My breath nearly stopped. I scrambled to the ground, desperately picking up my dignity and shattered pride, shoving them into my sleeve as if that could make them disappear.
Tears poured uncontrollably from my eyes.
Keon had only married me because of his parent’s wishes. For years, he barely even touched me.
I thought he had finally warmed up to me. So even though I knew there was something in the drink that night, I still obediently swallowed it, letting my reason slip away bit by bit.
For the chance to have a child, for the hope of pleasing him, I had thrown away all my pride during those three days, giving in to him, responding to him, doing everything to make him happy. I didn’t even know when they switched people or when those photos were taken.
All of this happened just because of a single sentence from Kizzie, their beloved childhood sweetheart.
I ran out of the office as if my life depended on it. My clothes were perfectly in place, covering me from head to toe, yet I felt like every pair of eyes on the street was seeing me as I was in those photos bare, exposed, utterly humiliated.
The overwhelming shame pressed down on me, suffocating.
With my head down, I ran blindly forward. A walk that should’ve taken minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity.
When I finally got home, I rushed to the shredder, feeding the photos into it again and again, watching them turn into tiny, meaningless scraps. I wished I could shove my filthy self inside and destroy it too.
The loud slam of the door startled me, snapping me back to reality. It was Keon.
"Did your period come this month?"
I froze, unable to process his words. "W-what?"
He curled his lips into a smirk, his tone almost teasing.
"Sweet Pie, it was three whole days. I have plenty of confidence in my abilities. Come downstairs, I'm taking you to the hospital for a check-up."
Without waiting for my response, he grabbed me and pulled me toward the garage.
I sat motionless in the passenger seat, dazed. He sighed, then reached over to fasten my seatbelt.
I grabbed his hand in return, blurting out,
"Are we going to the hospital to check if I’m pregnant? Keon, do you really want to have a child with me?"
He ruffled my hair, his eyes so gentle they seemed almost so tender, so loving.
"What kind of silly question is that? Of course, I do. A girl like you, a boy like me wouldn’t that be perfect?"