Chapter 3 — After Menopause, I Found Out I Was Pregnant

His movements stopped.

“Who did you call on the balcony last night?”

I asked directly. His expression immediately changed. A flash of panic flashed through his eyes, but was quickly hidden.

“It's just a company matter.” He replied. “There's a project that's having some problems.”

I stared into his eyes.

“Which project is the person in charge of ‘she’?”

Chu Chi Minh was completely stiff. His lips moved slightly but for a long time he could not say a word.

“Tan Tranh…”

He finally opened his mouth, his voice carrying a hint of pleading.

“Can you stop asking?”

“I beg you.”

“Some things… I don't know if it would be better.”

That statement completely confirmed the speculation in my heart. He has people outside.

That “she”… is his mistress.

There was a problem with my body and maybe even a serious illness, so he quickly wanted to break up with that woman? Or… is my illness related to hers? In an instant, countless details of dog blood rushed through my head. My heart felt like it was immersed in ice water, cold and painful.

“Chu Chi Minh.”

I looked at him and slowly said each word:

“We are finished.”

Having finished speaking, I didn't look at him again, turned around and went straight into the bedroom and slammed the door. I heard him standing outside the door for a long time. A heavy sigh followed, followed by the sound of the door closing. In the house... I'm alone again. This time, I didn't cry anymore. Tears don't solve any problem. I need proof. I need to know what happened in the end. My eyes slowly stopped on the bedside table. There is a spare phone belonging to Chu Chi Minh. He has two phones, one for work, one for personal use. He never lets go of his work phone, but he doesn't use his personal phone much and sometimes forgets it at home. My heart started beating fast. This is the opportunity. I picked up the phone. There is a password. It is a four-digit pattern password. I took a deep breath and started trying. Our marriage anniversary? Wrong. His birthday? Wrong. My birthday? Also wrong. Son's birthday? With shaking hands, I drew four familiar numbers. Phone unlocked. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I opened the call history. Recent calls are all normal relatives and friends. The phone call last night... he must have used his work phone to call. I kept WeChat open. His WeChat is strangely clean, with not much chat history. There's no pinning anyone to the top, nor are there any suspicious female avatars. Could it be... I guessed wrong? I was not satisfied and opened the browser again. Search history appears before your eyes. The moment I saw those words clearly, my breathing almost stopped. Fingers began to shake uncontrollably. Each search item is clearly displayed on the screen.

“Can men who have had a vasectomy still get women pregnant?”

“Is the success rate of reattachment surgery after vasectomy high?”

“After a vasectomy, if the wife becomes pregnant, whose baby is it?”

“What do you need to prepare for a paternity test?”

“How will an illegitimate child be handled by the law?”

Each line, each word was like a sharp knife stabbing straight into my eyes. Vasectomy… Paternity test… Ten years before, after When his son was born, Chu Chi Minh had a vasectomy procedure. It was a joint decision by both of us. He said he loved me and didn't want me to have to endure the pain of giving birth again. At that time, I was so moved that I thought I had married the best man in the world. For many years, we have always avoided pregnancy very carefully. But now… My hand unconsciously placed itself on my stomach. Post-menopausal bleeding... Dr. Vuong's heavy expression... The words "very special condition"... Chu Chi Minh's pale face and resentful eyes... A thought so wild that I didn't even dare to believe it, began to take root in my mind and grow crazy. Are you pregnant? While Chu Chi Minh had a vasectomy many years ago… I was pregnant? That's why Dr. Vuong felt that this was so special that he called him in alone? That's why Chu Chi Minh looked at me with those eyes? He doubts me. Suspected I was having an affair. Suspecting that the baby in my belly is not his. The bedroom door was suddenly pushed open with great force. Chu Chi Minh stood at the door, his eyes bloodshot like an angry beast. He walked towards me step by step, his eyes fixed on the phone in my hand.

“Who gave you permission to touch my phone?”

His voice was hoarse, low, dangerous. I took a step back in panic, the phone slipped from my hand and fell to the carpet. But he didn't bend down to pick it up. He walked straight in front of me, looking down from above.

“Tan Tranh.”

“Tell me.”

"That evil thing in your stomach...who exactly belongs to it?"

Extermination. Those two words were like two red-hot nails driven straight into my heart. It's bloody. More than twenty years of husband and wife, eighteen years of raising children together...all in this moment he crushed them into ashes. My body trembled violently with anger and humiliation.

“Chu Chi Minh.”

I raised my head and looked straight into his blood-filled eyes.

“Can you say that again?”

My voice is very light. Cold as if just picked up from an ice cellar. Perhaps my reaction caused him to pause for a moment, and the madness in his eyes also calmed down a bit. But very quickly, those doubts swallowed him again.

“Am I wrong?”

He laughed coldly.

“Tan Tranh, please explain to me!”

“I had a vasectomy, how did I make you pregnant?”

“Who the hell did you sleep with behind my back?”

Every word he said was like a slap on my face. I laughed. Laughing until tears flowed down.

"Explain?"

“Chu Chi Minh, in your eyes, am I, Tan Tranh, that kind of flirtatious woman?”

“After seeing those search lines, my first thought was not that the surgery might fail, nor that the doctor misdiagnosed…”

“But I cheated on you?”

“In your heart, is my dignity that cheap?”

My questions made him speechless. His chest rose and fell violently, clearly fighting fiercely inside. But in the end, that pitiful bit of reason was still swallowed by men's pride and suspicion.

“Surgery failed?”