After the breakup. Nauseous and with no appetite, I called my ex. I cautiously said, “I’m pregnant.” My ex scoffed, “Lily Anderson, we’ve been broken up for a year and three months.” I nodded, “I never said the child was yours.” Ex: “…” Early in the morning, I felt like throwing up before I even had breakfast. It had been like this for several days in a row. I didn’t know if I had eaten something wrong. Looking pale, I leaned against the wall as I walked out of my room, startling my roommate Emily Watson. She hurried over to help me sit down. “You’re nauseous again?” “Nothing’s coming up, but I feel awful.” Emily poured me a glass of warm water. “When was your last period?” I curled up on the sofa, feeling sick. “I can’t remember. Besides, my periods are always irregular. Why are you asking?” Emily suddenly gripped my shoulders, her expression unusually serious. “Lily, I strongly suspect you’re pregnant!” I looked at her in horror. “Don’t… don’t say that!” “Really, all five of my sisters had morning sickness like this. I’m too familiar with it! But aren’t you single? Have you been hiding a secret boyfriend?” At that moment, I was at a loss. No, it should be him— My ex-boyfriend, James Sullivan! Two months ago, on my birthday, I didn’t want to celebrate. I went out for a late-night walk and somehow ended up outside James’s apartment. Coincidentally, James was drunk that night, and some girls were fighting over who would take him home! I rushed over immediately. Claiming to be his girlfriend, I chased them all away. I carried the completely drunk James upstairs, and then things got heated, and some indescribable things happened! Afterwards, I ran away, feeling guilty. Because I was the one who broke up with James, vowing never to appear in front of him again. How could I go back on my word and slap my own face? “Lily, you must talk to the father of the child. After all, he has a responsibility too. Being a single mom isn’t easy, especially for a child growing up in a single-parent family…” Emily didn’t continue. Because I grew up in a single-parent family. Without a father, I faced a lot of judgment from a young age, and my mom went through so many hardships raising me alone. My eyes welled up with tears, and I felt incredibly low. Suddenly, I felt very lost about the future. “Lily, don’t panic. Maybe I’m wrong! Why don’t you go to the hospital for a check-up? The hospital is just next to our neighborhood.” Emily comforted me while glancing at her watch. She exclaimed, “Oh no, I’m going to be late!” “Lily, you rest at home first. I’ll come back at noon to take you to the hospital!” Before she finished speaking, Emily had already rushed out the door. After agonizing at home for half a day. I finally called for delivery and bought a few pregnancy tests. Five minutes later, they all showed two lines!
After a quick touch-up, I appeared at the hospital next door, with a pregnancy test stick in my pocket. For the sake of the child, I put aside my damn pride. James’s office was right in front of me, but I just couldn’t take a step forward. How could I just go up and tell him that two months ago, we slept together, and now I’m pregnant! No, I couldn’t say it! “Excuse me!” A cleaning lady pushing a cart came by. I hurriedly stepped back, accidentally bumping open the door behind me, stumbling a few steps before steadying myself. Plop. The pregnancy test stick fell out of my pocket. I was about to bend down when a doctor in a white coat picked it up for me. He looked at it and asked, “Is this yours?” This office was James’s! I averted my gaze, putting down my appointment slip. To talk things through with James, I had specifically made an appointment with him as a specialist. “Um, I’m pregnant.” James was stunned for a full five seconds, then he chuckled sarcastically, “Lily Anderson, we’ve been broken up for a year and three months.” I forced a slight smile, wanting to laugh, but the smile quickly faded. “I never said the child was yours.” James raised an eyebrow, his eyes flashing with a cold light, “So why did you make an appointment with me? Do you want me to congratulate you?” “We parted on good terms, won’t you congratulate me?” My face was expressionless. But inside, I was cursing myself a thousand times. I came here intending to explain everything, but I just couldn’t help being stubborn! “Con-grat-u-lations!” James stared at me intently, these two words squeezed out from between his teeth. I lowered my head, “I’ll let you know about the baby shower later.” “…Please leave, I have many patients waiting!” James was so angry he was rubbing his temples, the pen in his hand about to snap. I didn’t dare to say anything more. But after just a few steps, my stomach churned. I covered my mouth and ran to the sink in the office, dry heaving, but nothing came up. I leaned against the wall weakly, sliding down. Suddenly, a large hand caught me. James led me behind a curtain where there was a recliner, probably where he took naps. He told me to rest for a while. Then he went back to the other side of the curtain to see patients. After the patient left, James suddenly asked, “Lily Anderson, where’s the baby’s father?” Outside the window, warm sunlight streamed in. I hadn’t slept well last night, and now, resting on a pillow that smelled like James, I felt drowsy. “He… he’s dead.”
