Amber's POV
"f**k this airline!" Annabelle cussed as she stared at the text Ethan sent her. "This is exactly why I hate using their service."
I laughed at her outburst. "Calm down. He'll be here soon."
She turned her phone to me so that I could read the text for myself, and according to the text, their flight had just taken off because it was delayed for one hour.
"Do you still think he'll be here soon?" she asked, mockery dripping from her words.
I wanted to give her a sarcastic response but shut my mouth when I felt a rush coming up my throat, the same rush I felt last night before I threw up, and all I could think about right now was—not again.
"Excuse me," I called to the security man walking by. "Where's the restroom, please?"
"Over there," he said, pointing somewhere.
"Thank you."
He nodded and left, then I faced Annabelle. "I'll be right ba..." I couldn't finish my words. I slapped my hand over my mouth and raced towards the restroom.
"Hey, Amber, what's going on?" I heard Annabelle ask. I guessed she'd come after me soon.
On getting to the restroom, I bent over the toilet and began vomiting—thankfully, it was clean. Annabelle soon came in, held my hair that was almost getting in the way, and began rubbing my back gently.
After I was done, I washed my face and leaned against the wall, breathing softly but tiredly.
"What's wrong with you? Why are you vomiting so early in the morning?" Annabelle asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I've been vomiting since last night." My brows knitted together in a frown as I tried to recall something. "And I don't even remember eating something that could upset my stomach."
Annabelle nodded in understanding, but suddenly her eyes narrowed as she gave me a suspicious, strange look and pointed an accusing finger at me.
"Are you..." she trailed off. "Don't tell me you're..." she trailed off again.
"Am I what?"
She looked around as if to confirm if anyone was close by. Even though there was nobody in sight, she still leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Are you pregnant?"
"Pregnant?!" I exclaimed, and she nodded. "No. That's not possible." I shook my head in denial. "Why would you even think of that?"
"What's not possible? Haven't you been having unprotected s*x with Vincent?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I always take after pills whenever we're done." I turned to the faucet and began washing my hands nervously. "Besides, we haven't had s*x in two months."
She rolled her eyes as if she'd just heard the most ridiculous words. "Taking after pills isn't a hundred percent guarantee that you can't get pregnant, and also, not having s*x in two months doesn't mean an egg wasn't fertilized before you stopped having sex... get it?"
Her words sank into me, and I couldn't help but agree with her explanation. Annabelle grabbed my hands and gave me a concerned look.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Huh?"
She nodded at my hands. I looked down at them and realized that they were shaking even though she was holding onto them.
"I... I can't have Vincent's baby, Anna." I could feel tears forming in my eyes already. "He would never accept a child from me. I can't carry his child."
Annabelle understood me. She knew exactly how I got married to Vincent and everything I've been going through since getting married. She quietly pulled me into a hug and squeezed my shoulders reassuringly.
"Honestly, I don't understand Vincent at all. He doesn't love you or want a child with you, but he won't agree to use condoms when having s*x with you," she complained.
I pulled away from the hug. "When will Ethan be arriving? Can we rush to the hospital to confirm this before he gets here?"
Annabelle reached for the phone in her pocket and checked the time, then nodded with a small smile. "Yes, we have enough time."
"Let's go to the closest hospital or clinic, then."
"Sure," she replied, then we walked out of the restroom.
> City Hospital <<
"Congratulations, Mrs. Liam, you're eleven weeks pregnant," the doctor said, smiling as she handed me the test result.
Congratulations? No. This is not a congratulations.
Not wanting to explain my predicament to a stranger, I forced a smile at the doctor.
"Thank you," I said as I collected the result and faced Annabelle. "Let's go."
The moment we stepped out of the doctor's office, I slumped to the floor and burst into uncontrollable tears. What have I gotten myself into? Why did I have to get pregnant at a time like this? When I'm stuck in a loveless marriage.
Annabelle squatted beside me. She pulled me in for a hug and allowed me to cry to my satisfaction. "It's okay, it's okay," she cooed.
I finally stopped crying and wiped my tears.
"What's your next step? Will you keep the baby?" she asked.
I shook my head. "No, I won't."
Her mouth parted as she stared at me in disbelief. "Huh?"
"Don't look at me as if I'm heartless, I'm not." I stared at the result longingly as I said my next words. "I want to be a mother, I want to have my own child, but the man I'm married to wouldn't want to be the father of my child. So, it's best I let it go."
She nodded in agreement. "I understand." She got up and helped me up. "Let's go pick Ethan up first before we make arrangements for the abortion."
Agreeing with her, I kept the result in my bag and faced her, just to see her staring ahead with her mouth open in shock. Furrowing my brows, I followed her gaze only to find Vincent standing a short distance away from us, with his fists balled beside him and his face darkened with inexplicable anger.
"What is your husband doing here?" Annabelle whispered to me.
"I don't know," I replied.
Vincent charged towards me. He grabbed my left hand and began dragging me somewhere.
"Hey, where are you taking her?" Annabelle challenged him, but I shook my head at her, signaling for her not to worry that I'd be fine.
After dragging me for a while, we arrived at a quiet corner, and he finally let go of my hand.
"What are you doing here?" he bellowed. "Haven't you had enough? Is it until she's dead before you let her go?"
I tilted my head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"For f**k's sake, stop pretending to be clueless. You knew Chloe is here, so you came with an ulterior motive!"
My eyes began wandering around the moment he said Chloe was here, hoping to see her.
He scoffed, nodding his head as if he was agreeing with something mentally. "This was the reason you left home so early this morning, right?"
"Stop getting ahead of yourself, Vincent. The world does not revolve around you and Chloe," I told him, then turned to walk away, but he grabbed my hand again and pulled me back.
"I'm not done with you." His grip on my hand tightened to the extent that I could feel his nails digging into my flesh. "What did you do to Chloe that made her contract a kidney disease?"
I wanted to laugh at his question, but his nails digging into my flesh were hurting me so badly.
"Let go of me!" I snatched my hand from his grip. "Do you hear how ridiculous your question sounds? What can I possibly do to her that will give her a kidney disease?" I chuckled softly. "Besides, Chloe told you she has a kidney disease and you actually believed her? How gullible can you be?"
I mean, how does she manage to pull off these acts and get people to believe her?
"Chloe would never lie about such a thing," he debunked my words. "You're the jealous and lying freak between the two of you!" He paused and took a deep breath. "I can't waste time arguing with you here. Come with me..." He grabbed my hand again. "...I'll speak with the doctor. You'll donate one of your kidneys to her!"
That was my last straw. That was when I lost it.
I snatched my hand from him and pushed him away with all my might. "What do you mean I'll donate one of my kidneys to her?" I screamed, drawing the attention of a nurse and her patient passing by, but I didn't care and continued. "When are you going to open your eyes and see that she's a manipulator? Why are my parents not here if she's truly diagnosed with a kidney disease?"
Vincent clenched his jaw as he looked at the crowd already forming. Annabelle had come and was standing by my side.
"You are screaming," Vincent said through gritted teeth. "Come, let's go home. We'll settle this at home."
Shaking my head, I said, "No. I'm not coming home with you." I closed my eyes, held my head in frustration, and took a deep breath. "You know what? I'm tired of all this." I reached for the test result in my bag and raised it in his face. "Before, I only wanted an abortion, but now, I ALSO WANT A DIVORCE!!"
I threw the result at him and walked away while Annabelle rushed after me.