Chapter 2 - 2

"𝑀𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑…"

That was the exact thought that crossed Jiedi's mind as she sat on the bench in the long queue, waiting to see the doctor after collecting her card.

She adjusted her sitting position again and again...she had lost count...because she could not calm herself enough to stay still. Deep inside, she felt a disturbing pressure, and she knew something was not right with her body. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? 𝐎𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭?

Whatever it was, she was already at the doctor's door. She only prayed she would hear something her heart could survive, because judging by the intensity of what she was feeling, she didn't believe it was anything minor. She slowly lifted her head and opened her large, pale eyes, now red from pure worry and fear tangled deep inside her. She watched a woman come out of the doctor's office. After her, only two people were left before it would be her turn.

She followed the next woman with her eyes until she entered the office, then looked away, lowering her head to the side and closing her eyes as she felt that strange movement again inside her stomach. She stayed there, waiting quietly, her heart filling up with anxiety and fear about what she was about to hear. Almost twenty minutes passed before her name was called.

She stood up, adjusted the small veil hanging on her shoulder, and walked toward the doctor's office. She entered, forcing herself to stay calm so she could explain her condition clearly. She saw the name 𝐃𝐫. 𝐀𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐲𝐨 written boldly on the front of the white lab coat he was wearing.

She walked closer and sat down gently. Deep inside, she wished she could meet a doctor who understood Chinese even a little, so communication would be easier for both of them. She understood a bit of English she had picked up while living in Chongqing around other Africans, but she knew it wouldn't be enough for a proper conversation.

So she adjusted herself nervously and looked up at him when he opened his mouth and asked directly, "𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑚, 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑚?"

She avoided his eyes slightly, then spoke softly. She placed her hand on her stomach, which had been hard these past few days. Struggling to arrange her English, she said slowly,

"𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒,"

she added, using both hands to point at her stomach.

"𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦, 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ.

𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛.

𝑁𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟.

𝑁𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.

𝑂𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒."

The doctor studied her carefully, then smiled lightly at her explanation. He looked closely at her stomach and said she should remove her hands so he could see properly.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜 𝑓𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟?"

She nodded, watching his face closely.

He wrote a few notes in her file, placed it aside, and stood up.

Pointing at the examination bed, he said, "𝐺𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝐿𝑖𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑜𝑝. 𝐿𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘."

She placed her jacket aside, stood up, and climbed onto the bed, her heart jumping wildly with confusion and fear.

As she lifted her top, even before he placed his hand on her stomach, his eyes already confirmed it. She was pregnant...and clearly about five to six months along. He pressed gently but firmly on her abdomen while examining her, and immediately her stomach moved again.

He looked at her, removed his gloves, and asked, "𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑚, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢?"

She stared at him in shock, quickly pulling her top down and sitting up, looking at him as if she hadn't understood what he just said.

"𝐸ℎ?"

He returned to his seat and looked at her again.

"𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑚, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦?"

She shook her head slowly, trying not to panic, though his words were hitting her chest like heavy blows.

From her reaction, he understood immediately...she didn't know she was pregnant, or she wasn't prepared for it, or she didn't even have certainty about who was responsible for the pregnancy itself. He finished writing in her file, then looked at her and handed her a paper.

"𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑚, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡.

𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒. 𝐴𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑠. 𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟, 𝑔𝑜 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡."

He handed her another paper.

"𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑒...𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑏. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑢𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠. 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑠."

Her hands were shaking badly as she collected the papers. She stood up and walked out, her heart pounding painfully, heavy with shock.

She didn't leave the hospital. Instead, she went straight to the scanning unit, paid, and within a few minutes, she was holding the scan result in her hands.

Her eyes darkened suddenly, as if the world had gone black. With great difficulty, she found a plastic chair near the hospital exit and security post and collapsed into it. Her hands and legs trembled violently, and her heart raced with a level of panic she had never experienced before...not even when Sanli died.

