Chapter 3

The kitchen had always been his forbidden zone.

Once when I had a high fever and was too weak to move, I asked him to make me a cup of fever-reducing medicine, but he coldly refused.

"I'm a grown man. How can I step into a kitchen?"

That night my temperature spiked to 104°F, and I remained in a daze until the cleaning lady found me the next day.

Turns out he could set aside his prejudices and go to such lengths for the woman he loved.

As they were talking, Antonella's face suddenly turned pale, and she abruptly covered her mouth and stood up.

It looked like she was experiencing morning sickness again.

The next second, Silva helped her stand, skillfully pulling a bag from his pocket. Clearly he'd become very practiced at handling this situation.

He steadied Antonella's shoulders, letting her weight rest almost entirely on him.

"Sorry, we need to use the restroom."

After the two left, I finally let out a sharp breath and opened Silva's chat window.

Our last conversation was from two days ago when I told him I had a surprise for him.

As things stood now, this surprise would probably turn into a shock.

Just as I was about to exit, a new message popped up in the pinned conversation.

[The certificate is real, but I found out he purchased a fake marriage certificate online a few months ago.]

I closed my eyes. I already knew the answer in my heart.

Right after I replied to the message, someone knocked on the door from outside.

"Doctor, we're back."

The two sat down in front of me again, leaning on each other.

Silva helped Antonella tuck the strands of hair by her face behind her ear, then adjusted her clothes. As he moved her collar, it revealed a bright red hickey on her neck.

I frowned, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Didn't anyone tell you? The fetus isn't stable during the first three months. You can't have sex."

Antonella's cheeks flushed red. She lightly punched Silva twice, her tone coquettish with reproach.

"It's all your fault."

"As soon as three months passed, you couldn't wait. Now you've embarrassed me in front of the doctor."

My stomach suddenly churned, intense nausea rising to my throat.

Silva smiled and good-naturedly accepted all her complaints. He asked me a few questions about pregnancy precautions, then pulled out his phone and recorded everything in his notes.

I caught a glimpse of his note title: Darling's Pregnancy Precautions.

When the interface exited, I could see other notes inside: Antonella Baby's Food Restrictions, Antonella Baby's Health Cycle Records...

I looked away, my heart cold.

Such detailed life records—we'd known each other for four years, and he'd never done this for me.

Last month, to fly over to see him, I'd swapped shifts with several colleagues.

After working 36 hours straight, I rushed to catch the flight to see him.

But when I got off the plane, I couldn't even get through to him on the phone.

After calling for a long time, the line finally stopped being coldly unanswered.

But when I said I was already on my way from the airport to find him, Silva immediately raised his voice.

"Don't come over right now!"

I sat in the taxi, somewhat bewildered. I'd told him my plans a week earlier, and we'd agreed on today.

He'd readily agreed and promised to pick me up at the airport himself.

But the Silva on the phone hemmed and hawed.

"I... I forgot about this..."

"I'm on a business trip out of town right now. Sorry, Alice, I didn't get a chance to tell you."

"Just go back home today."