In my heart, the James who belonged to me was already dead. I slept on the recliner for a while. When I woke up, the office was quiet. I called out “James” a few times but got no response. When I pulled back the curtain, I found that James had left. I smiled bitterly. This was probably for the best, saving us both from awkwardness. So I got up to leave. Otherwise, I’d be seen as ungrateful. “James.” Just as I was about to open the door, I heard a voice from outside. I froze in fear, my heart racing. Instinctively, I looked for a place to hide. Just as I hid behind the curtain, the door was pushed open and a woman walked in: “James, Mom brought you lunch.” “Oh, not here?” Mrs. Sullivan sat down, habitually helping to tidy up the things on the desk: “My, the sun is so strong today.” Saying this, she got up to close the curtains. This made me, hiding behind the curtains, hold my breath, panicking. If I came out now, there would be no way to explain, and she never liked me anyway! Just as Mrs. Sullivan grabbed the curtain— “Mom, don’t close the curtains, it’s fine like this.” Thankfully, James returned just in time. Mrs. Sullivan turned around, “Where did you go?” “Why did you bring two portions of food? The cafeteria food isn’t good. I had some free time today, so I made you something delicious. Eat quickly, before it gets cold.” James gave a noncommittal “Mm” and said, “Mom, if you have something to do, you can go.” “What could I possibly have to do?” Mrs. Sullivan sat down in the chair: “Tell me, didn’t your aunt introduce you to that music teacher last time? How’s it going?” “Mom, I’m eating.” “What’s wrong with eating? You can talk while eating.” “What do you want me to say?” I could clearly hear that James was getting impatient, but Mrs. Sullivan kept nagging: “She’s very satisfied with you, but you’re just cold towards her, not even replying to her messages. How can you be so impolite?” “I already replied that I was busy. She’s the one who keeps sending messages non-stop. Who’s being impolite?” “But you can’t just…” “Mom, get up.” “What’s wrong?” James spoke while pushing Mrs. Sullivan towards the door: “I’m full now, I need to take a nap. I have a surgery this afternoon.” With that, he closed the door. Mrs. Sullivan grumbled a few more words in the corridor before leaving. Swoosh— James pulled the curtain open directly. I waved awkwardly, “How did you know I was hiding here?” James looked at me deeply. “I know all your little tricks, don’t I?”
I waved my fist at James’s back. To my surprise, there was a full-length mirror in front of me! James, walking in front of me, could see my little gesture clearly in the reflection! He sat down speechless and opened the other two lunch boxes. “Eat.” Although it was food I liked, I had no appetite at all. I waved my hand, “No need, I don’t want to eat.” James frowned, “Wait for me to come back.” “Hey…” Before I could speak, he had already turned and left. In the blink of an eye, James returned with a jar of preserved plums in his hand: “Eat some of these.” My eyes lit up, and I quickly took them. This was exactly what I needed! “Thank you.” I ate two preserved plums directly, then handed the jar back to James: “I’ll go buy some myself later. I’m leaving now.” As I reached the door, I couldn’t help but pause: “James, if she’s a good girl, I suggest you try to get along with her.” “You need to move on so others can get close to you.” Afraid that James would argue, I hurried away as soon as I finished speaking. After leaving the hospital, I didn’t contact James again. I even deliberately took detours, continuing my daily routine between home and work. Only at night did I have trouble sleeping. I gently placed my hand on my still-flat stomach. Feeling a small life quietly growing inside. “Baby, what should I do?” I knew well that single-parent families are not easy, neither for the mother nor the child, but I really couldn’t bear to give up the baby. Ring ring ring! I fumbled around for a while before finding my phone. It was my mom calling! “Hello, Mom?” “Have you been very busy lately? You never call home.” Hearing the sounds from my mom’s end, I knew she must be preparing some roasted meats, ready to deliver door-to-door later. My mom’s roasted meats are delicious, so she started a small business selling them. “Why aren’t you saying anything?” My mom stopped what she was doing. Hearing my mom’s voice, I suddenly realized it had been over a year since I’d been home. My eyes stung with tears: “Mom, I…” “What’s wrong? Did that manager bully you again? Sweetie, if you don’t want to work there anymore, just quit. Come back home, we can work together selling roasted meats. Business will definitely boom!” My mom’s words made me laugh, but inexplicably, I felt more like crying. “It’s not that, Mom, I…” Probably hearing the choke in my voice, my mom became anxious on the other end of the phone: “Sweetie, what’s wrong? Tell me quickly, do you want to worry your mother to death?” “I… I’m pregnant, but the baby’s father doesn’t know.”