She lifted the paper in her shaking hands and stared at it. Slowly, she opened it and began to read the contents, line by line, with the little high-school English she still remembered. Her eyes burned painfully, searching for tears, but none came. Word after word, she read through it carefully.

By the time she finished, tears finally filled her eyes. Even without fully understanding every word, the scan result confirmed what the doctor had said. It was the same kind of report she had seen before...the one they received when she was pregnant with Zulou.

So it was true. She was really pregnant.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰?

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰...𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧...𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝?

𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐥𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝?

Her heart sank completely.

Her life, truly, had fallen apart.

I, Jiedi...what kind of terrible situation have I fallen into, one I don't even understand?

That was when she finally broke down, bursting into deep, painful sobs that reflected the misery she was in. Inside her, the baby kick again and again, strong and active, as if it had been lying dormant for two whole years and had only just awakened.

She cried uncontrollably for a long time, not knowing how much time had passed, until her eyes and face became swollen before she could finally stand up and begin the journey back home.

When she got home, she made sure no one saw her. She went straight into her room, dropped her jacket, and lay down crying. She didn't come out again until the next morning.

At work, she was barely functioning. She worked absentmindedly, constantly on edge, feeling as though everyone could see what was happening inside her body. Everywhere she turned, she felt exposed and humiliated.

After work, she didn't go home. Instead, she went straight to another scanning center and did another test. The result was the same...she was pregnant. She went to yet another place. The result didn't change. From one scanning center to another, she received the same confirmation every time.

Eventually, she gathered herself and returned home, her mind completely drained. Now, fear and panic consumed her. She had confirmed it with her own eyes and through repeated tests...if this pregnancy was real and not something supernatural, then it had to be Sanli's child, the one he had left inside her. She knew, and her conscience bore witness, that she had never been with another man after her husband's death...not even in thoughts.

That night, she cried with a crushing heaviness in her chest, drowning in grief and despair.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲?

𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬' 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐪𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭? 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫?

In a very short time, worry and sorrow swallowed her life completely. She lost all peace, comfort, and emotional stability. Every day, she woke up in fear and spent the entire day trapped in anxiety. The pregnancy was now undeniable, growing steadily, developing just like any normal pregnancy would.

As time passed, she stopped moving freely among people. She became withdrawn, almost like a shadow. Her stomach had grown so visible that anyone who saw her could immediately tell she was pregnant.

𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐢 was thrown into deep shock and anger by the situation. At first, she refused to believe the rumors about Jiedi's pregnancy...until she confronted her directly. One look at Jiedi's face, the way she couldn't meet her eyes and only cried bitterly, confirmed everything.

There was no insult, no curse, no harsh accusation Mama Indei did not hurl at her. She scolded her, shamed her, and finally gathered people and publicly humiliated her in a way that left no one unaware of Jiedi's condition...even those who hadn't known before.

From that moment, Jiedi became a target...at work and at home. Some people mocked her, some pitied her, and others dismissed it as nothing, saying pregnancy without marriage was normal. The gossip continued relentlessly. At first, Jiedi tried to endure it, but gradually her strength failed her. There was nowhere she felt safe or at peace. The world felt heavy and dark around her.

Her greatest fear...one that kept her in constant panic...was that Mama Indei would inform her parents and Aunty about her condition. And with that fear, a new wave of anxiety and torment took hold of her life.

Slowly, steadily, time kept moving forward. But in Jiedi's life, each passing day only dragged her deeper into fear, anxiety, and suffocating distress. Life had become unbearably harsh, and the pregnancy was now far advanced...she could go into labor at any moment.

Every day, her prayer was that the child inside her would be born lifeless, so she could finally have peace, gather herself, and return home. She knew she could never stand before her parents with this pregnancy...or with whatever would come from it...let alone face her siblings, whom she knew would never accept her or believe her. Now that they were involved in public life, they would never tolerate anything that might stain the image they believed they carried as the eldest.

Then another blow came.

In broad daylight, right at her workplace, she was dismissed...without even waiting for the end of the month or paying her salary.

