Oscar’s tone shifted, softening in a way that made my stomach churn with disgust as he spoke, “Evelyn, I didn’t know... Please, forgive me. I’ll change, I swear. I’ll stop helping Madeline. We’ve been together for ten years, haven’t we? Let’s fix this.”
He held my hand tightly, his voice laced with desperation. For a fleeting moment, I saw a glimpse of the man I had once loved. The man who cooked my favorite dishes to cheer me up, who drove hours just to pick me up from work, rain or shine.
“Evelyn, I’ll take care of everything,” he said, his tone almost tender.
“Just like I used to. Please, give me another chance.”
But the memories of his cruelty and betrayal overshadowed his empty promises. The man standing before me wasn’t the caring partner I had fallen in love with. He was a stranger—a selfish, hollow shell of the person I thought I knew.
I pulled my hand away, my heart hardened by the pain he had caused. There was no going back. I couldn’t trust him anymore and no amount of sweet words could erase the damage he had done.
Oscar had two faces. I was finally starting to see them clearly. That truly hurt my heart.
I pulled my hand away from his grasp, refusing to respond to anything he said. He didn’t seem angry. Instead, he started taking care of me during my hospital stay, acting attentive and gentle.
But I couldn’t shake the unease. Something was definitely wrong. Oscar’s sudden kindness didn’t sit right with me. It felt like the calm before a storm.
In the meantime, his parents quickly found out about the loss of the baby. They were devastated, not for me or the child, but for themselves. They called me in tears, lamenting the loss of their grandson and rushed over to see me.
But I could see that their true concern was whether or not I could still get pregnant.
I overheard them talking with Oscar outside my hospital room. Their voices were hushed, but I caught enough to understand the gist of their conversation. Eventually, Oscar came into the room, his expression carefully neutral.
“Baby,” he began, his voice soft but rehearsed. “My mother said the wedding date should be postponed now that... well, now that you’re no longer pregnant. They think we should increase the dowry by 500,000 yuan to make sure we can afford IVF in the future.”