6
Lily refused to divorce.
She cried and made a fuss for several days, even calling my parents.
Though it was clearly her fault, she twisted the story, making it sound like I was having an unclear relationship with another woman and ever wanting to divorce for her sake.
In my parents‘ eyes, Lily was beautiful and from a good family. Her only flaw was being a bit spoiled, which wasn’t a big deal. They thought I was lucky she was willing to marry me.
Now hearing that I was being unreasonable, they called several times to scold me.
As a man, I really couldn’t bring myself to tell them the truth. I just said I would handle it myself.
But Lily went too far. She posted vague, emotional statuses on social media, hinting between the lines that I was a scumbag.
Overnight, I became the target of public criticism.
I had wanted to end things amicably.
Emma had captured a photo of them kissing that day. I sent this photo to Lily and her parents.
After all, we had been married. She understood my meaning and quickly deleted those social media posts.
Her parents also called me, apologizing profusely. They said their daughter was thoughtless and begged me to give her another chance.
Not long after, they came to see me in person.
They said Lily was on a hunger strike and had fainted at home. She was now in the hospital.
“Please go see her, no matter what,” they pleaded quietly. “We know Lily was wrong, but she’s our only daughter. What can we do?”
I went to the hospital.
Lily lay in the hospital bed, her face pale.
She was delighted to see me: “Honey!”
She reached out her hand, as if expecting me to hold her like I used to.
I sat down by the bed and said calmly: “Why are you tormenting yourself?”
She looked disappointed and lay back down quietly.
After a long while, I heard her softly sobbing.
She curled up under the blanket, only her eyes visible, filled with tears. She looked very pitiful.
“I was wrong, I was really wrong. I absolutely won’t see Ryan in private anymore. Please forgive me this once, okay?” she pleaded.
Playing the victim, acting pitiful.
Her specialty.
I shook my head: “Lily, I’m serious. When you’re discharged, let’s go get divorced.”
“Even if I’m pregnant?” she asked.
“Even if you’re preg-” I suddenly realized what she said and looked at her suspiciously.
She took out a medical report showing she was two months pregnant.
To be honest, my first thought upon seeing that report was: Whose child is it?
Perhaps my doubtful gaze was too obvious. Lily’s expression changed several times before she angrily asked: “What do you mean by that look?”
I said nothing.
She got even angrier: “I told you, except for that kiss, I never did anything to betray you!”
Seeing I still didn’t believe her, she raised her right hand: “If I’m lying, may I get hit by a car as soon as I leave here!”
“You don’t need to say things like that,” I said.
I believed her: “When did you find out you were pregnant?”
“About two weeks ago. My period was late, so I guessed.”
“Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“Didn’t we agree not to have kids yet…” her voice trailed off.
When we first got married, we did say we’d enjoy a few years as a couple first and not rush to have children, unless she felt ready and wanted to be a mother. I promised I would never pressure her.
“So you weren’t planning to keep this baby, were you?” I asked.
“It was an accident in the first place.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. This child came at the worst possible time. The situation was becoming more and more complicated.
My parents heard Lily was in the hospital and rushed over from our hometown.
When the two families met, there was some awkwardness at first, but they quickly shifted their focus to the baby in Lily’s belly.
Lily’s parents said: “This whole thing is really Lily’s fault. Those young people were joking around and took things too far. We’ve already scolded her harshly. Now that Lily’s pregnant, please give her another chance, for the child’s sake.”
My parents looked at Lily, then at me. Old people always want grandchildren after all.
Lily saw my attitude softening and seized the opportunity: “Honey, let’s stop fighting, okay? When the baby is born, we can live happily together, alright?”
Under everyone’s expectant gazes, I finally nodded.
Though I didn’t know if she could really live happily together as she said.
