The Baby I Chose Over You

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When the news reached me that Julian was planning a three-day seven times a night challenge with an underclassman, I had just sent him the pregnancy test results.

The next second, his video call came through.

A girl was wrapped tightly in his arms, covered in kiss marks.

Can't we just get rid of this baby? You two are a family of three... and I'm all alone.

Julian patted the girl while coaxing her, then issued me a command. "Get the abortion. She's crying."

I calmly refused him. "And if I don't?"

Julian froze, then smiled coldly. "If you don't, we're getting divorced."

I instantly felt relieved. "Alright. I'll prepare the divorce papers for you."

My wish to have a child without keeping the father was finally coming true.

"Lila, be good. Don't make a scene."

Julian crushed out his cigarette and repeated the same words he'd said countless times before.

I shook my head. "I'm not making a scene. I really want this baby."

Hearing this, the girl in his arms, Summer, cried even louder.

Summer was a year below him in school.

Half venting, half marking her territory, she hooked her arms around Julian's neck and bit down hard.

Julian let out a muffled groan. Without any consideration for me, he grabbed the woman and kissed her deeply.

I had the sense to hang up the phone and took a cab home.

As soon as I got in the car, Julian's video call came through again.

The man had several bite marks on his neck now. He grinned. "Little girl's got a temper. I promise they'll be gone by the time I get home."

Only then did I remember.

The day I gave up on Julian, I made an agreement with him.

No matter how much he fooled around outside, he couldn't have any marks on his body when he came home.

He'd cheated so many times that I'd even forgotten when I stopped loving him.

I shook my head immediately, thinking I was being understanding. "It's fine. We're getting divorced anyway."

The man on the screen froze, his dark eyes dimming as he stared at me silently with pursed lips.

"Lila, stop this."

"You're lying! Lila would never abort the baby!"

"I'll never... let you do it again."

Summer's reaction was even more dramatic than mine. She cried until she was choking on her tears.

Julian's heart tightened. He immediately held the young girl and issued his final ultimatum to me. "Lila, we're not keeping this baby."

Whenever he called me by my full name, it meant he was truly angry.

But I still shook my head. "When you get back, let's just talk about the divorce."

Summer cried miserably. Julian had no choice but to hang up the video to comfort her.

He really had a way with comforting people.

He'd hold you gently, whisper sweet nothings against your ear with his mouth right there.

Combined with his good looks and attractive voice, almost no one could resist.

Even I, who had decided never to marry, had been fooled by him like this.

As I got out of the car, the driver hesitated before speaking. "Your husband is this shameless and you're not going to confront the other woman?"

I smiled lightly. "I did once. That's how I lost my first child."

The driver had nothing more to say.

I'd never been loved by my parents. They'd rather dote on my uncle's daughter than give me even a kind look.

So I'd always longed for someone connected to me by blood who would love me.

I met Julian a week before I was planning to go to a sperm bank.

He was handsome, well-educated, and intelligent.

I quickly conceived the idea of having his child without keeping him as a partner.

Through careful planning, I successfully dated Julian, and then married him.

The only uncontrollable variable was my heart.

Against the plan, I fell in love with him and started thinking about spending the rest of my life with Julian.

When I first discovered his infidelity, I was devastated like any wife would be---in pain, hysterical.

But each time after he promised to change, he'd go behind my back and mess around with another woman.

Gradually, that uncontrolled heart returned to its original place.

I gently stroked the life growing in my belly.

After the divorce, I'd raise it well on my own, whether it was a boy or girl.

I was working on the divorce agreement on my laptop when Julian came home with a bouquet of roses.

Julian brought me a gift every day when he came home.

Sometimes it was cake, sometimes blind boxes, sometimes jewelry.

Roses were the gift he brought most often.

He skillfully replaced the withered roses in the vase with fresh ones, his tone gentle. "Tomorrow's my day off. I'll go with you to the hospital for the abortion."

Such a gentle tone, yet speaking such cold words.

In the past, I would have cried and fought with him.

But I didn't love him anymore.

I showed him my laptop. "See if there's anything that needs adjusting in the agreement. If not, I'll go print it out."

