Jonathan Shaw is busy taking his mentor's daughter, who's burning up a fever, to the hospital on the day I fall. I'm pregnant.

I need to undergo surgery to stabilize the pregnancy, but it's risky. However, Jonathan's tone is icy on the other end of the line. "I know you've always been biased against my mentor, Tessa. Still, do you think you can use something like this as an excuse to get me there?"

I lose hope in him as a lone tear rolls down my face. "Don't bother saving the child. Help me abort it."

My love for Jonathan leaves with our child.

I had always been weak, and the abortion left me feeling as if I had just had a brush with death. I was in the hospital for three days after that, yet my husband, Jonathan Shaw, didn't call me even once.

I went home before I had fully recovered, only to run into Jonathan just as he was leaving through the front door. He was clutching his phone and frowned when he saw me. "Where have you been? Why didn't you answer any of my calls?"

I glanced at my phone. It had been switched off the entire time. I had no intention of telling him about the abortion. "Why did you call me?"

"Ms. Sanders' daughter has been hospitalized and put on an IV drip for the last few days. She refuses to eat. Make her some chicken soup, and I'll take it over," Jonathan said.

"What?" I thought I might have misheard him until he repeated himself. As it turned out, he couldn't care less that his pregnant wife hadn't been home the last few days; all he cared about was that he needed someone to make soup for his mentor's kid.

My heart tightened painfully, and for a moment, I thought it might have stopped beating. I studied Jonathan's displeased expression and turned to head into the kitchen.

Ever since Jonathan's mentor, Charlotte Sanders, had been widowed, his concern for her well-being had exceeded the usual bounds of a mentor-mentee relationship. Not only did he prioritize her needs over his own, but he also expected me and our baby to compromise for her sake.

This wasn't the first time I'd had to put up with such unfair treatment, but it certainly was the first time I'd been so calm about it.

The summer heat was reaching a boiling point. Sweat breaking out on my forehead, I slaved away in the kitchen despite having just had an abortion.

I handed the soup flask to Jonathan and said tiredly, "Here. I need to lie down."

However, Jonathan grabbed me by the wrist and said grimly, "You're coming with me. Ms. Sanders did me a huge favor by mentoring me. As my wife, it's only right that you visit her daughter with me now that she's sick and hospitalized."

He had never considered my feelings.

I got into the car, only to find a hairpin on the passenger seat. Jonathan followed my gaze, quickly swiping the hairpin and shoving it into his pocket.

He explained anxiously, "Ms. Sanders must have dropped it when I gave her and Amanda a lift to the hospital. I'll return it later."

Charlotte's daughter, Amanda Grossman, had been sick, yet it seemed the woman had left the child in the backseat while she'd ridden shotgun. It was bad parenting no matter how one looked at it.

However, I simply nodded and didn't make a fuss about this. I noted the baffled look in Jonathan's eyes and said slowly, "We should get going. I don't want the soup to get cold."

In the past, I would have thrown a fit over the hairpin and demanded an explanation from him. But that would only make me look like a shrew and Charlotte a wise, understanding person.

Jonathan had wounded my heart and left it bleeding, but not once did he ever show that he loved me.

In the end, we drifted apart. It wasn't until now that I realized he wasn't worth the heartache.

We had only just stepped into the hospital room when a little girl bounded up to us and threw herself into Jonathan's arms. "Daddy Jonny, you finally came back!"

Everyone in the room froze at the way Amanda addressed Jonathan.

My breath hitched as I glanced at Jonathan. He looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself. He met my gaze stonily but didn't correct Amanda's way of addressing him.

A soundless laugh escaped me. The low hum of crickets outside the window cut through the silence in the room. Why did I bother hoping Jonathan would correct Amanda?

I drew in deep breaths to ease the pain in my heart.

At that moment, Charlotte spoke up to diffuse the tension. She lightly hit Amanda's arm as she chided half-heartedly, "Amanda, we talked about this. He's 'Mr. Shaw' to you."

"No, he's not! He's Daddy Jonny, and he's mine!" Amanda argued.

Jonathan lowered his gaze as he looked at Amanda with a gentle expression. He had never looked at me with such tenderness. My heart bled once more, and the pain became more unbearable with each breath I drew.

Even though I had expected such behavior from Jonathan, I couldn't help my heartache.

I watched mutely as he carried Amanda to the bed and opened the soup flask. He poured her some soup and said, "Be a good girl and have some soup, Amanda. It should help you feel better."

Jonathan and Charlotte stood on either side of Amanda as she obediently drank the soup. They looked like the perfect little family.

However, Amanda had only taken a sip when she suddenly acted up and knocked the soup over.

"Watch out!" Jonathan cried, shielding Charlotte and Amanda. The hot soup fell to the floor, but not before it splashed on my exposed calf and scalded it. My skin turned red where the hot soup made contact.

"It's spicy!" Amanda wailed, her sobs escalating into a full-blown tantrum.

Charlotte pulled the shrieking child into her arms and stared at me tearfully. "Tess, I know you don't like us very much, but how could you stoop so low as to hurt my daughter?"

Jonathan crossed the room to me and eyed me stormily. "Tessa Wendell, what did you put in that soup?"

I fixed them both with an icy look and said, "It's regular chicken soup. I didn't add any spice to it, save for some pepper to taste."

