The pills were different from what I usually took.


    Although I studied obstetrics, I could still tell the difference.


    Unless I was still groggy from sleep, I wouldn''t have mixed them up.


    The bottle was on the bedside table.


    Usually, no one else but Antonio would enter my room.


    The answer was clear.


    My hand holding the pills started shaking uncontrobly.


    In the end, I copsed to the floor with a thud.


    "It''s impossible..."


    I desperately tried tofort myself, trying to believe in Antonio.


    After all, we had truly been in love for so many years.


    At our best, he''d protected me from a car ident, shielding me with his body just to keep me safe.


    He said, "Grace, you mean more to me than anything, even more than myself. I can''t lose you."


    That day, I cried until I could barely breathe, vowing to love him forever.


    Today, I was crying just as hard, but now I was searching for a reason to still believe in him.


    Antonio.


    Please, don''t let it be you...


    It wasn''t until the third day that I finally asked Chloc.


    "Grace. this is hormone medication. You can''t just take it while pregnant. It could cause birth defects."


    I frozepletely, unable to hear anything else.


    The guilt in Antonio''s eyes when he left that day.


    I finally understood.


    Myst bit of hope for Antonio shatteredpletely.


    Years of love.


    It couldn''t withstand the pressure anymore.


    It copsed, once and for all.


    Antonio didn''te back on the third day.


    I sat on the couch in a daze, staring at nothing as the day faded into night, then back into another day.


    The phone kept buzzing non-stop. But I didn''t answer.


    Eventually, it ran out of battery and shut off, leaving me inplete silence.


    The eighth was my birthday. I sat outside the operating room and called Antonio.


    "Grace? You''re finally calling me back? Are you still mad? I''ve been so busy. I couldn''t get away."


    "I''m doing this for the triple pay! Can''t you understand that? You keep


    ignoring my calls and messages. What do you want me to do? If you can''t handle it, then just divorce me already. It''s not like I can keep putting up with this!" His tone was as harsh as ever by the end.


    I pretended not to hear it.


    With calm and detachment, I said.


    "Antonio, do you remember today''s my birthday?"


    There was a pause, no answer.


    I didn''t care. I wiped my tears and continued.


    "It''s fine if you forgot. You don''t ever need to remember again. Antonio, when you get back, let''s get a divorce."


    Silence stretched on from the other side, so long I thought he had hung up.


    Then his voice finally came through.


    "Grace, are you using divorce as a way to force me toe back? Why do you have to be so extreme? Why


    can''t you just understand? Do you think this will make me cave?"


    "I hate when you y these games! Grace, I''lle back when you learn how to act right!"


    I forced a smile.


    I stared nkly at the chat history and photos on my phone.


    It was Sarah''s second ount, sending me messages over these past few days.


    From their first meeting to their recent conversations. I read it all.


    In four years, nine out of ten overtime nights had been spent with Sarah.


    Meanwhile, I was still cooking meals for him, waiting for him toe homete.


    Even though I''d seen the marks on his neck. I had convinced myself they were just mosquito bites.


    I had trusted himpletely.


    But he had betrayed me.


    Antonio.


    How was this fair to me?


    If you didn''t love me anymore, why couldn''t you just let me go?


    "Antonio, I''m not joking."


    "When youe back, let''s get a divorce."


    At that moment, a nurse came out holding a clipboard, calling out.


    Her voice echoed through the phone.


    "Grace? Is Grace here? Your abortion procedure is up next."


    "An abortion? Grace, what are you doing? Didn''t I tell you I''d be back once I finished? You can''t seriously be using this as an excuse!" Antonio''s voice crackled through the phone.


    "You''ve wanted this child for so long, and now you''re going to get rid of him? Do you think it''s funny, trying to pressure me intoing back by using the baby?"


    I didn''t respond.


    I just hung up and followed the nurse into the operating room.


    When I woke up, there was a dull ache in my lower abdomen.


    Chloe sat by my bedside, her face filled with concern.


    "Grace, you''re awake." she said softly.


    I managed a faint smile, but the emptiness I felt inside was too much to ignore.


    This child was everything I had hoped for.