There was a long, long silence on the other end of the phone, so long that I thought my mom had hung up, before her voice came through: “You need to tell him about this.” “If he doesn’t want it, Grandma wants it.” “When the time comes, you give birth and leave the baby with me, I’ll raise it for you.” I tightly covered my mouth, but tears kept falling. Indeed, in this world, only mom is the best. Hearing my crying, my mom sighed, “Sweetie, we women go through difficulties, but we overcome them. There’s nothing we can’t get through, you know?” “Mm…” I wiped my tears messily: “Mom, thank you.” “Silly child, what are you thanking me for? I’m your mom, of course I’ll help you.” Hearing that my mom was crying too, I felt even worse. When I initially chose to come to the big city alone to make a living, I wanted to earn big money so my mom could have a comfortable retirement. But after more than three years, not only have I achieved nothing, I’m also making her worry about me. I cried for a long time, but my mom composed herself first. “Don’t cry anymore, get some sleep. Mom still has to deliver roasted meats to people now, to earn milk money for my grandchild.” My mom deliberately joked to cheer me up. “Mm, go ahead with your work.” After hanging up the phone, I looked at the bright moon and stars, taking a deep breath. I felt much lighter. Because mom is always the strongest pillar behind me! I told Emily my decision. Emily was surprised but also happy for me: “You’ve thought it through?” “Yes, although it’s said that children from single-parent families have a harder time growing up, thinking carefully, the love my mom gave me from childhood was no less than children with both parents. So if my mom could do it, I’m sure I can do it too. Moreover, my baby will have a grandmother to dote on them!” I rubbed my belly, suddenly feeling less lost about the future. Emily strongly agreed with my words. “So are you planning to quit your job and go back?” “Anyway, I’ve worked diligently at this lousy company for over three years, and forget about promotion, I haven’t even gotten a raise. Why should I stay?” “Hearing you say that, I want to quit too.” “Quit, find someone to marry! Turn around and work at home, without even getting paid.” “Haha, then I’d better continue being a wage slave!” We laughed and chatted for a while, then Emily suddenly looked reluctant: “When exactly are you going back home? I want to treat you to a nice meal.” “I’ve already submitted my resignation letter, it should take about a month before I can leave.” “But you’re so capable, will your boss be willing to let you go?” “I’ll just tell him I’m pregnant, see if that doesn’t scare him to death.” “Haha, he’ll have you carried out in a sedan chair right away!” But after laughing, we both fell silent.
