A Time Will Come When Suffering Ends

Upon returning home, the sight of the empty rooms made me realize that Callum had gone to the hospital to tend to Catherina.

I pushed open the nursery door and stared blankly at the pastel pink interior.

A delicate pink crib loomed in the space. It was adorned with toys: a pink rattle drum and a strawberry-shaped plushie.

The wardrobe was fully stocked with frilly pink dresses from the size of a newborn to a three-year-old kid.

When I first learned of my pregnancy, I was momentarily stunned and unprepared for motherhood.

Callum, however, was over the moon.

One midnight, when I woke up to use the bathroom, I noticed he was missing. I found him sitting at his computer in the study.

The monitor’s glow softened his sharp features as he researched how to care for a pregnant wife. He had filled an entire page with handwritten notes.

Only then did it hit me that I was going to be a mother.

Honestly, all my excitement for this child came from Callum.

Because I carried my beloved husband’s child, I grew to love the baby inside me as I learned to love what he loved.

As my belly grew more noticeable, my love for the little one deepened.

Callum was obsessed with buying baby supplies from every major department store.

He persistently insisted on buying exclusively feminine infant products.

I laughed and teased him, “How can you be so sure it’s a girl? What if it’s a boy?”

Callum wore a proud, coy expression as he pressed his face to my round belly. His eyes shone with happiness.

“You wouldn’t understand. This is a father-daughter bond. I just know you’re carrying our little princess.”

Suddenly, footsteps behind me snapped me out of my thoughts.

I turned to see Callum returning home.

He looked exhausted as he approached and helped me to the couch.

“Babe, you’re pregnant. You shouldn’t stand for so long. Your legs will swell up.”

When I was silent, he continued, “Babe, please don’t be mad. It was an emergency. I’m so sorry for leaving you alone at the hospital. It won’t happen again.”

He sounded sincere. I would have thought he meant every word.

But this was not the first time he had made that promise. Whenever Catherina had “an accident,” she always came first.

As he reached to massage my calves, I caught a whiff of a sweet perfume on him. It was the rose scent Catherina adored.

A wave of nausea hit me, and I vomited.

Callum looked flustered as he handed me the trash bin. “What’s wrong? Is it morning sickness?”

After recovering slightly, I answered tiredly, “Not morning sickness. I just feel sick to my stomach.”

“What did you say?” He had not caught my words.

“I said it’s not morning sickness. Your cologne is making me sick.”

He looked hurt.

“Babe, I—”

I cut him off. “Let’s get divorced.”

He froze momentarily before quickly embracing me. He then said in a trembling voice, “Babe, you can’t say that like it’s nothing! It’s hurtful. We’re going to have a child together. How could we get divorced? We’re supposed to grow old together.”

I pushed him away and stared at him.

“Callum, didn’t I say earlier that if you walk out that door, we’re through? Did you not hear me?”

He felt anxious. “It’s not what you think...”

I shoved him away. I did not want to hear his excuses anymore.

Ever since Catherina had returned, he always chose her over me when something came up.

I walked into the bedroom and locked the door behind me.

Tears streamed down my face as I ignored Callum’s frantic knocking.

The baby in my womb seemed to sense my distress and grew restless. I stroked my belly comfortingly.

“I’m sorry, little one. Because of me, you’ll have to grow up without a father.

“I don’t want you to experience what I did. I don’t want you to be abandoned by your father again and again and watch him run to someone else.”