Chapter 1

By the time my induced abortion surgery was over, it was already late at night. The huge storm had reduced to a tiny drizzle outside the window.

The news on TV was still reporting on the major rainstorm that just happened earlier today. Its headlines read, "Severe Torrential Rain in Oceanville Leaves 18 Dead on Subway Line, 600 Passengers Evacuated".

Despite the discomfort from the anesthetic, I forced myself to search for my phone and call my husband, Walter Patterson.

Mom was lying next to me, still unconscious.

I thought that it was time for a divorce.

The cold, monotonous dial tone kept ringing in my ears. Just as the call was about to end by itself, Walter finally answered his phone. He sounded angry and impatient.

"What the hell? The storm's already over, so why are you even calling me? I've been busy all day and haven't even had a drink of water!

"Tracy's leg is hurt, and her dog is also severely ill. Dad just put it on a drip. We're still watching over them."

"Thomas, Wally, thank you so much. If it weren't for you both, I don't even know what would have happened to me and Maple. I'm sure we'd have been long dead like the 18 passengers on the subway line."

Tracy's weak voice was immediately heard over the phone, followed by my stepdad's comforting words.

Oh, so, my fierce and stern stepfather actually had a soft and gentle side to him, after all! His behavior proved to me that there was a huge difference between his treatment of people he loved and did not love.

I smiled bitterly and said, "In that case, Walter, let's get divorced. I… I can't do this anymore."

Walter only went silent for two seconds before his fury descended on me.

"Are you done yakking? I know you were trapped during the storm, but wasn't I busy saving people as well? Tracy was also trapped, so what's the big deal if I saved her and her dog on the way?

"You can't possibly want to divorce me just because of this? Don't you have a single ounce of empathy in you? You know that Tracy has it hard being all alone!"

Tracy had it hard? So, did my mom and I have it easy?

Mom had just undergone a major operation while I was nearing the end of my pregnancy. So, did we not even measure up to an outsider or even her damned dog?

Pregnant women were usually emotionally unstable. I wanted to cry, but I looked up and forced my tears back.

Walter was still yelling at me through the phone. "You want a divorce? You're already nine months pregnant, so you dare divorce me? You love the baby too much! Would you want it to grow up without a father?

"Stop thinking so highly of yourself, for god's sake! Tracy still needs us. You should reflect on yourself!"

With that, Walter hung up on me.

I tried calling him again, but I then realized that he blocked my number.

I smiled bitterly as I stared at my tummy. It used to be huge and round earlier today, but now, it was just flat like a deflated balloon. My phone slipped through my fingers and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Walter had been right. If my baby were still around, I would insist on giving it a complete family. I wouldn't want it to grow up fatherless, so I would definitely have chosen to forgive Walter.

But now, I didn't have a baby anymore. The only glue that held me to Walter was gone. So, I might as well divorced him now. What was the point of waiting, anyway? I would only continue disgusting myself if I were to stay.

Also, was saving Tracy really "on the way" as Walter had claimed? She was in the complete opposite direction from where the disaster happened. Even if the fire brigade had dispatched him to help, Walter would never have headed in Tracy's direction.

Had he even thought of me when I called him so many times? Had he thought about the baby in my belly that was about to be born?

He probably just didn't care. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hung up on me 18 times or spoken to me in such an icy-cold tone. Why else would he tell me to wait for someone else to save me?

I was his wife! I was carrying his baby!

And we had been trying for a whole year before this baby finally happened.

I could still remember the excruciating pain I was in. I could also recall the disappointment and helplessness I felt during the induced abortion surgery. My baby was being taken away from me, and there was nothing I could do about it.

While deep in thought, Mom's phone started ringing. It was a call from Thomas Patterson, my stepdad.

Thinking that Mom hadn't woken up from her surgery yet, I decided to answer it for her.

But just as I was about to take her phone, Mom woke up and answered the call by herself.

Instantly, Thomas' frustrated voice boomed in our ears. "Stella Damone! Can't you teach your daughter how to behave? You're such a disappointment for a mother! Is your ex-husband's hooligan genes so strong that she got it all from him?

"Why the hell would she want a divorce over such a trivial matter? Divorce is not something she should joke about so lightly!"