A Long Road, A Quiet Goodbye

My heart suddenly hurt. Even though I was mentally prepared, I still could not stop the pain in my chest. I slowly fell asleep in a daze.

When I woke up early in the morning, I passed by Arianne’s room and saw George feeding her a full English Breakfast. He was blowing on the spoon gently to cool it before bringing it to her lips.

When Arianne noticed me standing there, she purposely raised her voice and kissed George on the lips.

“George, I really want you to stay with me tonight, okay?”

Her long fingers slowly slid down his shirt and George let out a soft sound that he could not control.

“Oh, such a flirt! Fine, I’ll stay with you tonight.”

I did not want to watch them flirt and be affectionate in front of me. It made me feel sick. So, I turned around and walked to the kitchen to make myself breakfast.

I needed to eat something before going to the hospital for the abortion today.

But to my surprise, Arianne appeared in front of me like a ghost. Her voice was full of sarcasm.

“Selena, you are a woman who cannot even keep a baby and you still dare to stay here. If I were you, I would have already hung myself on a broken tree.”

I said nothing and pretended not to hear her.

That only made her angrier.

“It’s so sad that some women want to get pregnant but cannot. And here I am, not even wanting this baby anymore.”

I could not understand what she meant.

“The doctor said I’m too close to giving birth. If I try to keep this baby, I might die. So, I cannot keep it. And you … you are my best option.”

Her words rang loudly in my ears. Before I could even think about what she truly meant, she suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me down. My body hit the floor hard.

A deep pain started in my lower stomach. I could not stop myself from shaking. Not long after that, I felt something warm running down between my legs.

“Selena, what’s wrong with you?” George yelled.

But he ran past me and straight to Arianne who pretended to look pained.

“I’m sorry … I couldn’t save our baby. I didn’t think Selene would hate me this much …”

Her voice trembled on purpose, as if she was scared to speak, but she clearly hinted that I was the one who hurt her.

That was when George finally noticed me, lying pale and trembling nearby. A flash of anger appeared in his eyes and his voice turned cold.

“Selena, how could you be so heartless? That was a living baby!”

George did not believe me at all. He then carried Arianne in his arms and ran toward the hospital. I used the last of my strength to grab the bottom of his pants.

“My stomach hurts so much … The baby … ”

What I got in return was his mocking voice.

“Selena, are you that desperate to have a baby? I haven’t touched you in so long, so how could you even be pregnant?”

I froze. I looked at him, completely shocked. Tears streamed down my face, but I could not stop them.

George seemed to realize that what he said was too much, but Arianne’s fake crying grew louder and louder and he hurried away without looking back. I did not stop him. So, I forced myself to call for an ambulance.

When I was about to pass out from the pain, I grabbed the doctor’s hand tightly and said, “This baby … please take it out.”

After that, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, George was sitting beside my hospital bed, looking worried.

“Selena, why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? And why did you remove the baby? You didn’t even let me be a father to our child.”

His eyes were full of suspicion and stubbornness. I couldn’t help but laugh coldly. What right did he have to question me?

“What would this baby call you when it was born? Dad? Or uncle?”

George’s face turned pale. He let out a deep sigh.

“I can see that you still put the blame on me. Arianne lost the baby. That was the universe punishing me. Isn’t that enough?”

“Rest for two more days. Then, go say sorry to her. I’ll speak nicely about you to my mother.”

It was clearly Arianne who pushed me. But the words stuck in my throat. And I swallowed them again.

That was it.