A video was shared on my husband’s Instagram account, in which he was drinking wine with his first love in a bar as they gazed fondly at each other. Having not eaten for a day, I put down the diaper I just changed for Erica’s mother and looked at the dirty dishes in the kitchen. I took some rest on the sofa, and the baby in my belly protested for food. Staring at my phone for a while, I gave a thumbs up to that picture and commented: [You’re made for each other.] Suddenly, I received a call from my husband, and as soon as I answered, he yelled at me, “That was only a game. Why are you making a fuss over it?” “Fine, I hope you can really be a couple,” I thought to myself. “Of course, they are made for each other. Thank god you know that.” Erica Linch’s friend, Henry Zander, replied to me unceremoniously in the comments. His point was obvious. Without seeing him in person, I could feel the contempt and disdain in his tone. Erica probably didn’t block anyone from seeing this post. All of his friends, including those I had never met or only met a few times, could see it. They might be laughing in front of the screen, or perhaps discussing it privately, imagining the awkwardness and insecurity I, Erica’s wife, feel when I said in the comments that my husband and someone else were a perfect match. They say that the way your husband treats you reflects how his friends treat you. At that moment, I had a deeper understanding of that saying. Erica probably didn’t show the respect and care I deserved in front of them. With these thoughts, an indescribable sense of suffocating pain subtly rose in my heart. They all seemed to agree tacitly that Ann Yates was more suitable for Erica. And I, the woman who had been married to Erica for many years had never been able to bear him a child, seemed to have been quietly excluded from this circle. I had sacrificed so much for this family ever since we got married. Both our parents urged me to get pregnant soon. I had no choice but to temporarily resign from the job I loved and focus entirely on getting pregnant. At the same time, I needed to take care of Erica’s parents, fulfilling my duty as his wife. However, being unemployed made me doubt my worth more than ever. I graduated from a prestigious university with a bright career outlook and my own dreams and pursuits. But I allowed myself to give up my career and dreams and become a housewife for the sake of a man. That was completely different from the ambition and aspirations I had when I first graduated. I rarely met Erica’s friends, not because I didn’t want to go, but because I knew that I wasn’t welcomed in that circle. On the one hand, Erica didn’t really want to take me. On the other hand, I felt that I wasn’t the same kind of person as his friends. That video further confirmed this point. Thinking like this, I felt utterly worn out, not knowing what my efforts over the years had truly brought me. I couldn’t help but feel confused, not knowing if my persistence in this marriage still held any meaning. Just then, there was a soft click from the fingerprint lock outside the door, and Erica had returned. He was taken aback to see that the living room light was still on. Then, his gaze fell on me sitting on the sofa. He must have remembered the video earlier, and upon seeing my impassive face, he started to explain, which was truly surprising to me, “About that video, we were only playing a game to welcome Ann back. She lost the truth-or-dare, and those guys were all my friends. She couldn’t do that with other guys, so I helped her out and drank with her.” His tone carried a hint of helplessness, as if that really wasn’t a big deal. I twitched my lips and looked up at him with sarcasm and disappointment in my eyes. “You were only helping her out? Erica, we didn’t even have a toast when we got married back then. And those so-called friends of yours, each one of them looks like they’re attending a funeral.” My words inevitably carried a hint of sharpness and bitterness. I vented the long-suppressed emotions in my heart. Instantly enraged, Erica widened his eyes and shouted with a trembling voice, “Lola Harrison! Can you stop being unreasonable?! How could you say that?!” I looked into his eyes, and just thinking about the ambiguous atmosphere between them at that time and his friend’s comments made me feel a wave of nausea. I took a deep breath and said decisively, “You sleep in the living room. I don’t want to be in the same room with you.” Unexpectedly, that touched Erica’s sore spot, and he suddenly spoke angrily. “Fine, Lola, whatever!”
