The Dissipation of Love

Charlotte said, "I'm sorry for coming between you and your wife, Jonathan. Don't worry about me and Amanda anymore. We shouldn't have bothered you with our troubles in the first place."

At that moment, Jonathan emerged from the hospital room. I thought he would give me a talking-to, but he simply hugged me from behind and caressed my belly. "Tess, can't you be a little more understanding about this?

"Ms. Sanders has helped me a lot, and she's a widow struggling to raise a child on her own. Once this is over, it'll be just the three of us—you, me, and our baby."

"Oh, so you do remember we have a kid on the way," I drawled sarcastically as I broke free of his embrace.

"You knew I was pregnant, yet you woke me up in the middle of the night to gather clothes for Ms. Sanders and her daughter. You had me slave away in the kitchen on a hot summer day to make soup for Amanda.

"You were never around when I needed you, but you happily tended to their needs. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was the widow, not Ms. Sanders!"

"You—" Jonathan frowned, but he was interrupted when the nurse from earlier approached to remind him to pay Amanda's hospital bill. He heaved a sigh and fished out his bank card.

Rage descended on me as I tugged his shirt sleeve. "Have you gone mad, Jonathan? You're paying their bills with the money you saved for our baby?"

"You're as selfish as ever, Tessa," Jonathan said coldly as he gave me a look of disappointment.

"She's your mentor, not mine! You realize you're not getting paid to pursue a PhD, right? Did you forget that half of the hundred thousand dollars in your savings came from my mom?" I argued.

"This is a matter of life and death, Tessa! Why are you so hung up about the money?" Jonathan swatted me away impatiently.

I lost my balance and fell. A sharp pain bolted through me from the waist down, and I wanted to call for help. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Jonathan leaving me.

He didn't so much as spare me a backward glance.

…

It was late at night when I finally came to. I was alone in the dark hospital room, and I didn't have to be a psychic to know Jonathan was keeping Charlotte and Amanda company.

The young nurse who came in to switch out the IV bags couldn't help reminding me, "Miss, you can't afford to get injured anymore. You've just had an abortion, and another fall like this could hurt you more than you think."

I nodded and thanked her as I wiped the tears from my face.

My heart tightened painfully before turning numb. I would no longer hold out hope that Jonathan might turn around. I was so used to justifying his decisions and actions in the past, but now, I decided to accept reality in stride.

I turned on my phone and scrolled through Instagram, only to stumble across Charlotte's post. It read, "It's hard to be a single mother, but thankfully, I'm not alone on this journey."

She had posted a selfie. Only half of her face was on camera, but she was smiling gently as the camera focused on Jonathan holding Amanda in his arms in the background. He was looking at the little girl tenderly. They looked like a real family.

Sorrow and disappointment filled me. It took all my effort, but I suppressed the bitter rage that swirled within me and checked the joint account I shared with Jonathan. When I saw that we had less than 50 thousand in savings, I transferred the balance to my personal account and called my work supervisor.

"Mr. Jones, is there still an available slot for the outstation work that was mentioned during the meeting the other day?" I asked.

My supervisor, Bailey Jones, had asked me last week if I was interested in working abroad. The standard of living was supposedly higher there, and the job came with better pay and benefits. More importantly, I could return home after two years and be guaranteed a promotion as well as a raise.

However, I had turned down the opportunity because of my pregnancy.

"Yes, but aren't you pregnant? There will be plenty of chances in the future. You don't have to make such a hard call now," Bailey said mildly.

My nose prickled, and a sob threatened to escape me.