buy a small apartment. let's get married!"

Jack's eyes were so sincere. I almost mustered the courage to bet my whole life on it.

"My mom..."

I started to say but stopped myself, unable to bear telling Jack that my mom wanted 200,000 dollars for the dowry.

"What's wrong, Angel?"

Jack wiped the tears from my face with his fingers, his eyes full of concern.

I said nothing more, just turned into his embrace. At that moment, it felt like I could really escape the troubles.

"Did you buy this ice cream?"

Sure enough, sweetness lasted only a second!

Jack's eyes fell on the ''Haagen-Daze'' wrapper on the floor.

''This ice cream is so expensive!''

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward, and before I could speak, Jack released me from his embrace to pick up the ice cream wrapper from the ground.

''I just wanted to taste it.''

I tried to explain patiently, my voice tinged with an absurd sense of guilt.

''Angel, can you not be so vain? What's so good about this? I really don't get it. You're the one who wants to get married. Don't you know our situation? We need to save every penny we can!''

''I just wanted to try the flavor.''

I sat on the bed, tears inappropriately welling up in my eyes again.

''Do you really need to eat this one bite? It's so expensive!''

Jack's sigh was so loud that it disturbed the calm in my heart.

"How does eating an ice cream make me vain? I bought it with my own money. What's wrong with that? Don't I even deserve to eat ice cream now?"

I angrily grabbed the ice cream wrapper, threw it into the trash, and stomped on it several times.

The room fell silent again. Jack and I sat at opposite ends, neither of us speaking.

"Have you got a meal yet?"

Just then, David sent me a Twitter message with a picture of seafood, featuring shrimp and shellfish, from a restaurant near my company—a place Jack and I had passed several times but never entered.

"I have eaten."

I replied to him, adding a cat emoji.

David was a client at our company, and I was in charge of his project.

We first met two months ago when I wore standard professional attire and gave him a warm smile. I noticed then how his gaze lingered on my face.

David was pursuing me, with casual messages and gifts on holidays clearly indicating his intentions.

I had gently told him I had a boyfriend, but he only joked, saying as long as I wasn't married, he still had a chance.

I maintained a polite distance with David, keeping the ambiguity just right. He didn't know about my pregnancy or upcoming marriage!

I never thought about betraying Jack. After ten years together, I couldn't just let go.

"Angel, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Just don't buy such expensive ice cream in the future, okay? Let's go look at houses tomorrow!"

Jack's voice interrupted my thoughts, and I quickly put away my phone.

He didn't see the panic that flickered through my eyes. We embraced, a gesture of making up, as simple and straightforward as a routine.

Yes, I was ultimately going to marry Jack. I never doubted that.

Over the next week, Jack and I visited countless real estate agents and brokers in City K.

After much comparison and consideration, we decided to buy a 60-square-meter second-hand apartment near my company. The original owner was eager to go abroad and offered a low price. The money Jack and I had saved over the years, plus a few tens of thousands from his parents, was just enough.

The apartment, compared to that ten-square-meter rental, was like a mansion to us. We were both very satisfied.

After agreeing on a time to pay the deposit, we even indulged in a celebratory meal of crayfish for the first time.

Somehow, sitting at that roadside crayfish stall with cars speeding past, my mind kept going back to David's seafood photo—the broth creamy white, the shrimp a tender red. It must be delicious!

The wedding, I told neither my mother nor anyone at the company. We planned to simply get a marriage license and take a few days off to travel nearby.

This would save money on a banquet and avoid any hassle.

Let's take it one step at a time. I really wanted a home of my own.

But where was there a wall that didn't let the wind through?

A real estate agency offered a free thermos for sharing their post.

Yes, for that thermos, I blocked my mom, colleagues, everyone I could think of, except I forgot my brother's classmate!

''Sister, I heard you're buying a house?''

Over the phone, I could almost see my younger brother's smug face.

''Yes, I'm planning to marry Jack.''

'Sister, are you crazy? Paying for a house yourself, Mom was not stopping you from getting married, but Jack really can't take care of you. He can't even provide a 200,000 dollars dowry. Can you be happy with him?''

I had anticipated my brother's words. My tender heart felt stabbed again.

Only my silent sighs were left on the phone, no more words.

It was false to say I wasn't hesitant. I touched my belly, and after calming down, I felt only worry.

However, reality proved that all worries would be validated by a worse truth.

The day before we were to pay the deposit coincidentally was my prenatal check-up.

Jack received a sudden notice to work overtime, so I had to go to the hospital alone.

I added a few hundred extra, got a specialist number from a scalper, and after rushing to catch the subway and bus, I even took a whole day off from work and sat alone in the obstetrics ward, covered in dust and dirt.

Yet, in the hospital corridor, I saw Jack bustling around with another woman!

''Doctor, the surgery should be fine now, right?''

Sitting in the waiting area, I heard Jack's voice from the specialist's office.

I froze for a second, quickly looked up at the partially closed door.

''Doctor, when can we do the surgery? Money is no object for the medical expenses!''

As I approached the office, I heard that all-too-familiar tone of voice.

It couldn't be! I must have heard wrong. Jack told me he was working overtime today!

My heart raced to my throat, my steps quickening.

Had Jack betrayed me? I dared not think further.

When I saw Jack's figure through the crack in the door, I could find no more excuses for him.

'The pregnancy is too far along and surgery is very risky. We are a reputable hospital! We can't just do anything."

The doctor, wearing a cap and mask, looked coldly at Jack, his face full of disdain for a scoundrel.

"Yes! Yes!"

Jack apologized profusely, nearly bowing at a ninety-degree angle.

And there I stood at the doorway, my mind blank.

It was clear now. Jack had gotten this woman pregnant and was bringing her here for an abortion!

''Money is not an issue!''

It was laughable. In the ten years I was with Jack, the first time I heard him speak so grandly was in a maternity clinic, helping another woman get an abortion!

The woman sitting next to Jack was sobbing softly, her belly swollen like a blown-up balloon.

''Angel, what are you doing here?''