Chapter 4
The venomous, humiliating words pierced my ears, my cheek still stinging from the slap.
I couldn't tell which hurt more - the physical pain from his blow, or the emotional agony from his cruel words.
Standing there, lost and broken, I watched helplessly as he walked away with Aria, unable to utter even a single plea for him to stay.
My child was gone. My fiancé was gone. I had nothing left.
My phone chimed with a notification - a price drop alert for baby items I'd been browsing on Amazon.
The irony was unbearable. I turned off the screen and stumbled home through the pouring rain, only to find two pairs of shoes by the door.
They belonged to Alec and Aria.
He sat on the couch with Aria perched on his lap, their heads close together as they whispered intimately.
Hearing the front door open, he didn't even look up as he barked orders at me.
"You're back? Hurry up and make dinner! Are you trying to starve me? And remember, Aria doesn't like cilantro. Don't make anything she won't eat."
Soaked to the bone, I could barely muster the energy to speak. I turned to go change clothes,
But he roughly grabbed my arm to stop me.
"I'm talking to you. Are you deaf?"He shook me with displeasure, "You've deceived Aria for so many years, causing us to be apart for so long. Making her a meal is the least you can do as compensation."
Alec, thinking he'd bestowed upon me some great favor, pushed me into the kitchen without allowing any refusal.
Hearing the laughter and chatter from outside, I recalled how all these years he'd handed over his entire paycheck, yet oddly never celebrated any anniversaries with me.
Listening closely, I indeed heard from Aria's lips about their celebrations on their hundred-day anniversary, Valentine's Day, and various other occasions.
He had told me he didn't care for such rituals, that he found them too fussy.
It turns out those were just excuses to brush me off. The real reason was that I wasn't the one he wanted to celebrate with.
The soup pot bubbled away, and I walked out carrying the still-steaming chicken noodle soup.
Just as I set it down, I saw him carefully spooning soup for Aria.
He'd always found such gestures sappy and had never done anything like that for me.
Another pang of heartache. I fought back the urge to cry and turned back to the kitchen.
Before long, a shout erupted from outside. I was in the middle of ladling out more soup.
Scalding soup splashed all over the floor, and my feet were burned, raising several large blisters.Alec slammed his fist on the table, pointing his finger at my nose as he launched into a tirade.
"Seraphina, you did this on purpose, didn't you! Aria's allergic to onions, and you deliberately put them at the bottom of the bowl. Are you trying to kill her?"
Looking at Aria, who was clutching her chest and pretending to be out of breath, I didn't even have the desire to defend myself.
The only thing I couldn't bear was the pain in my foot. My face contorted in agony.
I muttered "It wasn't me" and was about to go find some burn ointment when he, in a fit of rage, shoved me to the ground and scooped Aria up in his arms like a princess.
As I fell, I hit the corner of the table. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, and the color drained from my face.
"It hurts so much..." I gasped, "Hospital... I need to go to the hospital..."
With my foot scalded, I couldn't move. I could only grab onto Alec's pant leg as he was about to leave, pleading pathetically.
"Alec, please, take me to the hospital. My stomach hurts so bad..."
He mercilessly kicked me in the stomach again.
He peeled my fingers off his pant leg one by one.
Tossing out a "What are you playing at? It's not like you're pregnant," he strode away.Tears fell from my eyes in a sudden rush, even though I thought I had grown numb to his heartlessness. Through my blurred vision, the pain only sharpened my awareness.