End of a Decade's Dream

When I saw my heels, all bloodied and raw, I let out a self-mocking laugh. What a perfect wedding ceremony this had been.

Lost in my thoughts, I finally got cell reception, and over a dozen messages from Dominic popped up.

"Are you intent on making my life miserable, Evelyn? I've told you long ago that Irene is just like a younger sister to me. Why did you have to insist on getting jealous at the wedding ceremony?"

On and on his messages went, every single word an accusation. He didn't show even a shred of concern for me, nor did he say a word of apology.

Not wanting to entertain him, I was just about to put my phone away when I got a call from an unfamiliar number. When the call connected, Irene's voice rang out.

"Dom, Evelyn will be upset that you abandoned her like that. Either way, she's pregnant with your child…"

However, Dominic simply replied gently, "You're too kind-hearted, Irene. She only got pregnant to force my family to throw her a wedding ceremony. How can she or the baby compare to you?"

The phone slipped from my hand and hit the ground with a dull thud.

But of course, how could I possibly compare to Irene?

Two months ago, when I had gone downstairs at night to get a drink of water, I slipped by accident and ended up breaking my tailbone. As the blood pooled beneath me, I was so terrified that I hurriedly shouted for Dominic, who was getting ready to go out.

But he simply reprimanded me icily, "Don't you have hands and feet, Evelyn? Do you not know how to call for an ambulance yourself? Stop bothering me. I've got an urgent matter to deal with."

By the time the ambulance arrived, I had already fainted and nearly suffered from a miscarriage.

I was hospitalized for an entire month after that, and not once did Dominic show up.

It was not until yesterday that I found out he had gone off in a rush because Irene said she was scared of lightning, and he needed to keep her company.

As I recalled that incident, my hands clenched around my gown, snapping the manicure I had gotten done specially for the wedding ceremony. Nevertheless, the physical pain couldn't hold a candle to the agony in my heart.

Finally, I reached the bottom of the hill. I had just called for a cab when Dominic called.

"Evelyn, you gave Irene such a fright that she's getting a panic attack. Get your ass over here and apologize to her at once!"

Gripping the umbrella that was being whipped around by the roaring wind, I informed him that I was still on the outskirts of the city.

Just then, hail began falling from the sky, thumping loudly as the pieces of ice hit the ground.

Dominic heard the sounds, and his voice became a little anxious. "Has it started to hail? Didn't you stay back at the villa? I'll come over now and—"

Before he could finish, I heard Irene crying in the background.

"This is all my fault, Dom. I shouldn't have come back… If I'd known this would happen, I should've just died on the streets somewhere…"

Dominic immediately put his phone down and comforted her softly. By the time he started talking to me again, his voice resumed its previous indifference.

"Evelyn, I'm giving you half an hour. Get to the hospital now and apologize!"

The icy hostility in his voice made me shudder, but it also made the last of my love for him disappear.

"I'm not the one who needs to apologize, Dominic. Let's get a divorce."

Dominic's breath hitched, but he soon responded mockingly, "Everyone in Amberton knows that I've knocked you up. If you leave me, who would want to be with a pregnant woman like you?"

At last, the umbrella buckled under the storm and fell to the side.

As I stood there with the wind whipping around me and the hail crashing onto me, my mind slowly cleared.

I dropped the call just as the cab I called for arrived.

After stroking my tiny belly bump, I wiped my tears and said to the cab driver, "Take me to the hospital, please."

…

As I lay on the operating table, I suddenly felt like I could hear the baby's pulse inside of me. He seemed to be telling me not to cast him aside.

I deliberated for a long time, but in the end, I called Dominic.

"I'm at the hospital, Dominic. You—"

Dominic cut me off with a snort, commanding, "If you're already at the hospital, hurry up and get over here then! This time, you'd better apologize to Irene. Or else, don't even think about getting me to forgive you."