Laughter echoed from outside the door as the three of them walked away. Then, the door shut and everything went silent after that.

Three years of marriage shattered in an instant. The whirlwind of changes that came with childbirth had caught me completely off guard.

For thirty years, I had carried myself with dignity, cherished my self-worth and approached love with sincerity and caution. However, I had still fallen flat on my face.

A crushing sense of regret clawed at my chest and the closed room seemed to press down on me and make it hard for me to breathe.

I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. When I woke up, my phone was ringing.

When I picked up the call, I heard the other end sound, "Hello, Miss Taylor? When do you plan to check into the postpartum care center?"

Postpartum care center .…

As my consciousness crept in, my mind cleared up. I took a sit, straightened my body and gripped the phone tighter.

"Three days. I’ll be there in three days. However, change the name on the reservation," I finally answered. "Oh, and switch the package to one for a single mother. No baby."

The person on the other end seemed surprised but didn’t ask any questions.

After hanging up, I updated the reservation under my best friend Christy Anderson’s name.

Then I called Christy. When she picked up the call, I said, "Cissy, I'm going to file for divorce. Help me find the best divorce lawyer."

She immediately asked what had happened. I gave her a brief rundown.

Christy let out a long sigh. "We all got fooled by that scumbag, Mario."

I did not reply to her statement. Instead, ended up comforting her.

I grabbed a wooden stool from the floor and smashed it against the bathroom’s glass door. The glass shattered and I reached through to unlock it from the outside.

I was sure Mario would not return home today, so I started packing. I boxed up my essentials, called a moving company and had everything sent to Christy's place.

After finishing all the work, I passed by the bedroom and saw the tiny baby squirming on the bed. My heart softened.

He had spent nine months inside me. Every single day for nine months, I had talked to him.  I truly looked forward to his arrival.

However, after all of this, I was suddenly told he was not mine. The pain and inner turmoil had been unbearable.

Yet, I could not just abandon him. My sense of responsibility would not allow it. At the very least, I had to care for him until Mario and others returned.

Sighing, I changed his diaper and made him a bottle.

I was so busy that it was not until the middle of the night that I finally dozed off from exhaustion.

The next morning, I was woken by the sound of movement outside and to my surprise, Mario had come back alone.

He acted as if nothing had happened. When he walked in, he called me “wife” like he always did and reached out to hug me.

A thick wave of perfume clung to him. It was sickly sweet and overwhelming. So, I instinctively dodged.

"Are you still angry at me?" he asked.

"Look, I sent them away, didn’t I? Don’t be upset, okay? Yesterday was my fault." Then he added, "Look at this, I even bought you your favorite seafood chowder."

Mario jingled the bag in his hand. On his face, he attached a sheepish grin to appease me.

Men were all the same. No matter how unforgivable their actions, they would just play like they were dumb and pretend nothing had happened.

They thought all it took was a little sweet talk to smooth things over with their woman. What if that didn’t work? He would sleep with her. If that still didn’t work? Then start throwing tantrums.

I glanced at the seafood chowder and took a deep breath before saying, "I'm not supposed to eat seafood chowder during postpartum recovery."

Mario’s expression stiffened. Frustrated, he slammed the seafood chowder down on the table.

He scolded, "Kelly, it seems you're just making an excuse to make a fuss. I know women in coastal cities eat crab right after giving birth."

I did not argue. Instead, I quietly looked down, focused on tending to the baby and said without touching the subject he asked, "I’m moving into the postpartum care center the day after tomorrow. Only one person is allowed to stay with me, so I asked Cissy."

Then I added, "As for you, you should just stay with your daughter and ex-wife."

Mario's face darkened when he heard this, "Didn’t we agree that I’d go with you?"

Me and Mario had booked the postpartum care center together. Back then, he had sworn up and down that no matter what, he would be there for me and the baby. 

However now, I did not need him anymore. Even the baby did not need me anymore.

"Mario, we're getting …."

"Mario! Tara is having a fever!"

Lilith's voice suddenly cut my words. She suddenly came from outside the door and rushed in. She was holding her daughter with a panicked expression.

"How did she get a fever?" After he said that, Mario turned and left resolutely.

Lilith did not even spare a single glance at the baby in my arms, as if he had nothing to do with her.

At that moment, it hit me. The baby may not have been mine, but both of us had been discarded like trash. We both had served our purpose and had to be thrown away.

This whole situation had been a twisted thrill-seeking scheme for them. It was a game they started without any intention of taking responsibility for the consequences.

For the first time, I realized that the baby and I were probably the two most pathetic people in the world.

A sharp ringtone snapped me out of my thoughts. An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen. I answered.

"Miss Taylor, I’m your divorce lawyer," a deep familiar voice sounded from the other end. 

I jolted at that moment. I opened my mouth, "Maxim Garrison?"

Maxim had been my college boyfriend. Our breakup had been quite messed up.

