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Chapter 4
“Evelyn, you… you’re pregnant?”
I nodded, my hand resting on my belly. “Yes, I’m three months along.“N
In an instant, Margaret’s face turned pale. She quickly pulled Richard aside.
While the latter was busy comforting her, I took the divorce agreement from my bag and turned to the last page, signaling for him to sign in the blank space.
Richard tried to take a look, but Margaret clung to him and in the end, he signed without even glancing at it.“]
With the document in hand, I left quickly, ignoring the look in Richard’s eyes that seemed to beg for an explanation.
A night passed and Richard didn’t come home. I didn’t mind at all; in fact, I exchanged everything he had given me for fifty bucks on the black market
As I stepped outside, I saw him and Margaret walking closely together down the street.
Upon noticing me, she immediately wrapped her arm around Richard’s, saying, “Hello, Evelyn! I was scared last night, so I asked Rick to stay with me. Don’t think too much of it.”
Richard quickly added, “That’s right, Eve. Don’t misunderstand.”}]
I nodded blankly, about to walk away when a sharp pain shot through my belly. I could clearly feel the baby kicking.
Richard, seeing me touch my stomach, looked at me with a tender gaze.
“Eve, once we settle Maggie in, we’ll be a happy family of three,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you and the baby.”
In that fleeting moment, I felt disoriented came crashing. It was as if I had been transported back to the time before the lies had come to light.
Then, out of nowhere, a car came barreling down the street, completely out of control, heading straight for us.
I heard Richard’s frantic shout, “Maggie, watch out!”
Bang!
As everything spun wildly around me, I was struck to the ground by the force of the car, witnessing Richard protect Margaret in his embrace.
A sharp pain surged through me and darkness threatened to close in at the edges of my vision. My stomach twisted in agony.
Looking down, I saw blood seeping between my legs and panic gripped me.
I called out for help, but Richard remained frozen in place, wholly absorbed in comforting Margaret, who had only sustained a minor scrape.>
A bitter smile crept onto my lips. So this was his version of “taking care of me and the baby.“}]
It felt so cheap, so insincere.
With the aid of concerned bystanders, I got rushed to the hospital.
The nurse quickly arranged for a doctor to examine me and before long, he regretfully told me, “I’m sorry, but we couldn’t save the baby.”
At that moment, tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.
When I opened my eyes again, I found Richard sitting by my bedside, his face filled with guilt.
“I’m so sorry, Eve. It’s my fault. I didn’t protect you and the baby. You have to understand, Maggie was right there, so I instinctively…”
“Don’t worry, we’re still young. We can have another child.“>
I let out a bitter laugh. Richard, we would never have a future together.}
For the next two days, Richard brought me meals regularly, spending the rest of his time with Margaret, who claimed she was shaken up by the accident.
But I didn’t care one bit.”
On the day Richard left for the army, Margaret showed up before me with a smug look on her face.
“Evelyn, Rick is just like he used to be. He’ll do whatever I say!“}]
“I just mentioned that I didn’t want you getting pregnant and the very next day you had a miscarriage. What a coincidence, don’t you think?”
I suddenly looked up, trembling as I asked, “What did you just say?“}
“Or did you really think it was just a coincidence?“}
“A runaway car just happened to be at that intersection and it crashed right into you? Even as you lay there in a pool of blood, Rick didn’t even glance your way. His goal was to make sure you had a miscarriage!“}
