Chapter 7

That night, I was plagued by nightmares.

But at least I managed to get some sleep.

The next morning, I made a simple breakfast and sat at the table, the food tasting like wax.

I knew that from now on, I would have to live my life wearing a mask.

Divorce. The thought flashed repeatedly through my dreams.

But it was such a major event. How would I explain it to my parents? They were getting older. What if the shock was too much for them…

“Why are you up so early?”

Li Kai, sleepy-eyed and yawning, tried to embrace me. My body tensed, instinctively resisting.

Rebuffed, he settled for a good-morning kiss on my forehead.

“Still angry about yesterday?”

His deep voice held a coaxing tone, but the affection in his eyes seemed incredibly ironic to me now.

But I was afraid of tipping him off, so I had to endure the nausea and force a smile.

He was confident that I couldn’t resist his affection, but that was before he crossed my bottom line.

If you were devoted to me, cherished me, and protected me, I wouldn’t care if you were a man or a ghost, rich or poor.

But since you’ve treated me this way, I will make sure you become less than a ghost.

“Honey, when you have a day off, let’s have a proper make-up anniversary celebration. And while we’re at it, let’s have a baby,” he said, sitting down to eat, studying me as he spoke.

When we got married, he said he wanted to focus on his career for a couple more years and pay down the mortgage before having kids. He didn’t want me and the child to suffer with him.

I was so moved back then that I even offered to help him with the mortgage payments.

The apartment was a pre-construction home and hadn’t been delivered yet. He had bought it before we were married, making only the down payment. We couldn’t live in it, but we still had to make monthly payments, which was stressful.

With the pandemic, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on him.

Besides, we were married and meant to spend our lives together. Being too calculating would only hurt our relationship.

But now, I was incredibly grateful that he had postponed the plan to have a baby.

My heart was a mix of emotions, but I couldn’t let him see any sign of it.

I forced a smile, pretending to think it over before replying, “The department is short-staffed right now. Dr. Xu is about to give birth and will be on maternity leave soon, so she can’t work night shifts for a while. Our plan will have to wait at least six months.”

I felt him visibly relax, but his tone was one of dissatisfaction. “Does your hospital have any respect for human rights? They even control when you can have a baby?”

I gave an awkward smile. “You know how it is in the ER. Every person counts. Everyone who gets pregnant has to report it in advance.”

“Then it’s settled. Honey, in six months, if you get pregnant, you have to take leave immediately. You guys are worked to the bone every day; we can’t let anything happen to the baby. If it comes to it, I’ll support you.”

“Okay.”

I nodded with a smile, finally ending the topic.

I had never been so fond of this unspoken rule in the Emergency Department.

And six months was more than enough time.