Chapter 2 Bleeding

Her account showed Jonathan going on a trip to see the aurora borealis with her. There was even a day where he rented a whole island to celebrate their anniversary. They laughed together in places I could not even afford to dream of visiting.

It felt as if something had wrapped around my throat, tightening little by little, squeezing the air from my lungs.

Late that night, the door creaked open. Jonathan walked in and frowned. "Why's it so cold in here?"

Although the neighborhood was in the city center, the apartment itself was old, and the heating barely worked. The tenants had moved away because they could not stand the cold. I had only stayed because the landlord promised to waive six months of rent.

The door was ajar. I said nothing. Only a sigh escaped me, turning into a faint white mist in the freezing air.

Jonathan went into the bedroom and came back with a blanket. Then he wrapped it around me. "This is how you take care of yourself while I'm not around? How do you expect me not to worry, Linda?"

I shoved him away. "Don't act like you care! Is lying to me your idea of fun?"

Ever since the pregnancy, my body had become slow and heavy. I staggered before finally steadying myself.

In the past, whenever I threw a tantrum, he would give me a helpless smile and raise both hands in surrender. "Sorry I got you mad, Linda. You can do anything to me."

But now the look on his face was icy. "How much longer are you going to be a child?" A pause later, he added, "Natalie's young. She can't handle a lot of stuff herself."

My emotions exploded. "That's your excuse for being her boyfriend? What about me? Why did you pretend to be poor in front of me? Do I look rich to you?"

Pain flickered briefly in his eyes. Then he hugged me tightly from behind. "Calm down, Linda!"

I tried to tear myself away, but my strength wasn't enough. "Don't touch me!"

Something creaked. The door, which had been left ajar, slowly swung open. Natalie appeared seemingly out of nowhere, and she stared at us in disbelief. "You…"

"Natalie? What are you doing here?" Then realization struck him, and his face darkened. Coldly, he said, "Why did you come?"

Natalie's face was covered in tears. "You installed a GPS in your phone so I could find you anytime. What do you mean what am I doing here? You want me to turn a blind eye to the fact you hooked up with this old woman?"

She shoved me. "I trusted you, and you seduced my boyfriend?"

I nearly fell. Jonathan quickly caught me, then shot Natalie a sharp glare. "Stop!"

That only broke her further. "You liar! You said you'd marry me!" Then she turned and ran out in tears.

Jonathan immediately wanted to chase after her, but I grabbed his hand. "There's something I want to tell you."

He shook me off. "Let go! She might run into danger running around this late at night!"

He ran off without looking back. I lost my balance and crashed to the floor. My abdomen struck the corner of the table.

A sharp, twisting pain surged through me. Then a terrible warmth spread beneath me. I reached down with trembling fingers. When I lifted my hand, my mind went blank.

It was blood.

The pain made my thoughts slow and scattered. Without thinking, I called Jonathan. "Help… My stomach… It hurts…"

Right before my consciousness faded completely, I heard Jonathan's impatient voice on the other end. "You're at home. You're in no danger. I just managed to calm Natalie down, so stop making trouble."