Untitled Part 2
I nodded quietly.
A few seconds later, he rubbed the back of my head and said,
"Don't overthink it. Take care of yourself. Take care of the baby."
He was trying to comfort me.
But the weight in his eyes made it look like he was facing some impossible problem.
"The day I told you I was pregnant, you were probably already hoping I'd get rid of it."
The words had barely left my mouth when a faint smile touched Ethan's lips.
"So that's what you think of me?"
My eyes burned, but I held his gaze anyway, stubborn to the end.
Ethan rose to his feet and looked down at me from above.
"I think you need some time to calm down."
He paused, his voice turning even more matter-of-fact.
"The company's been busy lately. I'll have a caregiver come stay with you for a while. I won't be coming by for now."
The hospital room door opened, then quietly shut again.
Harsh white sunlight poured through the window and spread across the floor.
The room was so silent I could almost hear dust drifting through the beam of light.
My hand moved back to my lower stomach.
It felt like something had been carved out of me, leaving behind nothing but emptiness.
I didn't move.
I felt hollow all the way through.
A nurse told me I needed to go upstairs for another exam.
I pushed open the door and stepped out.
As I reached the corner, I heard Ethan's voice—and his sister's.
"Even if you only married Claire because she was good to Daisy back then—"
"But plenty of people were good to Daisy. Claire had to be different to you."
"If that's true, then can you please talk to her like a human being for once? Stop giving her the cold shoulder."
Ethan answered in that casual, dismissive tone of his.
"It wouldn't have mattered who I married. I just didn't feel like wasting time looking."
"If I'd known she'd be this hung up on having a child, I should've married someone else."
The nurse tapped me on the shoulder.
"Why are you still standing here?" she asked.
"You need to go in for your exam."
The two of them turned at the sound.
Ethan was already angry with me.
Now he couldn't even be bothered to pretend otherwise.
He glanced at me once, then walked away without a word.
His sister hurried over and took my arm.
"Um... Claire, I'll go with you."
"Thank you."
"What my brother said just now—he didn't mean it. He was speaking out of anger."
"You know what he's like. He never knows how to say things properly. But he does care about you, he really does."
She kept trying to explain him to me.
"Last time, when he was at the London branch, he worked three straight days with barely any sleep just so he could clear one day to spend your birthday with you."
"My brother's just been in a bad place lately..."
She hesitated, then sighed.
"The baby is gone. He's hurting too. And on top of that, he and Vanessa had a huge fight because he wanted Daisy to come apologize to you. Vanessa kept insisting Daisy didn't mean it, so there was no need to apologize. Honestly..."
By then we had reached the exam room.
"I'm going in," I said.