Chapter 3
In the end, I told my mother about my decision to have an abortion. My mother was silent for a long time before she said, “My daughter, happiness is the most important thing. I will support all your decisions.” I did not cry when Alden left me and I did not cry when I was tortured by the pregnancy. But when I heard my mother’s words, I fell on the sofa and broke down crying. At night, just as I was feeling sleepy, Alden called me on video. At the same time, a courier knocked at the door. I endured the discomfort and answered the phone. It was noisy on Alden’s end, but through the clamor, his warm voice came clearly, “Wifey, today’s our anniversary. Of course I didn’t forget. If I calculated correctly, the gift I sent should have just arrived at your doorstep.” He ended with a soft chuckle, as if trying to melt away the distance between us. I did not expect Alden to actually remember the anniversary, so I had no choice but to get up and get the gift. I opened the box and found it was an Hermes bag. “Wifey, Happy Anniversary.” I did not know how to react for a moment. Since we fell in love, Alden had never been a warm-hearted man who would give girls gifts they like. So, every time he gave me a gift, I would laugh and cry. I had liked this bag for a long time and I had told Alden about it many times, but he never took it to heart. But he suddenly bought it for me as a surprise. Although I could no longer feel happy for him, I was grateful to him for not telling him that I had bought this bag for myself a long time ago. “See? I said that she would like it!” Nanette’s voice suddenly came from the other end of the video call. She smiled into the camera and said to me, “Miss Villegas, this straight man really doesn’t know how to give gifts at all. What you received today is because of my recommendation. Do you like it?” She wore exquisite makeup and looked stunning even under the unforgiving lens of the original camera. In contrast, pregnancy had taken its toll on me, my cheeks were swollen, my complexion dull and sallow, a far cry from the woman I used to be. I subconsciously moved the camera away. “Wifey, this time thanks to Nanette for reminding me. She has always wanted the out-of-print snow goggles at home. I will go home tomorrow. Can I give her that pair?” Alden’s tone was soliciting. Then I realized that this so-called anniversary gift was just what Alden wanted to exchange for the out-of-print snow goggles. He forgot that the pair of snow goggles was given to me when he won the championship for the first time. I had always cherished it and I would not give it to anyone who wanted it. But at this moment, I faced the phone and whispered, “You can take it tomorrow.” I would not take away anything Alden gave me anyway, so Nanette could get it. Alden did not expect me to agree and a smile instantly broke out on his face. Nanette cheered and celebrated beside him. After a while, he thought of me and whispered to me, “As soon as we come back tomorrow, we will go to get the certificate and we will hold the wedding the day after tomorrow. No matter what, this time, we will become legal husband and wife, okay?” I nodded, said nothing more and just hung up the phone. But the next day, after I waited for a long time, Alden still did not come back. He only sent me a message, [Wifey, Nanette has a fever, so I took her to the hospital. How about we have the wedding first and get the certificate after that?] Alden had never asked for my opinion like this. But I did not plan to wait for the wedding because I did not know when it would come. The ninth wedding still could not be held. I didn’t reply to the message, but drove directly to the hospital and had the surgery to say goodbye to my child. The baby in my belly seemed to realize that I did not want it anymore and it left me without causing me much pain. I boarded a plane to Switzerland that afternoon. Before turning off the phone, I replied to Alden, [No need, Alden, I have already aborted the child. I will no longer be your wife. Let’s break up and never see each other again from now on.] And the next moment, the chat box, which had been silent for a long time, vibrated wildly.