She begged the manager, apologizing repeatedly, promising she could still work despite the pregnancy. But he turned a blind eye and fired her, giving her only a few hours to pack and leave the hotel premises, since the staff lived within the workplace. She returned home immediately after enduring humiliation, whispered accusations, and open contempt from her coworkers and people around the hotel.

By then, even crying could no longer ease her heart. Pain and despair had emptied her completely.

So she gathered her belongings and left. Without hesitation, she headed straight to where she could get a vehicle to take her to the station and buy a ticket back to 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶.

Once she got into the vehicle, her heart grew unbearably heavy. She couldn't even cry anymore. But there was no avoiding it...she had to go home and face the new fate that awaited her.

Their vehicle stayed at the station for an entire day. She remained seated in one place as day turned into night. It wasn't until the middle of the night that they finally set off.

Dawn met them on the road. Daylight followed. Evening came and passed as they continued the long journey. Near nightfall, they finally arrived in Shaanxi, and everyone disembarked.

At 5:24 a.m., a taxi dropped her at the gate of her family home. She was surprised to find the gate open. As she stepped out, she handed the driver the fare she had already taken from her bag along the way, then quickly went inside without stopping long enough for anyone in the neighborhood to notice her.

The area was silent...empty and dim, though not fully dark.

She adjusted the worn jacket on her shoulders, dragged her suitcase and plastic bags into the house, her heart pounding violently. Even so, she trusted that her parents would not accuse her of wrongdoing. They were the ones who raised her; they knew her character and what she was...and was not...capable of, no matter where she went, even far beyond Chongqing.

Seeing a new, polished motorcycle at the entrance made her glance toward the inner door, her heart nearly breaking as she realized that either 𝗞𝗮𝗶-𝗚𝗲𝗴𝗲 or 𝗟𝗲𝗲-𝗚𝗲𝗴𝗲 was inside the house. She released a thin, shaky greeting as she stepped into the courtyard, carrying her belongings like a refugee returning from exile.

Aunty, who was helping Mama out of the bathroom, responded to the greeting automatically, without even pausing to identify who had spoken. All her attention was focused on Mama, whom she was supporting...Mama could barely stand, as her body had grown extremely weak over the past few days.

When they stepped fully into the courtyard, Aunty lifted her head and returned the greeting again...then her eyes fell on Jiedi, who immediately shifted to her mother, whose appearance had completely changed under the weight of pain and illness.

Tears filled Jiedi's eyes, sinking deep with all the hardship life had dealt her. Her legs suddenly felt weak and heavy as she moved toward them, unable to properly meet the eyes that were now fixed on her.

Aunty's legs nearly gave way from shock and dread. In a trembling, confused voice, she said, "𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖… 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?"

Hearing this, Mama...who had barely been aware of her surroundings...tightened her grip on Aunty's hand and slowly opened her eyes, trying to see more clearly. Her gaze dropped to the swollen belly in front of Jiedi.

She shifted slightly and whispered weakly, in pain, "𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬?"

Aunty couldn't respond. Her eyes were locked on Jiedi's heavy belly.

"𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬? 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡? 𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑? 𝑊𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?"

Aunty swallowed hard and held Mama more firmly, feeling her own hands go cold and start to tremble from the shock of what she was seeing so early in the morning.

With great difficulty, she helped Mama to her room, trying to lay her gently on the bedding she had prepared. Mama pulled back slightly and turned her head, still staring at Jiedi, who remained frozen where she stood, drained of all strength and courage.

"𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖? 𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?"

Only then did Jiedi force her legs to move. She dragged herself forward, collapsed in front of Mama, and broke down into a deep, wrenching sob. Her entire heart burned with pain, shame, fear, and sorrow.

Her crying confirmed it to Mama...this was truly Jiedi, and she had come back carrying a pregnancy.

In a shaking, frightened voice, Aunty asked, "𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖… 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡?"

