chapter 2
639 Words
Outside the hospital gates, I tossed his medical report into a bin.
What difference does it make when death comes?
I no longer wished to tell him the results.
I forced myself to recognise: John had been unfaithful. I shouldn't grieve over his illness.
Yet my thoughts remained beyond my control.
Resentment, anguish, sorrow—these emotions swirled within me.
Returning home in a daze,
I couldn't help recalling his promises to me.
Back when we were deeply in love, he took me to his cousin's child's birthday party.
He adored children and spent the entire celebration by the little one's side.
Holding my hand, he expressed his desire to have three children together someday.
My mother died during my birth, and my father's constant reminders had ingrained a deep-seated fear of childbirth within me.
Nervously, I pulled my hand away from John's grasp.
John quickly noticed my unease and anxiously asked what was wrong.
I prepared to break up with him: "John, after we marry, I won't have children."
"I'm afraid. I may never have children in this lifetime."
I waited for John to ask why I wouldn't have children, so I could explain my reasons.
Unexpectedly, he didn't ask at all.
His expression was completely relaxed: "Fine, then we won't have children."
His eyes held a clear, unclouded sincerity.
My eyes stung red with tears: "John, won't you ask why?"
He clasped my hand tightly once more, his earnest gaze seeming to melt me:
"Jane, nothing matters more than your happiness."
"If you don't want children, you don't need to have them. No reason is needed."
I smiled blissfully, convinced he was heaven-sent to cherish me.
Except... this cherishing proved all too brief.
I pressed my fingers against my eyes to ease the stinging.
Then, I flipped our wedding photo face-down on the table.
Suppressing the heaviness in my heart, I made a phone call:
"Butler, I'm travelling to the Pacific coast the day after tomorrow."
I'll be staying there for two months. Arrange my itinerary."
Melinda would undoubtedly find ways to force me into divorce. I didn't want to face her dirty tricks.
I needed to retreat somewhere quiet for a while.
That evening, John returned with Melinda.
I pretended not to notice them, quietly finishing my bowl of congee.
He made no haste to dismiss the chef and nanny, waiting patiently until I’d finished.
He placed the divorce papers before me.
“Sign it. I’ve already drawn up the property settlement.”
In the blank space, he’d already signed his name. The jet-black ink made my nose sting with a fresh wave of bitterness.
I managed a smile that was all barbed teeth. “Is this for the baby?” I asked. “Is that what this is about?”
He held Melinda in one arm, indifferent as if I were making a fuss over a trifle. “Jane, just sign it now!”
His icy tone brooked no refusal.
I tore the divorce papers to shreds and flung them in his face, gritting my teeth:
"John, I won't divorce."
John's phone rang.
I saw the caller was John Group's largest partner; he had to take the call first.
With John gone, Melinda dropped the act:
"Jane, if you know what's good for you, sign now."
I snorted coldly. "You have no right to speak to me."
My insulting words made her face flush crimson with fury.
She bent over, clutching the chair, groaning: "My stomach..."
I found myself momentarily stunned by this clichéd charade.
I grabbed her hair, not thinking, and the slap I meant to land was sharper than I imagined. She reeled, clutching her cheek, eyes wide and stunned.
I gambled on John taking my side.
If he sided with me, I'd overlook his infidelity.
I'd accompany him through his final days.
- Writer
