The Baby He Wanted Became the Punishment He Gave Me

Little by little, one time after another, I let go of my fear of being pregnant. Until Lois, his childhood sweetheart, came back from America. The moment she saw the small swell of my belly, she shook all over, her whole body seizing up. Vincent didn't say a word. He just threw his coat straight over my stomach. "Cover it up!" That covering lasted three months. Whenever Lois appeared, I always had to hide somewhere she couldn't see me. I demanded answers. I screamed. And all I ever got back from Vincent was the same line. "She has a phobia of pregnancy. Why are you making an issue of it with her?" "Her condition is for life. You're only pregnant for a few months." The words in my throat, I swallowed them all back down. But the pain and the humiliation were like a spider's web, tightening a little more each day, suffocating me deeper. "Olivia, did you hear what I said?" Vincent's cold voice came from beside me. I took out my phone and booked the abortion. "Vincent, the baby won't ever move again." "What did you say?" I put the phone down and looked up. Vincent was frowning at me. "If there's nothing else, go home early." "I still have to help the doctor with Lois's treatment." Every word said, Vincent turned and walked out. I moved slowly, one careful step at a time, and walked alone to the OB ward for the procedure. Two hours later, it was over. I don't respond well to anesthesia, so the nurse took me to the recovery room. "Miss Swanson, if the pain gets unbearable, just take the painkillers." "Otherwise you could go into pain shock." After the nurse finished, she brought me a cup of warm water. Fighting through the sharp pain, I forced my mouth open and swallowed the painkillers. The pain hadn't even eased when my phone suddenly rang. 【Hey there. Want to see how Vincent's giving Lois her "treatment"?】 An out-of-nowhere text. I frowned and was about to shut off the phone. Then Vincent's friend suddenly sent over a flood of photos and videos. Glaring, naked photos slammed into my eyes. My whole body went rigid. 【Vincent's "treatment" is just one step away from the finish, you know!】 【The doctor says this is the fastest way to wake Lois up.】 【Don't go blaming Vincent. After all, you brought this on yourself!】 My mind went blank, and it felt like a saw was tearing viciously through the flesh of my abdomen. Fingers trembling with pain, eyes stinging, I stared at the dense wall of photos and videos. Vincent was helping the doctor treat Lois. I'd known that all along. But I never imagined it would be in a way this sickening. In the photo where my finger had stopped. Vincent had lowered his head, gently kissing Lois's neck. My vision went black, and when it cleared again. 【Olivia's Pregnancy Tracking Group Chat】. The words surfaced in my mind. That group, I'd always kept pinned to the top of my phone. But Vincent's old pin was gone. He'd unpinned it long ago. The group he himself had created was buried under countless work chats. Now the one he had pinned was 【Lois's Treatment Group Chat】. I took out my phone and photographed the abortion record. I sent it straight into the group. Just as I expected, it vanished without a ripple. I unpinned the group and got up to leave the recovery room. When I got home, Vincent wasn't there. I lay down in the bedroom and slept more soundly than I had in a long time. No more worrying about the baby moving. No more worrying about setting off the monitor. Until the next day, when Vincent came back with his bodyguards. His face still cold and remote. "Olivia, it's time to review yesterday's fetal movement readings." Not one wasted word. Vincent simply signaled the doctor forward.

The fetal monitor was lifted from my chest, and the doctor began reading the data. I looked at the cold, unmoving Vincent and made myself speak. "Vincent, what kind of treatment are you giving Lois?" "What treatment could possibly require you, and only you, to be alone with her?" My throat was parched by the time I finished, and I waited quietly for his answer. Vincent frowned, about to say something. Then the doctor cried out, stunned. "Mr. Weiss, the baby moved nine times yesterday?!" Nine times? I froze. The baby had been gone since early yesterday morning. How could there be any movement? "That data has to be wrong—" The words rushed out of me. Before I could finish, Vincent's brow drew tight. "Olivia, you did something wrong, so you have to accept the punishment." "We agreed. However many times the baby moved, that's how many times your mother's oxygen mask comes off." "Nine times. Two minutes and twenty-three seconds total." "Do you want it done all at once, or in stages?" Cold as a block of ice. I stared at Vincent, unable to believe it. Then his phone rang. "Vincent, Lois has taken a sudden turn for the worse. Get to the hospital, now!" The voice on the line had barely stopped. Vincent lowered his eyes, anger burning under his voice. "You two make sure my wife completes the punishment. Record it and send me the video." Every word clipped and precise, he turned and strode out. The disbelief still hadn't left my eyes as I grabbed his hand in a panic, trying to explain. "Vincent, our baby is already gone—" "Olivia, stop making excuses!" "The way you are right now, you disgust me!" The words on my lips died against the thick disgust and disappointment in Vincent's eyes. For a few seconds, my head roared. My fingers twitched beyond my control, and my nose and mouth felt as if I'd been dragged into deep water. For a moment I couldn't breathe. Outside the villa, a car tore away down the drive. My body went slack all at once, and I collapsed to the floor. "Ma'am, come with us to the hospital." The bodyguard's voice was flat, and they hauled me off to the hospital. Standing in the ward again, my eyes were numb with despair. The person lying here should have been me. At the critical moment of the crash, my mother had used everything she had to shield me. She was covered in blood, and her last words were: "Thank God our Livvy is safe..." Vincent had once held me and sworn, over and over, that he'd save her. And now, it had only been a year... Tears fell without my knowing, scattering across the floor as my trembling fingers pulled out my phone to reach Vincent. 【I'm begging you, please don't take my mother's oxygen mask off again.】 【Vincent, this is all my fault. I never should have sent you that fetal movement video.】 【Punish me however you want...】 【I'm begging you. My mother is all I have left...】 The dozens of texts I sent vanished like stones dropped into the sea. I read the screen again and again. There was never a reply from Vincent. "Ma'am, we're starting now." The bodyguard held up his phone to record and reached out to lift my mother's oxygen mask. I threw myself forward to stop him. And was pinned down, hard. Once. Twice. ...... Seven times. My mother's oxygen mask was pulled off seven times in all. Each time longer than the last. The tears in my eyes ran dry, and my throat was raw and bleeding from screaming. Two minutes and twenty-three seconds. Finally, it was over. The bodyguard let go, and I lunged to fit the mask back over my mother's face. My eyes fixed on the heart monitor. One second. Three seconds. Ten seconds. The line stayed flat.