I met Erica in middle school, fell in love with him in high school, and had known him for seven years. I lived next door to him when I was a child. When I first moved in, I knew nobody knew, and I was terrified. It was Erica who leaned over from the other side of the wall, smiled, and spoke up, “Hello, my name is Erica Linch! What is your name?” Since then, we often went home together after school. In middle school, we took the school bus together, and as we got older, we rode bikes together. I had always known a girl named Ann Yates, who was Erica’s childhood sweetheart. Later, due to her parents’ work, she moved abroad, and I moved in afterward. These had never been a secret between Erica and me. One evening after self-study during our sophomore year in high school, Erica handed me a big bouquet on my way home, his eyes sparkling. He asked me if I wanted to be his girlfriend. I still remember that feeling of excitement, as if I would never like someone that much again in my life. I was touched by Erica and got together with him. Later, I even moved away from my hometown to get into the university that he attended. I simply devoted all my youth to Erica. Later, we went to college together. After Erica graduated from college, he started his own business, and it was really a tough road. During the bottleneck period of his career, I stayed by his side, caring for him and encouraging him. I was always there, helping him to get out of whack. After going through a career crisis, he proposed to me. I always thought of myself as the happiest woman, even though Erica had never wanted me to meet his friends over the years and even though his friends didn’t particularly like me. They only liked Ann. The issue about Ann was like a time bomb. No one knew when it would break out. It seemed that it wouldn’t go off at all. It would only gnaw my heart until no feeling was left in it for Erica. Thinking of this, I touched my belly where the late-arriving baby was with pity. I had always wanted to have a baby, and I didn’t expect him to arrive at this moment. But I was grateful that he came at this time. If he had come a bit earlier, I wouldn’t have had so much courage. Instead, I would have had a lot of concerns as my belly started to show. I really couldn’t bear to let my child be born into an unhappy family. It was enough for me to be unhappy. It seemed that having an abortion was the only option for me. I made an appointment for the abortion procedure that very evening. I knew I would probably be sleepless all night, so I went to the kitchen to heat some milk. Erica was in the guest room, and when he saw me come out of the main bedroom with a terrible look, he asked, “Are you calm? You’re really a piece of work now, Lola.” Hearing this, I hesitated on whether to tell him the news, but suddenly Erica’s phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Ann. Erica almost immediately picked it up. “Hello? Ann, what’s wrong?” Ann deliberately lowered her voice on the other end of the phone and then spoke, “Erica, I suddenly have a stomachache. Can you come over?” I heard it clearly, and then I watched as Erica responded, “Coming right up.” He didn’t even look at me. He just picked up his coat and was about to leave. “Erica.” I suddenly called out to him, ready to give him one last chance. “Stay and have some food with me. Don’t go.” Erica was slightly taken aback, then furrowed his brows. He thought I didn’t hear Ann’s voice on the other end of the phone. So, he still tried to deceive me. “You know my company needs me. Why are you throwing a tantrum here? Without my company, you wouldn’t even be able to afford food. “Lola, I don’t have time right now. If you want to eat, go ahead. If not, that’s fine. Don’t forget to see my parents tomorrow.” The door slammed shut with a bang, and I felt disheartened. Before long, a message notification chimed in on the phone. It was Ann. She sent me a photo on purpose. In the photo, two people were holding hands, and the man was wearing a ring on his ring finger. It was the same as the one in my hand.
At that moment, I felt utterly despondent, as everything I did seemed absurd in the eyes of others. With Erica’s departure, the once spacious home instantly felt empty, as if the air had solidified, emanating a faint chill that pierced deep into my heart. I suddenly realized that I had never truly regarded this place as my home, and in my heart, I even faintly rejected this cage. The following day, I woke up early and went to the hospital for an abortion. The doctor had probably long been accustomed to pregnant women like me who had no family accompanying them and just coldly instructed, “Sign here, then go wait in the hallway. A nurse will take you to change into the surgical gown shortly.” I pursed my dry lips and nodded, feeling a sharp pain in my heart, and my eyes involuntarily turned red. Only then did the doctor notice my emotions. She sighed deeply, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness, “At this stage, it’s just a fertilized egg. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. “If you regret it now, it’s still not too late. However, I must remind you that since you can come here, it must be the choice you made after weighing the pros and cons.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm my emotions, and nodded firmly, “Yes, thank you, doctor. I’ve made my decision.” While I was paying, I unexpectedly ran into Erica and Ann at the corner of the hospital. I didn’t know what they were doing in the gynecological department. Although I had doubts in my mind, I didn’t intend to speculate. I was just about to turn around and walk past them when Erica noticed me. He seemed surprised. “Lola? What are you doing here?”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “MyFiction” app 🔍 search for “397551”, and watch the full series ✨! #MyFiction #Cheating #Betrayal
Leave a Reply