I'm Abandoned During My Hemorrhage

Chapter 2 The Regret

I struggled to pull my hand out of his, my eyes darting to Ophelia, who stood nearby. "So, this is your very important client?"

Caspian's face instantly turned pale. He opened his mouth, about to explain, but Ophelia was already walking over. She smiled at me, offering an insincere apology. "I'm so sorry. It was my flight back today, and I insisted he pick me up. He even pushed back a very important meeting."

The intense pain left me with no energy to think. The nurse urged Caspian to sign a pile of consent forms. His hand trembled as he signed. On the way to the operating room, he held my hand tightly, whispering, "Seraphina, you'll be fine. God will bless you."

As I was being pushed into the operating room, I saw Caspian's eyes were red. For a moment, I couldn't tell if his anxiety was real or not.

*****

I was transferred to the operating table, the blinding shadowless lamp above me, my body hooked up to various tubes. As the milky white liquid entered my veins, I slowly closed my eyes. Under the influence of the anesthetic, I drifted back to seven years ago in my dreams.

I had just graduated with my master's degree and joined the best entertainment company in the country. The salary was high, the benefits were good, and the future was bright. Just as I was ready to make my mark in the workplace, I met Caspian.

He pursued me relentlessly. He would bring me brown sugar water when I had period cramps, walk me home when it rained, and commiserate with me when my boss scolded me. I was touched and naturally fell in love with him.

One day, after dinner, he suddenly knelt down on one knee with a diamond ring in his hand. He looked at me with a smile on his lips but nervousness in his eyes. "Seraphina, will you marry me? I promise to love you and be good to you for the rest of my life."

Overjoyed, I reached out and let him put the diamond ring, a symbol of love, on my finger. Little did I know that the ring, besides its beauty, also symbolized shackles.

Two years after we got married, our child was born. However, after my maternity leave ended, the nannies we hired were either clumsy or ill-intentioned. Every day when I came home and saw the tears on my son's face and his arms outstretched, calling for his mother with a grievance, my heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

The unreliable nannies meant that either Caspian or I had to give up work to take care of the family.

At night, I held my son in my arms as Caspian rested his chin on my shoulder and whispered, "Seraphina, I will work hard to support our family."

His implication was clear—he wanted me to give up my job.

I had spent more than twenty years studying, and I couldn't bear to give up my promising career. I was reluctant. However, it seemed that it was always the woman who had to sacrifice for the family. Every female colleague around me had either resigned or been sidelined because of marriage and childbirth.

Caspian kept persuading me to become a stay-at-home wife. "Seraphina, do you have the heart to see our child suffer? Don't worry. I won't let you bear the burden of childcare alone."

I choked back my words and swallowed them down. A few days later, I submitted my resignation.

At first, he did keep his word. No matter how late he got off work, he would do housework and take care of our child. But as time went on, he became listless and sleepy all day long. I felt sorry for him having to work during the day, so I took the initiative to separate our beds so that our child wouldn't disturb him.

My kindness to Caspian gradually became a habit, and he gradually took it for granted that all the housework would fall on my shoulders. He complained that I didn't mop the floor clean enough and that the food I cooked wasn't delicious. He said that he worked hard outside while I enjoyed myself at home, but I couldn't do anything right.

Sometimes I would sit at home alone in a daze, looking at the birds flying outside the window, realizing that I was trapped in a cage of marriage, but there was nothing I could do about it. I was like a frog in warm water, being boiled for so long that I gradually lost the ability to jump out.

My husband's praise became the value of my existence. His approval would make me happy for days. So, day after day, I became the fuel of this family, washing clothes, cooking, taking care of the children, living a repetitive, boring life, and reaching out to him for money.

Caspian's income was not much, but I lived like a nanny. I regretted it many times. If I had the chance to choose again, no matter how difficult it was, I would never resign from my job.

*****

The surgery was over, and the doctor woke me up. The nurse pushed the gurney to the door of the operating room and called out for a long time, but Caspian was nowhere to be seen.

My five-year-old son rushed over and, imitating the adults, wiped my face with a tissue. "Mommy!"

"Where's Daddy?" I asked. My voice was as hoarse as a seventy-year-old woman's.

My son pursed his lips, tears welling up in his eyes but not falling. "Daddy said he was going to buy you soup, but I saw him take that pretty auntie in the car. Daddy lied."

I raised my hand with effort and stroked my son's head in comfort.

After we arrived at the ward, the nurse and the family members in the next bed helped me to lie down. As soon as my back touched the bed, Caspian appeared at the door of the ward. The nurse, a young girl, rolled her eyes at him as she left.

Caspian was holding several food containers in his hands. Seeing that I was awake, his face instantly broke into a smile. "Seraphina, I went all the way to buy you soup."

The smile on his face was particularly bright as he set up the small table for me and arranged the food and chopsticks. To outsiders, we looked like a loving couple. The soup in the bowl was still steaming.

My son frowned. "The nurse said Mom can't eat it."

The family members in the next bed also spoke up to criticize Caspian. "What's wrong with you? She just had surgery and can't eat anything. Didn't you hear what the nurse said? You're not even as sensible as a child."

The smile froze on Caspian's face.

I asked him casually, "Did you take Ophelia back?"

Caspian's movements paused, his eyes flickering. I caught the guilt in his eyes and threw the spoon in my hand back into the bowl with a cold smile, feeling even more disappointed in him.

As a husband, he left his five-year-old son and his wife who had just undergone surgery in the hospital, and turned around to drive an adult woman with a small injury on her foot home. It was obvious which one was more important.

Avoiding my gaze, Caspian patiently explained, "Ophelia and I are just ordinary friends now. She's a client of the company now. Her foot was injured, and I just drove her back out of common courtesy. Don't overthink it."

He helped me to sit up slowly, his movements infuriatingly gentle. A wave of sweet perfume wafted into my nostrils. I hadn't used perfume for years. The strong scent on him must have been left by someone on purpose. And that person, besides Ophelia, there was no other possibility!

How close had they been for him to have such a strong perfume on him?

At the thought of that scene, I felt nauseous and couldn't help but bend over and vomit. "Caspian, the smell on you is disgusting."