Chapter 3He Killed Our Baby

Some questions, I realized, didn't need answers.

Thankfully, Asher had been good to me over the years. The zeros in my bank account were almost uncountable – enough for me to raise a child alone, comfortably. I stroked my belly, tears splashing onto my hand. “Baby, from now on, it’s just you and me.”

Tonight’s flights were sold out. I only managed to book one for tomorrow night to Los Angeles. All night, my phone pinged with a new photo every ten minutes. Asher had bought the girl a villa, right in our own neighborhood. The photos showed Asher holding the girl’s hand, helping her write calligraphy. Amidst the blurred ink, I zoomed in, making out the words on the red banner:

“A Happy Family of Three.”

A dull ache started in my lower abdomen, and my hand slipped, losing its grip. The phone crashed to the floor, its screen fracturing into a spiderweb of cracks. It lit up, displaying a picture of Asher and me, our first kiss, the moment we fell in love.

I went insane, smashing the phone to bits, then tearing down the photo wall opposite our bed. Over a thousand pictures, Asher always saying "I love you" each time the camera clicked. But he lied to me… how can you love someone and still seek out another? How could he bear to break my heart?

I shredded every photo of us, tossed out the ceramic mugs we’d made together. As the sun rose, I slipped off my wedding ring, selling every piece of jewelry Asher had ever given me. Our once warm room became hollow. Just as I finished tidying the last remnants, Asher finally came home.

He carried countless elegant gift bags, then noticed the empty space on the wall. “Aurora, where’s our wedding photo?”

I looked at him with cold eyes, my voice soft. “The frame broke. I sent it to be repaired.”

Asher’s tensed shoulders relaxed. He came to my side, tentatively speaking. “Have you been short on cash lately? A friend said they received some jewelry engraved with our names.” He opened a box, revealing everything I’d just sold. The pink diamond earrings, the first luxury item he’d bought me with his first big paycheck. To commemorate it, Asher had even hired a professional engraver to carve our names into them.

I glanced at them indifferently, my voice flat. “Must have accidentally packed them with some other things I was getting rid of.”

Asher rummaged through the glittering array of jewelry and pulled out a simple diamond ring. The diamond was tiny, almost unnoticeable. But it was the best Asher could afford back then, a symbol of his deepest love for me. Asher gently stroked my head, his tone indulgent.

“My little scatterbrain, how could you lose your wedding ring?” He leaned down, kissing my ring finger, then slipped the ring back on. Afterwards, he transferred fifty million into my bank account. “If you need money, just tell your husband. Don’t try to handle everything alone.”

“Aurora, try to rely on me more.”

I didn't say a word, feeling like a hollow shell from which the soul had been sucked out. These gifts were things he’d bought while out with Felicity. Not because he genuinely wanted to give them to me, but because someone had reminded him.

Asher, how much genuine affection do you still hold for me?

The entire day, Asher turned off his phone and stayed with me, almost like we were back in our dating days. He cooked my favorite century egg and lean pork congee, and meticulously followed a blogger's recipes for my pregnancy meals. Time ticked by, and my app reminded me it was time to leave. I watched the busy Asher, unable to find an excuse to get rid of him.

Just then, the doorbell rang.