Without argument, Jiedi slowly lifted her red, swollen eyes. She couldn't look at Aunty. Her voice came out hoarse and broken. "𝑌𝑒𝑠."

"𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛… 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦?"

Again, she answered, "𝑌𝑒𝑠…"

"𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝐶ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑞𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦? 𝐷𝑖𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑢𝑠 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔?"

She slowly shook her head and said, "𝑁𝑜, 𝐴𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟..."

Her words were cut off by Mama collapsing with a loud thud. Lee's voice rose sharply, filled with panic.

Aunty rushed toward Mama, calling her name frantically. "𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐮! 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐮! 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛't 𝑑𝑖𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝐽𝑖𝑒𝑑𝑖 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝐴𝑛𝑡𝑢, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒...𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒. 𝑂𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒."

Aunty burst into tears, calling Mama's name over and over as Mama began to lose consciousness.

Jiedi was thrown into fresh panic. She rushed to Mama as well, crying out her name, her own body shaking violently...she herself didn't feel well anymore.

Lee's face hardened with fury, disgust, and heartbreak as he glared at Jiedi. "𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡' 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝑌𝑜𝑢'𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑓𝑜𝑟...𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑙𝑙 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑓. 𝐺𝑒𝑡 𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐼 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢...𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔."

The rage and bitterness in his voice, and the way he stepped toward her, made Jiedi shrink back, retreating to the side as silent, broken sobs tore through her chest.

They carried Mama into the room. Aunty hovered over her in panic, crying uncontrollably, terrified of what might happen to Antu and crushed by the disgrace Jiedi had brought home.

All the water they sprinkled on Mama, all their attempts to revive her, only made her condition worse. Her body became more unsettled, her breathing erratic. Everyone panicked. Left with no choice, Lee pulled out his phone and called Kai.

It had been a long time since Kai had come home. He only returned that morning because of the heavy rain overnight...he was worried about the unfinished building in the compound. That was why he had insisted on adding a room and a bathroom. He had been planning to marry a second wife and bring his bride there, to live alongside Aunty and Mama.

By the time Kai arrived, Mama was already fading badly. Yet no one made any move to take her to the hospital. Instead, a fresh crisis erupted among them, all centered on the belief that Jiedi was the cause of everything that had happened to Mama.

Kai swore fiercely that Jiedi would leave the house with the pregnancy. They would never allow her to stay under the same roof after the shock of an illegitimate pregnancy had nearly killed their mother. They would not let her ruin the family name they had struggled so hard to build, especially after she had gone to Chongqing and, in their eyes, thrown away her dignity and worth.

Lee supported Kai completely and insisted she return to wherever she had come from with the pregnancy.

Jiedi begged them, crying bitterly and pleading through unbearable pain, swearing she had never committed adultery. But no one listened. Instead, their anger only grew. Lee was so furious he wanted to beat her, and it was only Aunty...crying uncontrollably...who held him back, voicing her own anguish as well.

Jiedi clung to them again, begging them to bring Mama out and take her to the hospital. That was when Lee lashed out, stomping toward her in rage and shouting, "𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑎 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙? 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓, 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠?"

At that moment, Jiedi's crying broke down completely. All she wanted now was to tell her mother the truth. She wanted to assure her mother...who was fighting for her life...that she was not ruined, not the disgrace they believed her to be.

She crawled toward Aunty, begging her desperately.

"𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝐴𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑎. 𝐼 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟, 𝐼 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟, 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒. 𝐴𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦, 𝑚𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑡...𝑖𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐼 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑆𝑎𝑛𝑙𝑖'𝑠. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝐴𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦, 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒"

She collapsed into painful sobs, sinking to the floor, because there was no comfort, no mercy, not even the smallest sign that anyone believed her.

The chaos she found herself in after returning home was beyond anything she had imagined. She received no kindness or compassion from her brothers or even from Aunty. In the end, severe pain began to spread through her body...she knew something was wrong...but the turmoil around her gave her no space to rest or prepare, not even if labor was approaching.

