Chapter 1 — I Fake Pregnancy to Test My Husband's Love

My water broke and it was so painful that I was rolling on the floor, but my husband was blocking the door of the ambulance, not letting me get in.

“Please try harder, Tieu Nha's pregnancy is not stable, she is more dangerous than you!”

The Tieu Nha in his mouth is his two-month pregnant female assistant. Watching the ambulance carrying him and his Tieu Nha speed away, my heart also died. After that, he texted to say Tieu Nha and her mother were safe, then leisurely went home. Seeing me with a flat stomach and no one on the bed, he went crazy on the spot.

1

The stomach pain was as sharp as a dull knife, constantly churning in my body. I curled up on the cold floor, cold sweat on my forehead soaked my bangs, each strand stuck to my skin. Under my body, the pool of "amniotic fluid" was still spreading, soaking my house pants, bringing with it a cold feeling that penetrated my bones. The living room window was not closed, the night wind rushed in, blew up the curtains, and took away the last bit of warmth from my body. I heard the ambulance siren gradually fade away, eventually disappearing amid the noise of the city. That sound took away my last illusion. It also took away the last bit of friendship between me and Giang Than. My husband, Giang Than, recently used his hands, which I thought were the warmest in the world, to cling to the car door for dear life. The look on his face was one of impatience and panic that I had never seen before. But not because of me. He watched An Nha being held by another man, the "Tieu Nha" in his mouth, always weak, always in need of protection.

“Please try harder, Tieu Nha's pregnancy is not stable, she is more dangerous than you!”

That sentence was like a curse, echoing in my ears over and over again. I was "pregnant" with our baby for more than nine months, my water broke, and I was lying on the floor. As for Anya, his female assistant who was only two months pregnant, she was only bleeding slightly. In Giang Than's eyes, the wife who was about to give birth was me, yet I was not as important as the piece of meat in his assistant's belly. How ridiculous. But I couldn't smile, even pulling the corners of my lips felt like I was losing strength. The pain is real, the numb heart is also real. This meticulously planned "fake pregnancy" scene finally met its cruelest and most realistic ending. A year ago, I unexpectedly had a miscarriage. The child, who had not yet had time to take shape, quietly left me. On the cold hospital operating table, I signed the consent form alone. At that time, Giang Than was in the neighboring city, accompanying An Nha to handle an "urgent" project. I called him, my voice shaking so much that I couldn't speak. He just lost patience and said: "Lam Van, can you understand a little? I'm really busy, can't you handle such small things yourself?" A little small story. The loss of our first child was, in his eyes, just a small matter not worth mentioning. Waiting until he finally finished his "busy" business trip and returned home, I was scolded by my mother-in-law for several days.

“The hen doesn't know how to lay eggs!”

“If you can't even keep a child, what's the use of the Giang family marrying you!”

Those harsh words were like poisoned knives, piercing my heart. And my husband, who The man I thought would protect me from the rain and wind, just stood next to me and said one simple sentence: "Mom, please stop saying a few words." No consolation, no guilt, not even heartache. From that moment, I understood that this house, this man, was no longer worth me continuing to pay for it. Despair was like vines wrapping tightly around me, almost suffocating me. At that moment, a crazy idea began to take root in my head. I want to use a "child" to bet the last game on our marriage. I want to see how many positions in Giang Than's heart I, or more precisely, me and his child, still occupy. I bought a silicone fake belly online that was enough to make the real thing look fake. Every month, I carefully change to a larger size. I researched all the reactions during pregnancy, falsifying every prenatal examination report. Giang Than didn't have any doubts about my increasingly protruding belly, or perhaps, he never noticed at all. Only when his mother-in-law reminded him repeatedly in his ear did he pretend to come and care for me a few words. My best friend, To Tinh, scolded me for being crazy and advised me more than once.

"Van Van, because of this kind of scum man, it's not worth letting you trample yourself like that."

“Divorce directly, let him leave empty-handed, that is the right way!”

But I'm not willing. I'm not willing to let my youth and years of paying the price just be thrown to the dogs. I want to let him crush all my illusions with his own hands, I want to make him lose to the point of defeat. Today is the final challenge I set. I calculated the exact time Giang Than was about to get off work, intentionally "fell" in the living room, then punctured the water bag hidden in his clothes. Even the ambulance was called by me. I lay on the floor, enduring physical discomfort, waiting for my judge. Giang Than has returned. His appearance, his blocking, his words "try harder", completely sentenced me to death. The cold on the floor penetrated through my bones and went straight to my heart. I closed my eyes, the past events flashed before my eyes like a torchlight. The sweetness that once existed, now looking back, seems like a giant irony. Also good. The illusion has been broken, I should wake up. I slowly pushed myself up from the cold floor.