Leaving in Full Bloom

Claude ignored Mabel's request. "If you want to eat it, peel it yourself. I only peel shrimp for my wife."

I swallowed down the wave of nausea rising in my throat. "Give them all to her. I don't want any."

That was when Alicia set down her fork with a sullen face.

"Angelina, you've failed IVF six times, haven't you? Since Mabel's here, why don't you learn from her?"

Mabel lowered her head shyly.

"I don't really have any experience. My boyfriend and I did it for the first time, and I got pregnant. Maybe we're just healthier."

Alicia smirked. "Of course. Angelina's five years older than you, and her body can't compare to yours.

"I'm thinking of having Mabel move in. She's pregnant now, but her family is not around. The housekeeper could look after her, too."

The moment she finished, Claude refused outright. "No!"

Alicia's eyes turned even colder toward me, making veiled jabs with her words.

"What's the matter? Is someone jealous seeing other people being pregnant while she's infertile herself?"

The tension at the table was thick. Mabel stood up with teary eyes.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault. Please don't fight because of me. I'll just leave."

Claude instinctively got up to follow her, then caught himself and stopped.

"She doesn't need to go. I'll go." I looked at the scene with icy detachment and walked out.

Just as I stepped through the door, I received a friend request from Mabel.

"May 12th was our first time. Claude kept me in bed all day."

That day was when my fifth IVF attempt had failed.

I'd spent the whole night locked in my room, crying without eating or drinking. When I finally composed myself and opened the door, I found Claude sitting there, looking haggard.

I'd thought he was heartbroken for me, but it turned out that he had just come back from Mabel's bed.

What a joke.

All those injections I'd endured for IVF didn't hurt as much as my chest did at that moment.

"Why are you crying?" Claude had followed me out and pulled me into his arms.

"Don't be mad at my mom. She just wants a grandchild very badly."

On the drive home, his phone kept buzzing with messages, and every time we hit a red light, he'd be busy texting back.

When we reached the house, he patted my head. "Something came up at work. Wait for me at home, I'll be back early."

I didn't call him out on it. After he left, I accepted Mabel's friend request.

Her latest post was a photo of a sea of roses with the caption. "My love planted my favorite roses with his own hands."

My chest tightened. So, even the roses weren't planted for me.

Before we got married, he had promised to give me a field of roses all my own. But he was always busy, and I'd never brought it up again.

He suddenly prepared a sea of roses because someone else wanted it.

I hailed a car to the estate.

From a distance, I saw Claude standing with his back to me in front of the roses. And Mabel was in front of him.

"If it weren't for Angelina not being able to get pregnant, I never would've gone to you. She's my line in the sand. Don't ever show your face in front of her again."

Mabel's eyes brimmed with tears. "There's no need for you to care about me or the baby anymore!"

He softened his tone. "Don't cry. As long as you stay away from Angelina, I'll take care of you for the rest of your life."

She broke into a smile through her tears and threw herself into his arms. "I was told by the doctor that being intimate in moderation now will help with delivery later."

His voice grew hoarse with desire as he swept her up in his arms and carried her toward the estate.

Mabel looked over her shoulder at me with a provocative smile. She'd seen me all along.

Soon, the sound of her pleasure floated out from the window.

The estate he had promised me was where he was now sleeping with another woman.

I forced myself to watch it all and recorded every second.

Everything he was doing now was only pushing me away faster.

Six more days, and I'd be gone.