Chapter 3
After coming out of the operating room, once the anesthesia wore off, in complete darkness, I reached for the phone on the nightstand, enduring the pain. There were a dozen missed calls, all from Soren. I stared blankly for a moment. Maybe Hannah had told him I’d called earlier. In our WhatsApp chat, the last message had come ten minutes ago. [Can’t pick up the phone? I’m heading to the hospital now, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.] I didn’t reply. I just sat quietly in the unlit hospital room, my hand resting on my lower abdomen. From now on, I would never be a mother again. That right had been taken from me. And all of it was because of Soren. Suddenly, the hospital door burst open. Light from the hallway spilled in and when I looked up, I met Soren’s worried eyes. “Why didn’t you turn on the light? Still not feeling well?” He flipped on the switch. The room lit up instantly and I saw the bouquet of bright red roses in his arms. “For you.” I pressed my lips together. Roses? I never liked them. I never liked those flashy, useless things. And worse, I was allergic to pollen. And he knew that. I silently observed him, trying to read his thoughts. So? Why did you bring me roses? Could it be because Hannah liked them? A scene flashed through my mind. The day Hannah returned to the country, 9,999 roses had filled the entire airport. She walked gracefully through the sea of flowers and embraced Soren in the middle of that dazzling display. Soren placed the bouquet on the cabinet and then handed me a shopping bag with a luxury brand logo. “I had something to do at the mall this afternoon and picked out a pretty bracelet for you while I was there. Try it on? I think it will look great on you.” Was he shopping with Hannah? I glanced at the love marks on his neck, clumsily hidden and slowly opened the bag. The moment I saw the diamond bracelet inside, my hand trembled. My heart pounded and the haze from the pain cleared in an instant. In the first year, I was with Soren, we made a promise. I told him that if one day he no longer loved me, he didn’t have to say it. Just give me a diamond bracelet. That would be enough for me to understand. Nine years had passed in a blink and I never thought that the day would truly come when I would receive a diamond bracelet. Whether Soren did it intentionally or not, the moment I saw that bracelet, everything between us came to an end. “You don’t like it?” Seeing my silence, Soren frowned slightly and looked at my wrist. I felt something wasn’t right. As I was thinking, he sat beside me and reached out to remove the bracelet. “Let me help you take it off.” I pulled my hand back and looked at him cautiously. “Soren, what do you mean?” Soren hesitated. He stared at his now-empty hand for a long time before finally speaking. “I’ll be honest with you. Hannah’s depression is getting worse. The bracelet on your wrist is something I gave you. Technically, it’s mine. I want to give it to Hannah to wear for a while. It can help calm her, like I’m with her even when I’m not.” He paused, then added, “Diana, don’t overthink it. I didn’t tell you earlier because I didn’t want you to worry, it could affect your health.” I opened my mouth, but no words came. I thought maybe he gave me the bracelet out of guilt. But it turned out it was just to prepare for taking it back. I quietly removed the bracelet and handed it to him. “Here.” Soren, from this moment on, we were completely even. Yet he didn’t notice anything strange about me. He simply clutched the bracelet to his chest, leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Diana, I knew you were the most understanding. Don’t worry, once Hannah has this bracelet, I won’t need to stay with her so often anymore. We’ll have more time together. Diana, we’ll have a baby again very soon.” I just smiled. There wasn’t much time left. And there would never be another child. Just as Soren was about to pull me into his arms, there was a knock at the door. The doctor walked in, holding a medical chart in hand. “Miss Silva, after the hysterectomy, are you feeling any discomfort?” At those words, Soren suddenly stood up. In disbelief, he looked at me and then turned to the doctor. “What did you say? What did you say Diana had removed?”