“Doctor!” “Save my mother! Please!” “I’m begging you, save her…” My mouth was thick with the taste of blood as I clutched at the doctor’s hand, pleading. They shocked her, again and again. The heart monitor stayed one flat line. “Ma’am, we did everything we could…” “Please accept our condolences.” The doctor’s words buzzed in my ears. I stared at my mother, unable to come back to myself. Just then, fireworks burst open in dazzling color outside the window. “Boom! Boom boom boom!” They cracked open one after another. I looked up and saw a few brilliant words written across the sky. 【Celebrating Lois Waking Up!】 Lois was awake? My frozen thoughts began to move again, and I pulled out my phone. Five minutes ago, Lois had posted a new update to her feed. 【A month in a coma, and so grateful someone stayed by my side the whole time!】 In the photo, Vincent was down on one knee, head bowed, slipping a sock onto her foot. The tenderness in his face was so unfamiliar it left me dazed. So his tenderness was still there after all. He’d only given it to Lois. So Lois had woken up long ago. He’d simply chosen not to answer my messages. The last thread in my mind snapped clean through. I set the phone down and walked, step by step, to Lois’s room. “Vincent, thank you for this past month.” “I heard everything. To help me wake up, you even went through that special 【treatment】…” Lois’s bashful voice drifted out. My hand froze on the door. “Don’t worry. I’m not telling you this to make you take responsibility.” “I’m just afraid my being here will make Olivia misunderstand.” “Now that I’m awake, I’m planning to go back to America…” Lois had barely finished, her voice choking with disappointment. Then Vincent cut her off. “Why would you leave?” “Olivia’s baby is due in five more months.” “Once this child is born, I’ll get a vasectomy.” Through the crack in the door, Vincent gave his word, one syllable at a time. The man who once promised we’d have two children, a boy and a girl. For Lois, he was ready to get himself sterilized. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I shoved the door open. “Vincent, you don’t need a vasectomy.” “Because our baby is already gon…” The words weren’t out of my mouth yet. Vincent suddenly stood, snatched the dirty clothes beside him, and hurled them hard against my belly. “Olivia!” “You want Lois to see your pregnant belly and pass out again?!” “Cover it up, now!” My body went rigid, my steps stalling for a few seconds. Stepping on the dirty clothes, I kept moving closer. “Olivia!” “I told you, cover that stomach of yours right now!” “This is my last warning!” Shielding Lois, Vincent’s face turned frighteningly cold. When my steps still didn’t stop, his brow knit tight. His eyes were full of exhaustion and disappointment. “Olivia, stop making a scene.” “Lois and I have always been innocent.” “What’s between us is nothing like the filthy man-and-woman romance in your head!” Every icy word delivered, Vincent took out his phone to call the bodyguard. I spoke, my voice hoarse. “Vincent, let’s get divorced.” “Divorced?!” “Olivia, say that again!” His back teeth clenched, Vincent stood there stunned. His eyes were full of disbelief. “You’re the one who did wrong, and you’re asking me for a divorce?!” It tore out of him almost as a snarl. Shaking with fury, Vincent strode right up to me. “Olivia, I’ll give you one chance.” “Take back what you just said!” The veins stood out on his neck, his eyes red. He reached out and gripped my wrist, about to say more. Then Lois cried out in fright. “No!” “Ah! Olivia, your belly is horrifying!” At that terrified sound, Vincent instantly let go of my hand. He spun around in a panic, trying to shield the hysterical Lois. I reached out and pressed my hand against the loose clothes. The belly that had once swelled beneath them was flat now, utterly flat. Vincent froze where he stood. As if his whole body had turned to stone. “Olivia, where is our child?”