Chapter 5 A Wrong Turn

• The sudden question caught me by surprise. It wasn't until I saw his gaze move to my stomach that I finally came back to my senses. Instantly, it felt like I had taken a knife to my heart. It hurt so much that I couldn't breathe.
• Did it matter whether I regretted it?
• I looked up at him. My nose prickled as I spoke. "Isn't it late? You couldn't sleep?" I didn't have the courage to discuss anything about the baby with him, so the only thing I could do was change the topic.
• His gaze on me turned even more frigid. The corners of his lips curved up into a mocking smile. "And you were sleeping rather soundly."
• My face was drained of color from his statement. I opened my mouth to refute him, but I ended up swallowing my words before I could say them.
• "Emil, why are you here?" Outside the door came a woman's gentle voice. I stiffened for a moment before Kelly came into view. She was clad in a hospital gown too. It seemed that she was staying here as well.
• Upon hearing Kelly's voice, he turned and approached her without even looking at me. When he reached her side, he pulled her over in a deft movement. "The lights were off. I took a wrong turn."
• Kelly looked up at him and smiled. Her soft body leaned lightly against his chest. "I got woken up by a scary nightmare. When I woke up and didn't see you, I thought you had left. I was so scared. But luckily, you hadn't. You're the best, Emil!" she said in a soft voice. As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around his waist and got on her tiptoes to kiss Emil's cheek, looking lovely and adorable.
• Emil fondly stroked her head. "You should go back to your room and rest," he said. I could hear a hint of resignation in his tone.
• As I watched the couple in their own little bubble, I looked down and prepared to lie down and bundle up with my blanket again. My chest was aching so badly that I couldn't quite breathe.
• Kelly didn't seem to be ashamed that she was interrupting my rest as she pulled Emil into my room. They stood in front of me as she spoke to me. "Are you feeling better? I'm so sorry about what happened earlier today. I didn't know that you had gotten an abortion, and I ended up making you nearly get into a dangerous situation. I'm deeply sorry," she said in a gentle voice.
• She looked absolutely sincere. I shook my head and forced a smile onto my face. "It's okay."
• I thought that she would leave after that, but I hadn't expected her to look around the room before looking at me in confusion. "Did your boyfriend not come here with you? Why did you abort a perfectly healthy baby? Is it because the father didn't want the child?" she asked.
• I raised my head to look at Emil next to her. His expression was distant, apathetic. I was about to get frozen from the iciness of his gaze alone.
• I looked at Kelly, who was waiting for my answer with an innocent look on her face. I then lowered my gaze and smoothed out my blanket. "It's getting late. You two should go get some rest," I said, while forcefully tamping down the pain in my chest.
• Kelly seemed disappointed that she didn't get an answer. Fortunately, her upbringing was decent; she didn't continue to question me. Instead, she simply looked at me with an innocent expression. "Sorry, I didn't intend to invade your privacy. I was just curious. Then, sleep well. We'll take our leave."
• She took Emil's hand and left my ward. "Emil, we will bring our future child into the world and raise them like the most precious thing ever. We mustn't let them be discarded down the drain as a mass of flesh and blood, okay?" she said to him in a gentle voice.
• Each of her words were like a sharp icicle stabbing me right in the heart. Blood streamed from those wounds; the pain so unbearable that it eventually showed on my face.
• Emil's light murmur of acknowledgment made me burst into wailing tears after they had left my ward.
• Why? What right did she have for her child to be able to be raised as the most precious being in the world, while mine could only continue to exist as a mass of flesh and blood?