Chapter 3

Ethan turned around in disbelief.

The moment he saw me, he was too shocked to speak.

Clatter!

The fried fish slipped from his fork and fell heavily to the floor, splattering grease across the table.

I took a deep breath and thanked the receptionist calmly.

“Thank you for bringing me here. You should go back and eat your lunch.”

I set the thermal container on the table.

Then I put on a warm, gracious smile and took out the fennel dumplings.

“Ethan, why do you look so pale?”

“Are you just too surprised to see me? Your mother said that after your last visit, you kept talking about how you hadn’t gotten to eat fennel dumplings. I happened to have some free time after my prenatal appointment, so I made a batch and brought them over. Try them. Are they good?”

Then I turned my attention to Lily.

I picked up two dumplings and placed them in her bowl with a smile.

“You’re Lily Bennett, right?”

“Eat more. I brought plenty. It wouldn’t be right for Ethan to keep eating secretly by himself.”

“It must have been hard for a young woman to leave home and come all the way here to build a career. These are fennel dumplings. Ethan must have brought you some before. You should be used to the taste by now, right?”

Lily’s eyes immediately turned red.

She lowered her head and took a bite of the dumpling.

Then she forced a smile.

“I’m used to them. Thank you.”

I put several more dumplings into her bowl.

“Here. If you’re used to them, eat more.”

“I should thank you, too. If it weren’t for you, I never would’ve known that Ethan, such a picky eater, could enjoy sweet tofu pudding and savory rice dumplings.”

“But dumplings are like people’s tastes. Nothing beats the flavor of home. As for everything else, Ethan was probably only interested because it was new. After a few bites, he probably got tired of it. Isn’t that right, Lily?”

Tears slipped down Lily’s cheeks.

She answered me in a choked voice.

“Yes.”

I touched my stomach.

“It’s not easy for me to bring him lunch with this belly. I hope it’s a boy.”

“Girls are too much trouble. What I fear most is that when my daughter reaches the age where she should be dating properly, she’ll refuse to do that and get involved in something shameful instead. If that happens, Ethan and I won’t be able to face anyone.”

“Lily, you’ll be a mother someday too. Don’t you think I’m right?”

Even Lily wasn’t foolish enough to miss the sarcasm this time.

She lowered her head and began to sob quietly.

She didn’t answer.

I turned toward Ethan, who had remained silent the entire time.

From beginning to end, he had kept his eyes fixed on Lily, his expression full of concern. He hadn’t spared his pregnant fiancée a single glance or a single word.

My heart clenched painfully.

I was about to say something else when Ethan suddenly grabbed my hand.

“Have you had enough?”

“You’re pregnant and running around everywhere. Go home! Stop interrupting my work!”

I gave a bitter laugh as I looked at the man I had loved for seven years.

He was glaring at me with a vicious expression, all because he wanted to protect another woman.

It was so unfamiliar.

And so ridiculous.

Unable to hold back my hurt, I questioned him.

“I’m making a scene?”

“A woman who knows a man has a fiancée and a child, yet still throws herself at him. A man who knows he has a fiancée and a child, yet still strays. And a pregnant woman kept in the dark.”

“Which one of us do you think is actually making a scene?”

“Ethan, why do you think I came here? You know exactly why, don’t you?”

Ethan was rendered speechless.

He could only express his anger through silence.

I lifted my eyes to Lily.

“You know exactly why I’m here too, don’t you, Ms. Bennett?”