Alex still brought Sarah back, settling her into the room that was meant for our future child.
I watched him bustle around, and the nausea in my stomach returned once again.
That night, Alex finally came back.
He gently embraced me from behind, his tone filled with guilt. “What happened this morning was my fault. Don’t be mad, okay? It’s not good for the baby.”
I furrowed my brow, forcing back the urge to throw up.
Perhaps noticing my silence, he quickly turned me around. The moment he saw my pale face, his expression became filled with shock. “Nina?”
I looked at him, unable to hold back the disgusted feelings.
He kept patting my back, worried. “You’ve never had morning sickness. Why is it suddenly like this...?”
He tried to comfort me, his nervousness palpable.
It was true—I hadn’t experienced morning sickness before.
I had been as normal as if I weren’t pregnant, while Alex had always struggled with it. He would feel disgusted and spend sleepless nights vomiting.
I was afraid he might get sick, so I dragged him to the doctor, only for the doctor to give me an almost maternal smile and say that it was because Alex loved me so much.
Both Alex and I were stunned.
The doctor explained, “It’s a sympathetic pregnancy response—your husband loves you so much that he takes on the pressure and discomfort as if it were his own. It’s rare, but it happens when someone truly loves their partner.”
Alex had tightly held my hand, smiling with relief. “How wonderful—it means I can suffer in your place.”
Because of him, I barely experienced any discomfort during the early stages of my pregnancy.
Back then, I truly thought I had won in his love.
I foolishly believed that, even though Alex’s heart had once belonged to someone else, now, it was me who had his love.
Before I could free myself from these thoughts, Sarah’s call came through.
“Alex... I’m having pregnancy symptoms, it’s so hard. When we were together, my husband always stayed with me during this time. Could you come and keep me company?”
Alex frowned and glanced at me before comforting her. “Okay, don’t worry. I’ll be there right away!”
With that, he stood up and started walking away.
I barely managed to hold onto him through the pain.
“Don’t go, I’m feeling sick too...”
But Alex looked at me with an expression of heavy disgust.
He pushed my hand away and questioned, “Sick? You never had morning sickness. Are you just pretending to feel unwell because you saw Sarah vomiting?”
I froze, and the next moment, the pain in my body hit like a storm, and my entire system seemed to be in revolt.
But he turned and walked away.
I leaned against the edge of the bed, gasping for air.
The words “If you leave, don’t come back” didn’t even have time to leave my mouth.
I wiped away my tears, gritted my teeth, and dialed the doctor’s number. “Hello... doctor... I need to schedule an appointment.”
“You’re not in good condition. Your mood is very suppressed. You weren’t like this in the past few months. Don’t overthink things. Your health and the baby are the most important.”
I held onto the diagnosis, replaying the doctor’s words in my mind.
I bitterly thought that if the doctor knew my husband had been constantly called away by his first love since my third month of pregnancy, maybe he would understand me.
As I was thinking, I was suddenly bumped into.
I looked up, and to my surprise, it was Sarah.
She was holding her belly and looking down at me with her chin raised. “Nina, you’re here for a check-up too? What a coincidence. Alex came with me as well.”
I remembered the doctor’s advice. I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
But the next moment, Alex appeared with a stack of test results and rushed over to Sarah’s side. “Sarah, the doctor says everything is normal... Nina?”
Seeing me, he clearly froze for a moment.
I nodded, lowered my head, and turned to leave.
I didn’t want him to know that our baby was in trouble.
But his sharp eyes noticed the diagnosis in my hand, and he quickly approached, grabbing me.
He carefully examined the report, his voice filled with anxiety. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you just have a check-up? Are you not feeling well? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Seeing his worried expression, it was as if I was looking at the Alex who used to feel my pain.
I blinked back tears, my lips trembling as I was about to speak. But before I could, Sarah cut in.
“Exactly. If you’d told us earlier, we could have brought you along. It’s quite a long way to the hospital, it’s not safe for you to come alone.”
Alex nodded, even saying, “Yeah, it’s no trouble at all. It’s just a short wait.”
‘One more person... a short wait? So, I was the third wheel?’
Alex’s words felt like needles, stabbing straight into my heart. I questioned him, “You didn’t notice I was unwell? Do you even care about me?”
Alex froze for a moment, showing a rare flash of guilt. “I didn’t notice...”
