The doctor was congratulating me as I walked out of the consultation room. I hadn’t even had time for the smile on my face to fade when, not far away, I saw David tenderly holding the girl as they exited another room.
David, with a face full of warmth, was smiling at the girl’s flat belly. “You’re a hero. What kind of reward would you like?”
The girl’s face lit up with a smile—sweet yet piercingly painful to see.
“I want my child to be recognized, legitimate.”
Time froze.
I tightened my grip on the health report, the paper crumpling in my hands as though a needle had pierced straight through my heart.
David kept smiling. "Except for that."
The girl, sensing the moment, playfully clung to him. "As long as I have this child, I'll be content."
"But..." The girl's eyes reddened. "My child will only be a bastard."
"So what?" David was indifferent. "As long as it's a boy, all my assets will be his."
I watched as the girl’s eyes lit up. She shyly smiled in David’s arms. "What about your wife? Aren’t you and your wife as close as can be?"