Chapter 2

After getting in the car, the boy's mother introduced herself: "I'm Bethany White, and my husband is Ethan Rivers."

She seemed very interested in me and asked, "Joanna, do you have a boyfriend?"

I stared at Ethan in the driver's seat. His eyes met mine through the mirror.

I answered, "Yes. We've been together for eight years. He chased me for two years."

"Wow, a ten-year relationship!" Bethany exclaimed. "Ethan and I met four years ago, got married four years ago, and our son is four years old too!"

"Ethan and I fell in love at first sight. I got too drunk at a bar and ran into Ethan... That was my first time. The next day, he was still asleep when I snuck back to my dorm—I was still in college then. Later I found out I was pregnant. I was so panicked I didn't know what to do, so I went to find him. Ethan was so responsible—he immediately said he'd take me to get our marriage license and take care of me forever."

Ethan freed one hand and ruffled her hair. "Alright, you talk too much. You have to tell everyone about these things."

She playfully grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "What's wrong? Are you embarrassed?"

Hearing her words felt like knives precisely stabbing into my heart.

Back in college, Ethan and I had just gotten together.

The first time, he refused to use protection, insisting he wanted to "really feel my presence."

I was coaxed and half-persuaded by him.

Half a month later, I found out I was pregnant.

Back then, Ethan stared at the pregnancy test showing two lines and smoked for half the night. Finally, he knelt before me, his voice hoarse: "Let's terminate it. We can't afford to raise it right now."

An abortion was too expensive, so we could only choose medication.

The medication abortion left me in agony. What's more, the doctor informed us that I would have difficulty getting pregnant again.

After learning the consequences, Ethan slapped himself over and over, saying he was inhuman. He slapped his handsome face until it swelled badly, then stared at me with those deep eyes and swore: "I, Ethan Rivers, will only ever be good to Joanna in this life. I'll be good to Joanna Clarke forever. If I can't do that, may I die without anyone to mourn me!"

Recalling all this, I looked at the four-year-old boy beside me.

How come the person who betrayed true love didn't get his comeuppance?