I wanted to say more, but Sarah suddenly pulled me to her side.
In a voice only the two of us could hear, she whispered, “He loves me. What are you fighting for? You’re nothing!”
I couldn’t bear to hear it, especially from someone who had once abandoned Alex for money.
She didn’t deserve to speak like that!
I could no longer hold myself back. I wanted to break free and get as far away from her as possible.
But then, unexpectedly, she suddenly staggered and fell to the ground.
Alex's guilt was instantly replaced by fury.
He stormed over and yanked me away.
"Do you have any idea how important it is for Sarah to rest right now? How could you push her like that?"
I lost my balance and slammed into the wall. The examination sheet scattered on the floor, and I bent over, the pain made me gasp for air.
A bitter taste spread in my heart—his eyes were only on her.
But I was pregnant too... with his child.
Sarah, teary-eyed, hurriedly said, "Don’t do this for me! I’m sorry, Alex, just take care of Nina. I’m fine on my own."
The more she spoke, the angrier his eyes became. His face darkened, and his voice was filled with disdain.
"How did you become like this? You’re really disappointing me!"
With that, he shielded Sarah and turned to leave.
I felt a rush of panic and wanted to explain, but by the time I reached the car park, I saw his Porsche speeding past.
It was the first car we had bought together, with money I helped him earn…
Sarah was sitting in the passenger seat, her eyes filled with challenge and provocation.
My blood boiled, and I suddenly coughed violently. I opened my palm, and to my horror, I saw streaks of blood in it.
Later, Alex gave me the cold shoulder for several days, and I bottled up my anger.
Until one day, after returning home from getting an injection to stabilize the pregnancy, a sickly floral scent invaded my nose.
I looked around and froze. The entire room was filled with blooming lilies!
I immediately covered my nose and walked inside, only to hear Alex’s voice, full of affection.
“Look at you, always so down. You’re happy now, right?”
Sarah responded in a playful tone, “I am happy. I used to feel bad living here, thinking I was intruding on Nina, but it’s good to know you still care about me.”
Alex hesitated for a moment, his voice low. “You’ll always have a place in my heart.”
I froze. ‘Always? Then what about me?’
I didn’t have time to think further. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. My skin felt itchy and numb, and my stomach began to ache. I needed to get away from the allergens!
In a panic, I started throwing the flower pots out the door. They shattered on the ground.
Alex, hearing the noise, rushed out. Seeing the scene, he grabbed my arm.
“Are you crazy? Why are you smashing the flowers? These lilies are Sarah’s favorite!”
The suffocating feeling made my head spin. I trembled as I pulled open my collar and pointed to my skin. My voice cracked with frustration.
“Do you only remember that she loves lilies? What about me? Have you forgotten that I’m severely allergic to them?”
Alex’s reprimand faltered.
He hadn’t forgotten, because I had nearly died from a lily allergy once before.
It was him who rushed me to the hospital, running for half an hour, just to save me.
But none of that mattered more than Sarah.
“Since you hate me so much, I might as well be dead!”
Sarah suddenly slammed into the wall. Alex broke into a cold sweat and, forgetting about my allergic reaction, rushed to her side.
He let go of me, gathered her into his arms, and turned to shout at me, “Get away! Get away from Sarah!”
His rage, fueled by her distress, overwhelmed him. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the a room, his tone icy.
“I’ll see if you’re still allergic now!”
With that, he locked the door.
He pushed me to the ground, and the impact made my abdomen ache violently.
I collapsed, gasping. “Alex… it hurts…”
The allergic reaction intensified, adding to the sharp pain in my abdomen. I clutched my stomach, cold sweat pouring down my face.
It was then that I realized with terror that I couldn’t feel the baby anymore!
I didn’t care about my dignity anymore; I pounded on the door desperately.
But there was no sound outside the room.
I was drenched in cold sweat, and when I looked down, I saw blood.
My vision blurred, and I couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears. Trembling, I dialed his number.
He didn’t answer at first, and by the time I almost gave up, he finally picked up.
But before I could say anything, Alex's voice stopped me. I had never heard him sound like that before.
“Sarah is having a miscarriage because of you, but you’re perfectly fine! How dare you call me?”
With that, he hung up.
I tried calling again, but he refused to answer every time.
I used all my strength to send him a photo. The blood kept flowing, the baby was gone, and I was finally broken.
But then, my phone began to ring wildly.