William's Secret

Apologize

I waited for three days before William came back.

And I was well prepared during those three days.

"Is it good to live in a car?"

William opened the door, and I asked him with a smile.

He glared at me and changed his slippers to wash his hands.

I knowingly asked, of course, but that was exactly what I wanted.

Was this perhaps a form of revenge?

By the time William walked out, I was sitting on the couch waiting for him.

"I see you."

He raised his eyebrows again out of habit. "What do you mean?"

"That day, at the hospital, I saw you and Abril."

I was straight to the point. "You're accompanying her to do a maternity checkup, aren't you?"

From these abnormal behaviors of mine lately, William had already guessed that I should know something.

But he was still a little surprised to hear the name Abril coming out of my mouth.

After saying that, I waited for William to explain.

I fantasized that he would coax me like he used to, that he would blink his wet eyes and beg me to forgive him.

But he didn't.

"I do want a child."

Hearing William's words, I felt like my heart was torn into pieces.

"Honey, I want kids. She's got...

"And I want her to give birth to my baby."

I didn't say anything, and after a long time, I suddenly clapped loudly.

As I laughed out loud, teardrops continued to fall from my eyes.

"Well, William, I'm happy for you!"

William seemed to realize something and suddenly became alert.

"Just come to me, Audrey. Don't hurt the child."

I stopped applauding, and my whole body was still shaking.

"That's all you ask?

"William, what do you take me for?"

William spread his hands.

"What do you expect me to say when you've already found out the truth?"

He sat down on the couch and looked at me with a smirking expression.

"At least, it's much easier for her to get pregnant than you do."

I nodded seriously.

"So that's how you think."

I still hoped that William could come around.

But I was wrong.

Instead of feeling guilty or sorry, he admitted his affairs plausibly.

He thought I couldn't do anything to him.

But at least he could have cared about my feelings. Why did he hit me when I was already down?

"William, I'd asked you a thousand times if you wanted a child."

I said in a broken voice.

"And you answered me a thousand times that you didn't want children. So how can you back out so easily?"

William didn't dare to look me straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

The apology I cherished and cared about was just a flippant shrug in his case.

His evading took my last hope away.

I lost. I lost completely.

"You're cheating!"

I shouted hysterically at William, who was now wearing a poker face.

"No matter what you say, I will keep that baby."

With that, he went into the bedroom and took the initiative to end the conversation.

I looked at William's back. His back gradually overlapped with the William who loved me in my memory.

And yet, there was a piece that didn't match up in any way.

The next day I showed up at the door of Abril's company.

"Hello, I'm looking for Abril."

The receptionist asked me with a smile, "May I ask your name?"

I answered, "William."

Abril saw me as she walked out, and her smile froze.

I offered my hand. "You should know who I am."

"How did you find me?"

Abril turned pale and unconsciously protected her belly with her hands.

"You investigated me? You know, you are breaking the law."

I said, "Oh, so it's not illegal to have a child with a married man?"

Abril's body began to tremble. "What do you want?"

What did I want?

It didn't seem to have occurred to me.

Before I came, I imagined a million images of how angry, desperate, even mad I would be.

But I was surprisingly calm when I saw her.

"I want to give this back to you."

I took out that lipstick. "Next time you drop it in his car, I won't help you keep it."

Abril revealed a hint of a mocking smile. "This one... I'm going to throw it anyway. But he likes this color."

Maybe she said that to provoke me, and she succeeded.

Things I usually couldn't afford to buy were discarded by her.

I was mad. I was extremely mad. I wanted to do something to humiliate her.

Everyone in the company should be made aware of Abril's secret. She was a pregnant mistress.

Until I saw her belly...

Abril's baby bump was more obvious than the last time I saw her. The little guy was growing slowly but hard.

I handed the lipstick back to Abril.

"Then please cherish it, and..."

I looked at her seriously. "This lipstick is not good for the baby."

Leaving Abril's company, I realized that I didn't feel any sense of revenge.

Instead, I was even more confused.

Making her lose the baby?

I was not that cruel.

I was absent-minded the whole morning. William's call came in at noon.

"What did you do with her?"

My eardrums were almost ruptured by him. "What are you yelling about?"

"She's in the hospital!"

William's voice sounded angry and aggrieved, "I know you went to her. Why did you do that!"

My tone was surprisingly flat, "I want to see what she is really like.

"And sooner or later, we're going to meet, aren't we?"

William's tone was commanding, "Go to the First Hospital now and apologize to her!

"If anything happens to my child, I won't spare you!"

"What do you mean by not sparing me?"

William's voice grew lower, "If she has any...

"Then we'll get a divorce."

Hanging up the phone, I didn't know what to do for a moment.

It was the first time I heard "divorce" from William.

Sure enough, it was because of her and the baby.

I went to the hospital eventually.

The maternity ward was the place I avoided the most.

And today I came.

Just as I reached the door to the ward, I heard several familiar voices.

"Are you okay, Abril? I know this hospital well. Call me if you need anything."

"You should call her Mrs.Cooper."

"Abril won't care. How do you feel now?"

They must be William's friends.

It was ironic. When I went out with them, these guys usually called me "Mrs. Cooper".

Now "Mrs. Cooper" belonged to Abril.

Fate was pretty ironic.

I knocked on the door and walked in. The ward went silent.

"Mrs. Cooper..."

One of William's friends welcomed me, and the other hurriedly told him to shut up.

William was half sitting on the bed while Abril was lying in his arms.

I seemed to be in a movie. I couldn't help but take out my phone to record it.

William showed an indifferent expression.

"Are you done? You should apologize to her."

I laughed. "Why should I apologize to her?"

William's fists were clenched as if he was holding back his anger.

"You went to Abril's company and irritated her, causing her to almost lose her baby. You almost killed my baby!"

I laughed again. "Your child? What's that got to do with me?"

Without waiting for William to speak, I continued.

"William, if you called me here to humiliate me, then you have achieved your goal.

"Your friends have known about Abril's existence for a long time, haven't they?"

Hearing me say that, those men put their heads down, and no one said anything.

At least they knew they had done something shameful.

I continued, "But you have nothing to be proud of. Cheating on your wife. I could sue you for marital infidelity, you know?"

William sneered. "Do you think I will care? Compared to my child, it's not worth mentioning."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"You are a perfect match. Both of you are shameless."

"Honey!"

Abril had tears in her eyes and wrapped both hands around William's neck. "Look at her!"

"Audrey, don't go too far."

William stared at me. He warned me.

But I couldn't stop anymore. It was more like venting.

"What will a child born out of wedlock face?

"Besides, the baby doesn't have to be yours..."

In the next second, William slapped me hard.

The ward was in chaos. Someone tried to stop me. Someone just enjoyed the show.

The nurse walked in. "Be quiet!"

William pointed at me, his eyes almost bursting into flames.

"Audrey, get out of here. We'll get a divorce!"

I covered my face and froze for a few seconds. I then ran out of the room.

Sitting in the cab, I felt like the world was falling apart.

William's slap knocked away my dignity and broke up our marriage.

Feeling someone looking at me, I realized that the driver's eyes always flicked at me.

I suddenly felt nauseous.

As a woman, I began to get suspicious. A woman would not get nauseous for no reason.

My period had been delayed for two months. I had been having a lot of headaches and dry heaves lately.

Did I get pregnant?