Julian held the withered roses, a smile playing at his lips. "Still throwing a tantrum with me?"

He sighed and stroked my long hair with practiced ease. "Lila, I'm very tired. Stop fighting with me, okay?"

Three consecutive days of seven times a night---any man would be exhausted.

I stubbornly moved the laptop toward him and looked at him seriously. "Julian, I'm serious about this."

Julian seemed utterly exhausted. Without even looking, he pushed the laptop back toward me, walked past me, and lay down on the sofa. "Lila, make that herbal soup from the fridge for me."

Since I stopped loving him, I could prepare meals for him without batting an eye.

I was even more worried than his mistresses about him not performing well.

If he couldn't perform, I'd have to go buy quality sperm.

But with purchased sperm, I couldn't see what the donor looked like.

I wanted a smart, beautiful baby.

So I endured the mockery from his friends and cooked meals and made soups for him every time.

But now, I already had what I wanted in my belly. I didn't need to play the role of the numb, considerate wife anymore.

"If you think there are no problems, I'll go downstairs to print it."

Julian's closed eyes suddenly opened, revealing complex emotions. "You want to divorce me that badly?"

I nodded without hesitation.

Honestly, Julian was disgusting. After all, he'd slept with so many women.

No normal woman could tolerate him.

If it weren't for my obsession with having a child, I wouldn't have put up with this until now.

Julian sat up from the sofa and beckoned me over. "Bring it here. Let me see."

After I handed it to him, he barely glanced at it. "Go print it then."

Without a moment's hesitation, I transferred the file to my phone and immediately put on my coat to go downstairs.

As I closed the door, Julian leaned back on the sofa and smiled at me, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

When I returned from the print shop, I saw Julian and a woman playing around in the kitchen.

"You're mean! I'm in so much pain."

The woman pouted and reached to pinch Julian's face.

Not only was the man not angry, he leaned down, grabbed her waist, and kissed her.

What a scene of passionate affection---just like an idol drama.

Unfortunately, the scene was interrupted by the sound of me opening the door.

Julian's hand on Summer's waist suddenly dropped, though his expression remained gentle. "You're back."

Summer acted as if she didn't see me, grabbing the fabric on his chest and mumbling something about not having kissed enough.

Julian glanced at me. "Summer's been spoiled by me. Don't be angry."

In the three years of our marriage, Summer was the one who had stayed with him the longest and whom he doted on the most.

I nodded and walked over with the divorce agreement. "I already signed at the print shop. Once you sign, we can go on Monday."

Watching Summer acting coquettish in his arms, I considerately added another line.

"I can move out today to make room for you two."

Summer's eyes immediately lit up. "Can I move in tonight then?"

Julian tapped her on the head. "Why don't you say hello to Lila?"

Both Summer and I froze, not expecting him to ignore both of our questions.

On the second day after I stopped loving him, I rented an apartment that had remained empty all these years.

I didn't like any place that carried Julian's presence.

"Sign first. I'll go pack my things."

I placed the documents on the table and turned to get my suitcase from the balcony.

"You don't care about me at all!"

Amid Summer's soft accusation, a warm body pressed against my back.

Julian held me with one hand while reaching for the suitcase with the other. "Lila, still angry?"

I felt a bit disgusted and instinctively tried to push him away.

Instead, Julian pressed even closer. "About the seven times a night thing---you know about it? If you're angry, once I recover, we can challenge even more..."

"Don't touch me!"

I couldn't hold back and stepped on his foot.

The moment Julian felt the pain, I broke free from his embrace.

I used to cherish his embrace so much, but now I found it equally revolting.

His arms had held another woman just a second ago, yet now he was holding me and saying sweet words.

Shock flashed in Julian's eyes. He maintained the posture of holding me. "Lila, what will it take for you not to be angry?"

"If you don't want to go tomorrow, we can pick a better day. I'll go with you to get rid of the baby."

As he said this, he returned to his usual gentleness.

But Julian's gentleness was like a mud puddle that anyone could step in.

I suppressed the urge to retch and spoke. "No need. Just hurry up and sign. I'll make room for you two."

