Panic surged through me as I saw that her phone had already dialed. I opened my mouth to speak, but after two rings, the call was suddenly disconnected.
My wife never hangs up on me.
An unfamiliar dread slammed into my chest. I didn’t even have time to change clothes. I jumped into the car and sped toward the yoga studio, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I didn’t even turn off the engine. Clenching my fists so tightly that my knuckles ached, and my whole body trembling, I burst into the yoga studio.
But as soon as I pushed open the door, relief and confusion collided. My wife was there calmly chatting with the lady boss in the lobby.
At that moment, the mischievous voice sounded in my head again. “[Daddy, you drove too slowly! Mommy already had her secret meeting with him long ago!”
The lady boss looked at me, still in pajamas and out of breath, and let out a light laugh.
“Portia Rios, people always say President Leonard spoils you, but today I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Rushing over like this, afraid I’d run off with your wife?”
I quickly glanced around the studio. There wasn’t a single man in sight.
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I forced a smile. “Portia, yesterday you promised you wouldn’t sneak out again. Seeing you here so early, I couldn’t help but worry.”
“Didn’t the yoga doctor tell you to stop practicing? Why are you here so early then?”
My wife’s eyes flickered with something I couldn’t read. “I can’t practice right now, that’s why I came to extend the sessions. Since you’re here, you handle it, I’ll wait in the car.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, watching her figure disappear down the hall.
Suddenly, an impulse hit me. I grabbed the lady boss’s wrist. “Quick, show me the yoga studio’s surveillance, just this morning’s!”
The lady boss awkwardly pulled her hand free. “Sorry, Lucius, the surveillance just happened to break this morning.”
That familiar voice slithered into my ears again, sharp as ice. “Daddy, why won’t you believe me! If you keep this up, I’m really going to be angry! I’ll just kill myself then!”
My heart trembled as I bolted out of the yoga studio.
At a glance, I saw my wife crouched beside the car, clutching her belly, crying out in pain.
The memory of the child’s suicidal voice flashed through my mind, and a cold shiver ran down my spine.
I stepped forward, knelt beside her, and gently grasped her trembling hand, my voice tentative.