I had begged Samuel countless times to pick a name for our child. However, he would always take a long time to reply.
"Lydia, a name is just a label. Just pick something random. I'm busy. We’ll decide after the baby is born."
Yet, the moment Xandra got pregnant, Samuel had already come up with over a hundred names for her child.
"Xandra, how about calling our baby Asha? It means a bright future ahead."
"Or maybe Ethan? It signifies great knowledge and a promising destiny."
"No, let’s go with Apollo. I don’t care if he becomes someone important. I just want him to be safe and live a long life."
After every prenatal checkup, he would gift Xandra something—a piece of luxury jewelry, or a limited-edition sports car.
"Our Xandra has made it through another checkup safely. We must celebrate!"
He even gifted her a European castle to celebrate her successful delivery.
And me?
All I ever got was a single sentence, "Lydia, thank you for your hard work. I have a meeting to attend."
So this was the difference between love and indifference.
I put down the phone, my heart cold and numb. Without a second thought, I booked a plane ticket to leave the country in three days.