The curve of Julian's lips gradually turned downward. "Lila, I don't want this baby."

"Stop throwing tantrums. I'm serious."

"I'm serious too."

The darkness in Julian's eyes grew heavier, his aura increasingly cold. Just when I thought he would get angry---

The man smiled instead. "Let's wait until tomorrow. My friend's having a birthday party. You don't mind if I bring Summer, do you?"

Julian was smiling, but I felt no warmth from it.

Whether he smiled or not had nothing to do with me anymore. I shook my head. "Whatever."

Julian turned around without hesitation, strode over, and princess-carried the crying girl. His voice was louder than usual at home.

"Little crybaby, I just said two sentences to Lila and your eyes are already swollen from crying. From now on, you're only allowed to cry in bed."

Summer nodded through her sobs.

As the two left, Summer seemed to speak casually. "Huh, there are roses here too?"

"But they're not as big as the ones you gave me, and not as red as mine..."

The rest of her words were swallowed by the closing door.

I walked over and threw the flowers, vase and all, straight into the trash.

Julian seemed to be deliberately showing off to me. He updated his social media eighteen times in one night.

Every single post was about his intimate moments with Summer.

Since we were getting divorced anyway, there was no point keeping him.

I immediately blocked him. When I switched to my alternate account to block him there too, I discovered those eighteen posts were set to "visible only to me."

I'd created this alternate account when I still loved him, to stalk his social media.

Now that I didn't love him anymore, there was no need for it to exist.

After I deleted the alternate account, I started packing my things.

By midnight, all my belongings had been moved to the rented house.

For the first time, I felt the air was so fresh, without that rotting stench---only the presence of me and my baby.

Lying on the sofa that wasn't made up yet, I slept beautifully.

Remembering I needed to ask him when we could register for divorce at the government office, I unblocked Julian to send him a message, only to get a red exclamation mark.

I didn't think much of it. After tidying up briefly, I went to the supermarket to buy household supplies.

Even though I didn't know if the baby in my belly was a boy or girl, I couldn't help but linger in the baby products section.

I picked out a few pieces of clothing, wondering if this child would like them.

As I was hesitating whether to buy a pink baby bottle, I heard a familiar voice.

"The milk's over there. Don't go that way..."

It was Summer's coquettish voice.

Then Julian appeared, directly going through the items in my shopping cart. "Geez, Lila, why is your taste so bad? Are you sure the baby will like these things?"

"This outfit is for a five-month-old baby. The child won't even be able to wear it after birth. And you're buying these things when you've just gotten pregnant?"

"Lila, do you even like... our child?"

Julian's pursed lips held emotions I couldn't understand.

I didn't know from which day he started looking at me like this.

Every time I asked him what was wrong, Julian would open his mouth but say nothing for a long time.

Then he cheated.

I put down the bottle and asked him, "Have you signed the agreement? When are you available to register the divorce?"

Julian sneered. "Do you really like this baby that much, or are you still throwing a tantrum with me?"

The man's expression was cold, completely inconsistent with his usual gentle persona.

Even when Summer came over with red eyes, he didn't comfort her.

I looked at the woman acting coquettish with Julian in public, asking for kisses, and the corner of my mouth twitched. "Does it matter?"

"You can only choose one---me or the baby."

People who didn't know better would think Julian was such a devoted man.

I stroked my belly. "The baby, of course."

A blood relative who would love me without any reason.

I'd been longing for it for so, so long.

Julian was merely a scumbag I used to love.

How could he compare to the baby?

Suddenly, Julian pulled Summer close by the waist. "She has my seed in her belly too, but I only want the child Summer gives me."

A flash of surprise crossed Summer's eyes, but she quickly hugged him back joyfully, calling him "honey."

"Lila, I don't like the child you're giving me."

These two sentences seemed to be squeezed through gritted teeth.

No one understood what he actually wanted.

"Oh, don't worry. This baby is for me. I absolutely won't let you take any responsibility for it."

"Good... very good." Julian said through clenched teeth. "Who knows if you'll use this baby to demand living expenses from me!"

"I'm taking you to the hospital right now to get rid of it!"