"Amanda's just a kid! Why would you put pepper in the soup?" Jonathan barked.

I knew he wouldn't listen, yet I deluded myself into believing he might side with me just this once. The skin on my calf was burning from the soup, but I willed myself not to cry. I would not shed a tear for someone like Jonathan.

"Clean up the mess and go home. Come back with a new batch of soup," Jonathan ordered. When I didn't move, he raised his voice. "Are you listening, Tessa?"

At that moment, the nurse entered the room and asked, "Which of you are Amanda Grossman's parents?"

"We are." Jonathan and Charlotte immediately stepped forward, the worry in their eyes intensifying.

"Amanda was diagnosed with mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Her fever's gone down, but it's best if we keep her on the drip for the next few days," the nurse informed.

Jonathan and Charlotte agreed, and the former offered to pay the bill. "Stay here with Amanda, Ms. Sanders. I'll take care of the fees."

Tears welled up in Charlotte's eyes as she stared at Jonathan gratefully. He patted her shoulder soothingly but shot me a dark look. "Tessa, if you apologize to Ms. Sanders and Amanda now, we can move past this."

His words stabbed through me like a dagger. The burning sensation on my calf was nothing compared to my heartbreak at that moment.

I stared at the man I had loved for the last six years. A bitter smile etched upon my bloodless face as I relented. "Fine. I'm sorry."

My eyes grew misty, but I refused to let my tears fall. Jonathan wasn't worth crying over. I wouldn't be sad over him.

Jonathan went still. He was about to grab my hand, but I avoided him. "I'd like to get my wound bandaged up if you don't mind."

I fanned the red patch on my calf and turned to leave the room. Once I was in the corridor, I leaned against the wall and heard Charlotte's sad voice coming from the other side of the door.

Charlotte said, "I'm sorry for coming between you and your wife, Jonathan. Don't worry about me and Amanda anymore. We shouldn't have bothered you with our troubles in the first place."

At that moment, Jonathan emerged from the hospital room. I thought he would give me a talking-to, but he simply hugged me from behind and caressed my belly. "Tess, can't you be a little more understanding about this?

"Ms. Sanders has helped me a lot, and she's a widow struggling to raise a child on her own. Once this is over, it'll be just the three of us—you, me, and our baby."

"Oh, so you do remember we have a kid on the way," I drawled sarcastically as I broke free of his embrace.

"You knew I was pregnant, yet you woke me up in the middle of the night to gather clothes for Ms. Sanders and her daughter. You had me slave away in the kitchen on a hot summer day to make soup for Amanda.

"You were never around when I needed you, but you happily tended to their needs. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was the widow, not Ms. Sanders!"

"You—" Jonathan frowned, but he was interrupted when the nurse from earlier approached to remind him to pay Amanda's hospital bill. He heaved a sigh and fished out his bank card.

Rage descended on me as I tugged his shirt sleeve. "Have you gone mad, Jonathan? You're paying their bills with the money you saved for our baby?"

"You're as selfish as ever, Tessa," Jonathan said coldly as he gave me a look of disappointment.

"She's your mentor, not mine! You realize you're not getting paid to pursue a PhD, right? Did you forget that half of the hundred thousand dollars in your savings came from my mom?" I argued.

"This is a matter of life and death, Tessa! Why are you so hung up about the money?" Jonathan swatted me away impatiently.

I lost my balance and fell. A sharp pain bolted through me from the waist down, and I wanted to call for help. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Jonathan leaving me.

He didn't so much as spare me a backward glance.

…

It was late at night when I finally came to. I was alone in the dark hospital room, and I didn't have to be a psychic to know Jonathan was keeping Charlotte and Amanda company.

The young nurse who came in to switch out the IV bags couldn't help reminding me, "Miss, you can't afford to get injured anymore. You've just had an abortion, and another fall like this could hurt you more than you think."

I nodded and thanked her as I wiped the tears from my face.

My heart tightened painfully before turning numb. I would no longer hold out hope that Jonathan might turn around. I was so used to justifying his decisions and actions in the past, but now, I decided to accept reality in stride.

I turned on my phone and scrolled through Instagram, only to stumble across Charlotte's post. It read, "It's hard to be a single mother, but thankfully, I'm not alone on this journey."

She had posted a selfie. Only half of her face was on camera, but she was smiling gently as the camera focused on Jonathan holding Amanda in his arms in the background. He was looking at the little girl tenderly. They looked like a real family.

Sorrow and disappointment filled me. It took all my effort, but I suppressed the bitter rage that swirled within me and checked the joint account I shared with Jonathan. When I saw that we had less than 50 thousand in savings, I transferred the balance to my personal account and called my work supervisor.

"Mr. Jones, is there still an available slot for the outstation work that was mentioned during the meeting the other day?" I asked.

My supervisor, Bailey Jones, had asked me last week if I was interested in working abroad. The standard of living was supposedly higher there, and the job came with better pay and benefits. More importantly, I could return home after two years and be guaranteed a promotion as well as a raise.

However, I had turned down the opportunity because of my pregnancy.

"Yes, but aren't you pregnant? There will be plenty of chances in the future. You don't have to make such a hard call now," Bailey said mildly.

My nose prickled, and a sob threatened to escape me.