During the eight months of my pregnancy, Samuel had been constantly "on business trips." The number of days he had actually spent by my side could be counted on my fingers.

I didn’t want to distract him from work, so I endured the morning sickness and exhaustion alone, going to prenatal checkups by myself.

And now I knew—those "business trips" were just an excuse for him to stay by Xandra’s side, caring for her and their unborn child.

Among the thousands of photos stored on his phone, every single one recorded Xandra’s journey from pregnancy to childbirth.

Samuel personally prepared nutritious meals for Xandra every day, took her on walks and shopping trips, and even held her vomit in his hands when she suffered from morning sickness.

He never missed a single prenatal checkup, staying by her side, his gaze filled with devotion as if she were the most precious treasure in the world.

I had begged Samuel countless times to pick a name for our child. However, he would always take a long time to reply.

"Lydia, a name is just a label. Just pick something random. I'm busy. We’ll decide after the baby is born."

Yet, the moment Xandra got pregnant, Samuel had already come up with over a hundred names for her child.

"Xandra, how about calling our baby Asha? It means a bright future ahead."

"Or maybe Ethan? It signifies great knowledge and a promising destiny."

"No, let’s go with Apollo. I don’t care if he becomes someone important. I just want him to be safe and live a long life."

After every prenatal checkup, he would gift Xandra something—a piece of luxury jewelry, or a limited-edition sports car.

"Our Xandra has made it through another checkup safely. We must celebrate!"

He even gifted her a European castle to celebrate her successful delivery.

And me?

All I ever got was a single sentence, "Lydia, thank you for your hard work. I have a meeting to attend."

So this was the difference between love and indifference.

I put down the phone, my heart cold and numb. Without a second thought, I booked a plane ticket to leave the country in three days.

Lying back on the hospital bed, I stared at the ceiling, my chest filled with an unbearable emptiness.

I didn’t sleep a single moment that night.

—

The next morning, Samuel, as usual, had his assistant buy me a nutritious meal.

I used to be touched by his thoughtfulness, believing that even when he wasn’t by my side, he still cared about my health.