With our families fiercely opposed to our relationship, we had ended things on the worst possible terms.

I never thought I’d cross paths with Maxim again. I also had not imagined that Cissy would ask him to be my divorce lawyer.

Cissy had only told me that Maxim was the best divorce attorney in the field.

If Maxim could not win a divorce case, I was certain that no one could.

Maxim wasted no time. As soon as I finished explaining the situation, he drafted a divorce agreement and sent it to me.

He texted. [Install a surveillance camera at home and collect evidence.]

That was Maxim. He always said straight to the point without saying unnecessary pleasantries.

I quickly set aside any lingering nostalgia and focused on preparing the divorce paperwork.

However, unexpectedly, before I even had a chance to install the camera, the evidence delivered itself.

At dawn, Lilith sent me a video. It was a dashcam footage of her and Mario having sex in his car.                   

[Every single day of your pregnancy, this is how Mario spent his time. He was with me.]

[Frankly, he only married you to have a son.]

[He’s always loved me. Every trick he used to chase you? I taught him. I am also the one who picked all the gifts he gave you.]

[The bags and clothes he gave you? They were all second-hand fakes. However, mine? They’re all authentic!]

Lilith bombarded me with more messages. Each one was more taunting than the last. However, one thing she never mentioned was who the baby’s real parents were.

I read her texts and couldn't help but laugh. No wonder every single gift Mario had ever given me was perfect for me.

All those well-orchestrated romantic gestures, those heartfelt confessions were not made by Mario. Instead, the real maker was his ex-wife.

I forwarded the video and chat screenshots to Maxim.

A few minutes later, he responded with a single word, [Received.]

That same night, he informed me that the divorce papers had already been sent to Mario’s company.

The next morning, I was woken by the sound of Tara's playing and the blaring noise of the TV from the living room.

The baby was struggling to sleep. I stepped out of the bedroom and saw only Lilith and her daughter, Tara.

Holding the baby, I gently rocked him, my voice was quiet but firm, "Can you keep it down?" 

Lilith did not even bother to look up. Instead, Tara’s voice grew louder and she turned up the volume on the TV to the maximum.

I lost my patience so I yanked the television plug from the wall and in an instant, the room fell silent.

Tara let out an ear-piercing scream and charged at me like a wild animal. She rammed her head into my stomach and clawed at my arms with all her limbs over and over again.

"Lilith, aren’t you going to control your daughter?" I asked.

Lilith just crossed her arms over her chest, shook her head and smirked. "She’s not doing anything unforgivable. Why should I stop her?"

The next second, Tara grabbed the baby’s leg and yanked it downward.

The baby started wailing. I could not stand it anymore so I pushed her away.

Seizing the opportunity, Tara snatched the baby from my arms and lifted him high above her head.

"No!"

My eyes widened in horror. My voice broke as I screamed for her to stop.

Even Lilith’s expression changed as she called out her daughter’s name in panic, "Tara!"

However, Tara just pasted a smile on her face, lifted her hand high and threw the baby down hard.

For one agonizing second, my heart stopped, then plummeted. Something wet splattered onto my feet, but I was too numb to tell what it was.

"Call an ambulance! Someone call an ambulance!"

I dropped to my knees. Both of my hands trembled and I did not even know where to place them.

At the hospital, I stood in the farthest corner and watched as Mario stumbled inside. With a face as white as a ghost and sweat covering his forehead he walked into the emergency operating room in a quick stride.

"The baby is gone, Mario. The baby has died."

Lilith sobbed hysterically as if she had just remembered that this was her child.

I watched them silently as they clung to each other and comforted one another.

Then, without a word, I turned and walked away. As I walked, I heard Mario shout from behind me, "Where’s Kelly? Where did Kelly go?"

Mario's furious voice echoed behind me. His forehead veins bulged as he clenched the crumpled sheets of paper in his trembling hands.

Lilith’s eyes flicked to the divorce agreement in his grip, her expression lighted up with excitement. She grabbed his arm and tried to snatch the documents.

"Is this a divorce agreement?" he asked, "Are you finally divorcing Kelly?"

Annoyed, Mario shoved her away.

Lilith was a little upset and turned her head to point to where I was standing before, but only to see that the place was empty.

By then, I had already disappeared into the crowd. In a disoriented state, I kept walking aimlessly through the crowd, as if I was detached from every mess-up thing that happened around me.

It was so pathetic, so silly, really. That the child I had longed for all this time turned out was never mine. Although I had birthed him into this world, I could not keep him to stay here.

"It’s fine, Kelly. That wasn’t your child," I said to myself. "It's okay."

Yet, although I kept telling myself that over and over again, it did not matter.

Eventually, I sank to the ground, hugged myself and sobbed uncontrollably.

I didn’t know how long I cried before a white handkerchief appeared in front of me.

I looked up instinctively. A sharp, chiseled face came into view.