I Was Eight-Month-Pregnant and My Husband Told Me to Cook

I nodded silently. As I watched the doctor’s retreating figure, my heart filled with sadness.

Just as I was about to crouch down and rest, Theo came storming out and dragged me back inside. He pointed at Jenny who was lying on the bed and barked, "Apologize to her!"

Then he continued, "Amy, if you didn't stir up trouble tonight, Jenny would've been safe and sound at home and she would not be hit by a car."

I furrowed my brows then laughed angrily at his shameless accusation. "Huh, me? I'm the troublemaker? Didn't you hear the personal attack that she hurled at me tonight?"

"Theo, I’m carrying your child! When she insults me, she’s insulting you too! Are you that clueless?”

It was the first time in five years I had shown him such a cold face. This made Theo so angry, that his eyes turned red because of it.

Before he could say anything, Jenny, who was lying on the hospital bed, burst into tears.

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault! I just wanted to lighten the mood. I didn’t mean to upset Amy. Please don’t fight because of me. It’s all on me.”

“When I recover, I’ll resign and leave. I won’t ever appear in front of you two again," she wailed miserably.

Theo, suppressing his rage, clenched his teeth and growled, "This is the last time I'm saying this, Amy! Apologize!"

“Don’t stoop to her level. I’ve told you this many times before. She is just a little girl.”

I looked at him coldly and stared at him for a long time before turning away silently, walking out and leaving the room.

As I stepped into the hallway, his furious roar echoed behind me, "If you dare leave, don’t ever come back! Amy, sooner or later, you'll come crawling back and begging before me along with that belly of yours!"

Tears streaked down my face as I quickened my pace, ignoring the gawking eyes of the people around me.

Outside the hospital, the rainstorm hadn’t eased up. I wandered the vast hospital alone, wearing nothing but my thin pajamas.

The hospital was in a remote area and I couldn’t hail a taxi no matter how hard I tried.

As if sensing my distress, the baby in my belly finally stopped moving and grew quiet.

After waiting for two hours, the rain subsided and I walked three kilometers to the nearest hotel to check-in. By then, it was already four o'clock in the morning.

As I paid for the room, a notification of a friend update popped up. When I looked at it, it was from Jenny.

The post featured a candid photo of Theo. He was holding a steaming bowl of porridge while gently massaging her swollen ankle.

The accompanying text read, "Sweet words don’t compare to porridge at dawn. The one who loves you never complains of being tired. Thank you, brother.”

As soon as the picture was posted, it quickly gathered many likes., mostly from Theo's friends who had attended the birthday party earlier.

These people had always looked down on me but taken care of Jenny with special affection. It wasn’t hard to imagine what role Theo had played in shaping their opinions and what kind of lies he must have told them about my so-called clingy, desperate behavior.

I was about to put my phone away when the comments began flooding in.

“Wow, Theo! Is there anything you can’t do? You're worthy as a top student who is proficient in everything, even porridge-making! How come I never knew you had this skill in the ten years I’ve known you? So unfair!”

“Next gathering, you better make some for us too, Theo. Show off your skills in front of Jenny again!”

“If I remember correctly, didn’t you once say you’d never do anything for a woman in your life? What a slap in the face! Only our Princess Jenny could change that!”

***

Every comment was like a dagger. It was a highlight of how cheap and pathetic I, as his wife, must have seemed.

They were right. Although we had been together for five years and I was eight months pregnant, we had not obtained a marriage certificate. It was indeed cheap. No wonder, Theo never appreciated me.

I let out a bitter laugh, turned off the phone and headed to the bedroom to sleep.

In the past, I had always kept my phone on because I was afraid. Theo would call me in the middle of the night, asking me to pick him up at the hotel.

For once, I slept throughout the night, undisturbed and woke up the next day.

I slept until noon and when I woke up, my phone filled with his messages.