On the weekend. Emily insisted on accompanying me to the hospital for a check-up. She held my arm tightly, feeling a bit sad: “After you go back, I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to see you again.” “How could there be no chance? As long as we’re both alive, we’ll definitely meet again! Besides, when my baby has their first-month celebration, you’d better come!” “Oh, no matter what, as the baby’s godmother, I must accompany you for the check-up.” I couldn’t argue with her, so I had to let her come along. In my heart, I prayed we wouldn’t run into James! As a result, James came walking towards us, but he only glanced at me briefly before quickly walking towards the emergency room. “That’s James!” Emily was obviously very surprised. I turned my face away: “Is it? I didn’t see.” “What do you mean? You saw him before I did.” Emily looked gossipy: “You’ve been broken up for over a year, you’re not still thinking about him, are you? Why don’t you tell him about your pregnancy and see how he reacts?” “The baby is his.” “What!? You!” I calmly told Emily about what happened three months ago: “But he doesn’t believe it, so you don’t need to find him.” Emily fell completely silent, hugging me comfortingly. She sighed: “I never thought James would be such a jerk!” I shook my head: “It’s not entirely his fault.” After all, that night, I was half-willing. There were many pregnant women coming for check-ups. Emily and I found a place to sit and wait, but Emily couldn’t sit still and wandered around. She came back and told me: “Some pregnant women came very early, next time we should come earlier.” I smiled, next time I should be doing check-ups at the hospital back home. Ring ring ring! A phone call came in, and Emily had to go back for overtime work. She looked very apologetic: “Lily, I’m so sorry, my boss is really terrible!” “It’s okay, I understand. Go quickly.” I’ve encountered this kind of thing many times, even once when I had just fallen asleep and was called back for a meeting, too many times to count. The life of a working person is just bitter. But soon, I’ll be free! After waiting for more than an hour, it was finally my turn to go in for the check-up. The doctor frowned, making me anxious. “Doctor, what’s wrong?” “Did you come for the check-up alone?” “Yes, they’re all very busy.” “No matter how busy, someone should take care of you and accompany you for prenatal check-ups. Because your situation is a bit special, if not careful, you could easily miscarry.” The doctor sighed and shook his head. My heart tightened, and I suddenly felt very panicked. “I’m here.” James suddenly appeared.
“Oh, so the baby’s father is Dr. Sullivan!” The doctor who was examining me was very surprised, then his expression became more serious as he explained my condition to James in detail. After listening, James’s handsome face was tense. “Okay, I know what to do.” “It’s fortunate that Dr. Sullivan is your husband. With him around, the baby will surely be born healthy and safe.” The doctor smiled. For me, I didn’t know whether to smile or worry. Because I was going to leave soon. Seeing that I had been silent since coming out of the consultation room, James thought I was too worried about the baby. “If there’s anything you don’t understand, or if you feel unwell, call me anytime.” I lowered my eyes and pursed my lips: “Thank you.” “But I think I can take care of myself.” James stopped talking and just walked me to the hospital entrance. After walking a distance, I couldn’t help but look back and saw James still standing there. But I’m a bit nearsighted and couldn’t see his expression clearly. I couldn’t help waving at him, silently saying in my heart: James, farewell, mountains high and roads long, who knows when we’ll meet again, take care. Then I turned and left. Since my mom found out I was pregnant, she’s been video calling me every day, reminding me to eat meals on time and drink soup every day. On this day, I was walking home when I received another video call from my mom. I answered, holding a box with one hand: “Mom, I’ve already bought the high-speed rail ticket. The day after tomorrow at 8 am, I should arrive around 4 pm.” “Look, I’ve packed up everything from my company, just one box.” My mom frowned, looking a bit worried. “Why didn’t you buy a plane ticket? You’ll have to eat a meal on the high-speed rail, and the boxed meals there are expensive and not tasty.” “You can order takeout on high-speed rails now.” “Alright, I won’t talk to you anymore. Don’t look at your phone while walking on the street, what if you bump into someone? I’ll talk to you later.” My mom hung up before finishing her sentence. I couldn’t help but laugh. Just as I looked up, I almost bumped into someone. But this person was James, who had deliberately stood in front of me, his face not looking very good: “You resigned? You’re going back to your hometown?” This was obvious, and I had no need to hide it. “Yes, there’s no point in staying here anyway.” James’s face looked even worse. But I ignored him and walked straight ahead. Unexpectedly, James caught up and blocked my way, his expression extremely serious: “Lily Anderson, how did the baby’s father die?” At that moment, I really almost couldn’t keep a straight face! Fortunately, I bit my teeth hard to keep from laughing. I deliberately put on a cold face, staring at him coldly: “Why are you asking this? It seems to have nothing to do with you, right?” “He really died?” James persisted, determined to get an answer. This was something I made up on the spot, how could I answer? So I refused to respond. I moved to the right, James followed to the right. I moved to the left, James continued to follow to the left, determined not to let me leave. I was very helpless: “What do you really want?”
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