Chapter 4If Life Were Only Like the First Time We Met

After I finished packing, Lily turned to Mark, eyes red.

"Honey, I'm hungry. You said Sarah makes the best sweet and sour pork chops. Can I have some tonight?"

Mark playfully stroked her nose and gave me a cold look.

"Make Lily some sweet and sour pork chops. Quickly."

I quietly picked up my suitcase.

"I'm not feeling well. I can't."

Mark stared at me, shocked. It was the first time I'd refused him.

He glared, "Sarah, what are you thinking? I just want you to make dinner for Lily. I'm not trying to divorce you. Can you not be so jealous? You're going to be a mother soon. Can't you be a little more generous?"

He sounded like I was a violent criminal. The word "jealous" justified his relationship with Lily, crushing the promises Mark had made to me in our youth.

He'd sat on the football field, love sparkling in his eyes. When he'd confessed, I joked:

"I have standards. If you ever like another woman, I'll hate you."

Mark nervously clutched the roses and said, "If I ever like someone else, punish me by never seeing me again."

Sometimes, I wondered if I'd imagined Mark loving me, or if he'd forgotten loving me. But it didn't matter anymore.

I calmly said, "Mark, let's get a divorce."

Mark looked dismissive.

"Still playing games? This isn't how a mother should act. "

Anyone could say I was a bad mother, but not Mark.

I stared at him, tears burning my eyes.

"Do you think you're a good father? If I knew it would come to this, I wish I'd never met you!"

Mark paused, looking confused. Then, he frowned.

"Why are you so angry? Anyone would think you had a miscarriage. How can you be a good mother acting like this?"

An icy chill ran through me. My heart felt like it was trapped in ice. Mark's coldness made me seem like a crazy person. Lily was giggling behind him. I knew that the marriage that had imprisoned me for ten years had come to an end. I smiled at Mark, the same smile I'd had when we first met.

"You're right, Mark."

Next, there was a loud thud. I slammed the miscarriage papers down on the table.