Chapter 3Used Goods

When I woke up, the first thing I felt was a dull, aching emptiness in my belly. Something was gone.

Ethan was slumped in a chair by my bed, dark circles under his eyes. He saw me awake and immediately started fussing. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

I looked straight at him, and a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

"It's better that the baby's gone."

"Ethan," I said, my voice cold and clear. "Are you still going to pretend with me? Even now?"

He blinked, then put on a confused expression. "Eva, what are you talking about? I don't understand. Whatever I did wrong, just tell me, and we'll fix it together. Don't be like this."

I was about to lay out all his disgusting secrets when the older woman in the next bed cut me off.

"You young girls," she clucked, "you've all been poisoned by the internet. Always threatening divorce. Who would want to live with that?"

"Besides," she added, gesturing at Ethan, "I saw this young man sit by your side all night long. A man that good is a rare find these days."

Just then, my mother-in-law pushed the door open. Seeing me awake, she rolled her eyes.

"Ethan took care of you all night. The least you could do is be grateful."

"I've been thinking," she continued, her voice dripping with malice. "Letting you leave with nothing is too easy. Who's going to compensate my son for the seven years he wasted on you?"

"Here's the deal. You tell us who your lover is, and then you give us a grandson. Then we'll call it even."

Ethan clearly agreed with this plan. "We've been together so long," he said, his voice deceptively soft. "How could I bear to let you leave with nothing?"

"Who is he? Don't worry, you can tell me. I won't cause any trouble for him."

Something inside me snapped.

"How many times do I have to say it? I just don't want to be with you anymore! Is that so hard to understand?"

"You accuse me of cheating? Why don't you take a good look at yourself first?"

The room fell silent, everyone stunned by my outburst. Only Ethan had the nerve to reach for my hand, his voice laced with false concern. "Don't get excited, Eva. Just calm down. You just had a miscarriage."

I yanked my hand away. "Stop acting. You make me sick."

He froze, at a loss for words. After a moment, tears started to well in his eyes.

"Eva, I know I'm not perfect. I know I neglect you sometimes. But for all these years, my love for you has been real."

"In school, I let you copy my homework. After we started working, I bought you designer bags. When you got pregnant, I rubbed stretch mark oil on you every night. Whenever you had a craving for something sour, I would…"

I cut him off. "Are you done? The homework you let me copy was all wrong. The purse was a cheap knockoff. And you didn't even know the right way to apply the stretch mark oil."

"Let's just end this. I'm tired. Since you won't agree to a divorce, I'll see you in court."

Ethan was silent for a long moment. Then he said one last thing before he left.

"You really don't have a heart, Eva. I guess it makes sense. You never had a father, after all."

My face remained a placid mask, but under the thin hospital blanket, my hands were trembling.

A little while later, my mother came in with a fruit platter.

"Eva," she began hesitantly, "I heard what was said. Ethan asked me to come take care of you. How can you divorce such a good man?"

"They're all gone now. You can be honest with me. Did you fall for someone else? It's okay, I won't blame you."

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh and turned my head away. "It's not working out. It's just not working out. Why is that so hard for everyone to understand?"

That was the breaking point. My mother's long-suppressed anger finally exploded. She swept the fruit platter to the floor and started hitting me, tears of rage streaming down her face.

"Eva! I raised you all by myself, and for what? So you could throw a tantrum and get a divorce?"

"Do you want to end up like me? Alone for the rest of your life?"

"You go and apologize to Ethan right now! If you don't, I will never acknowledge you as my daughter again!"

She stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.