Once Bitten, Twice Shy

There was no avoiding the inevitable. It had to be faced sooner or later.

Samantha lowered her eyes and looked at her stomach. She stayed silent for a few seconds before answering slowly, "Help me buy a pregnancy test."

Rochelle understood and got up without saying a word. "Go and take a shower. I'll be back soon."

She grabbed her phone and left the apartment.

Samantha decided to continue sitting on the sofa for some time. She then got up and walked towards the bathroom.

After taking a shower, Samantha wiped away the fog on the mirror and looked at her body in the reflection. Her overall figure was still quite slender.

Only her waist and stomach had become a bit meatier during that time.

Her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

Samantha put on some loose pajamas and went out, by which time Rochelle had already returned with a whole bag of stuff.

In addition to a pregnancy test, there were also some supplements, vitamins, and the like. She had also bought some food.

Rochelle beckoned her. "I bought you some porridge. Come over and have some."

Samantha instinctively opened her mouth to refuse, but she did not manage to utter a refusal. She nodded and said, "Okay."

Those who were not worth her attention should not be the reason she treated her own body badly.

Moreover, if she was pregnant, the least she should do was consider the needs of her innocent child.

Samantha walked over and sat down at the dining table.

Rochelle thought she had to continue persuading Samantha and was surprised when Samantha was so conscious of the situation. She pushed the warm porridge to Samantha and smiled. "You should eat more."

Samantha smiled in return. "I will."

One must never do things on an empty stomach.

Since the most accurate result for a pregnancy test was just after waking up in the morning, Samantha went straight to sleep after eating her fill.

After clearing the dishes and cutlery, Rochelle went to the bathroom to take a shower. Once she came out and saw Samantha sleeping soundly on the bed, she felt slightly more relieved than earlier.

When she approached Samantha however, she saw that Samantha was sleeping with tears streaming down her face.

Her heart trembled fiercely and was almost tightening up into a ball.

Samantha might have been able to calm down quickly, but her feelings were still hurt. It was extremely agonizing.

To be betrayed by the person one loved most was almost comparable to having a million needles stabbed into one's heart.

That feeling could not be any clearer to Rochelle.

Rochelle took out a tissue and stepped forward softly, then wiped away the tears on Samantha's face. She then draped the blanket over Samantha and tiptoed out of the room before closing the door.

She walked to the balcony and gracefully lit a women's cigarette. Instead of smoking it, she merely held it between her fingertips and watched as wisps of smoke rose into the air.

In reality, she rarely remembered her past with Jonathan, because everything they had was all in the past. She could not stand to think about those bygone days, especially the memories that conjured up feelings of hatred.

On that night, however, she could no longer control herself from remembering the past after hearing repeated mentions of 'betrayal' and 'child'.

Her hand touched her stomach slowly.

There was once a child inside.

A child that belonged to her and Jonathan.

Three months later, Jonathan had killed the fetus with his own hands...

Rochelle thought that she had become numb to that a long time ago, but she did not expect that memory to come at that moment. Her eyes inexplicably turned red.

She extinguished the cigarette butt, took out her cell phone, and immediately dialed Jonathan's number.

As always, her call was answered almost immediately, and the man's low voice said, "Hello."

Rochelle went straight to the point. "When will you die?"

The other side was silent.

His non-response did not surprise her and she snorted. "You've always been putting on this persona that you love me deeply and can't live without me. You should keep things real if you're a real man."

The other side continued being silent.

Her words elicited no response, just like always. 

Rochelle ended the call right away.

The sudden, unexplainable pain she used to have appeared again out of nowhere. Rochelle clutched her stomach and collapsed weakly onto the ground in pain.

…

The next morning, Samantha woke up and looked beside her, but saw no sign of Rochelle. It did not look like Rochelle had slept beside her either.

Where could Rochelle be?

Samantha got up slowly, walked out of the room, and saw Rochelle sleeping on the sofa. The blanket had already fallen to the ground.

She curled her lips slightly and walked over then picked up the blanket and pulled it over Rochelle.

Even though her movements were very gentle, Rochelle woke up all of a sudden. She seemed to be in a daze at first, then she gradually became aware. "You're awake, Sammy."

"Yeah."

Rochelle sat up. "Did you sleep okay?"

Samantha did not want to mention those nightmares she had the entire night because she was afraid that Rochelle would be worried. Rather than answering, Samantha smiled and said, "I have to do the pregnancy test."

That was the most important thing at the moment.

The last traces of Rochelle's sleepiness disappeared completely. She rummaged through the bag to get a pregnancy test and placed it into Samantha's hand. "You know how to use it, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll wait for you outside."

Samantha went into the bathroom.

Rochelle felt inexplicably tense and could not sit still at all. She paced around the living room as if the prospective baby in Samantha's stomach belonged to her.

On second thought, Samantha's baby would be her baby too.

After what seemed like an eternity, Samantha finally walked out of the bathroom.

Rochelle went up to her and asked nervously, "How...is it?"

It was difficult to tell whether Samantha was sad or happy, and Rochelle could not figure out what the result was.

Samantha kept quiet and merely handed her the pregnancy test.

Rochelle held it and lowered her gaze.

Two red bars were shown.

The result was both expected and unexpected. Rochelle did not know what to feel at that moment and simply went up to hug Samantha.

Samantha's eyes turned red little by little.

Samantha would have been elated if she found out about her pregnancy before the previous day. After all, she and Timothy had been eagerly looking forward to it.

At that moment, however, she felt nothing but disgust when she thought about how the child was nothing more than a tool for Timothy to protect the love between him and Harmony.

Why should her child become a tool for someone else?

Moreover, Harmony seemed to suggest that Samantha would never be allowed to raise the baby that she delivered. Timothy would be raising that child with Harmony, who would be recognized as the child's mother.

Samantha, on the other hand, would be kicked away or made to disappear since she was no longer of any value.

The thought of that triggered her nausea again.

After sensing the fluctuation in her mood, Rochelle immediately started patting her back. Once she was eased a little, Rochelle stopped patting and hesitated for a moment before asking seriously, "Will you…want this child, Sammy?"

'Will you?'

That question had too appeared in Samantha's mind after she saw the pregnancy test result.

The child came at an untimely moment, but there was no escaping the fact that it had already existed.

Did Samantha want it though?