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Olivia's smug face,Ethan's harsh slap,the unknown age of my lost child,and my father's cold demeanor haunted me.
My head throbbed.
Olivia said they had known each other forever,but I had never heard of her.How long had they been together behind my back?
I opened my phone and went to Ethan's secret account.
Like a parched person knowing the water was poisoned,I couldn't taking it all in.
March 5th,he posted:
"Finally proposed to the girl I love,and she said yes.We need to wait a bit,but I swear I'll give her the grandest wedding.One day,one dayI'll tell the world she's my most beautiful bride."
I thought he disliked weddings.
We got married right after graduation because my dad said Ethan could only join the institute if we did so.
But we never had a ceremony or anything.
The first time I suggested one,he said he was broke and didn't want a cheap wedding for me.
Later,he said he hadn't achieved anything noteworthy yet and didn't want people saying he was climbing up the social ladder.
So we just stayed secretly married.
Before I entered the lab,colleagues teased us, saying it’s time for me to walk down the aisle now.
Now I knew he didn't hate weddings—just ones with me.
March 1st:
"Still waiting for lab results.It’s now or never.I'm anxious,but she says it'll work.Her steadfast gaze calms me.This will be my greatest gift to her."
That day,the lab's climate control malfunctioned.To protect the data,I stayed up all night,exhausted but stabilizing it.
Resting,I stared at the empty crystal orb,picturing Ethan's joy when we succeeded,my fatigue melted away.
While I dreamed of sharing that victory with him,he was planning to gift it to her.
Each post I read cut deeper.
While I strained my eyes on data,fought sleepless nights with machines,and let radiation destroy my body,he was with her,waiting for a result.
February 15th,the day he sent me into the lab,he posted:
"Experiment's in its final stage.A colleague took over data monitoring.I'm dizzy from writing reports,but she's by my side,thankfully."
Colleague?
I almost laughed,but only hoarse sounds came out of my throat.
Scrolling further,early February:
"She's pregnant.Why now,of all times?"
My blood froze.
In all his posts,"she"seemed to mean Olivia.Was this"she" also not me?
I found it absurd that I'd rather believe someone else carried his child than accept the fact that I had been erased from his secret world.
I clicked the comments under that post.
"What,your little darling's pregnant,and the big scientist won't take responsibility?"
He replied simply,"It's the colleague."
Crying was pointless,laughing too ironic.