The humiliation and cruelty her brothers inflicted on her would never leave her heart. They made it clear she would never raise the child in their house, let alone give birth there. They even said that if she delivered the baby, they would give it something to drink so it would die...so she would be free of raising a fatherless child, and the child itself would be spared a life of shame and rejection.

The scandal and disgrace spread quickly through the neighborhood. People came, some pretending to check on Mama, but really to confirm with their own eyes the "𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚" Jiedi had returned with from Chongqing.

Never in her life had Jiedi cried over losing her father or losing Sanli the way she cried that day. She spent the whole day drowning in sorrow and regret for ever leaving for Chongqing. If she had stayed with her parents, this pregnancy would have surfaced there, and no one would have treated her with such cruelty.

Her eyes were so swollen she could barely see.

***

Late at night, when Lee and Kai finally left the house, Jiedi forced herself into her mother's room and collapsed in front of her with great difficulty, wracked by severe pain.

Tears streamed down her face as she slowly reached out with trembling hands and touched her mother, squeezing her eyes shut as more tears spilled over.

She wanted to cry aloud when she saw how gently her mother was breathing...a sign she was slightly better...but she couldn't. The pain in her body had grown unbearable. She struggled to adjust her position, drenched in sweat, feeling agony tear through every part of her body.

Clutching her mother's hand tightly, she let out a low, tortured groan, whispering the names of God above again and again through the pain.

Aunty was in her own room, burning with a severe fever brought on by the shock of the disaster that had struck them. She had no idea what was happening to Jiedi.

Severe, unbearable labor pains tore through Jeidi relentlessly.

Her body was completely drenched in sweat.

By then, Mama had begun to open her eyes in intense pain. She could hear her daughter struggling through agonizing labor, yet there was nothing she could do for her...no strength left, no one else to help.

Tears of pain and deep compassion slid down Mama's cheeks. With great effort, she moved her hand toward Jeidi's and gently held it, her eyes filling with burning tears.

Jeidi felt her mother's touch, but she could not speak or even turn to look at her. All she could do was release broken, tortured breaths, as if her life itself was being torn from her body. In that moment, she felt she might die from the pain, and part of her longed for it...to finally rest from a life filled with nothing but hardship and sorrow. Another powerful contraction seized her, her eyes turning red as sweat soaked her again from head to toe.

Through sheer endurance and agony, she began to pray, knowing that the prayer of a woman in labor is answered.

"𝑂 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑.

𝑂 𝐺𝑜𝑑, 𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒...𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒.

𝑆𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒, 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑚."

She wanted to pray for her mother and for her son Zulou as well, but Jiedi barely had the strength to ask God for mercy as the baby pushed forward. At that very moment, God granted her just enough strength to grip Mama's hand tightly, helping her through the final agony as the child emerged.

The baby slipped out completely...and immediately cried with a strong, healthy cry.

Jeidi released a deep, exhausted breath. With trembling hands, she reached for the baby and pulled him close to her chest. Slowly, with great effort, she opened her eyes and checked...he was a boy. Warm tears flowed down her face. She thanked God for the child she had been given, though deep inside she had hoped for a girl, believing a daughter might face life with a little more strength against the cruelty and stigma of being called a "𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝."

The baby's cries filled the entire house. Startled, Aunty rushed in, calling Jeidi's name.

She stared at her in shock and pity.

"𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓… 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛?"

She quickly went back to her room, brought a clean razor, and returned to cut the baby's cord, shining her phone's flashlight on the newborn's face.

She had no words. In a single day, fate had completely turned their lives upside down. All she could do was hope He would give them the strength to endure this trial.

She heated water in the middle of the night, returned, and carefully cleaned the baby until he was spotless. Then she gave the remaining water to Jeidi, who slowly bathed herself and returned.

Jeidi drank some of the hot water...there was no food, nothing else to eat. They sat together in silence, heavy and exhausted, no one speaking.

Jeidi sat beside Mama's mattress, her swollen eyes fixed on the baby in her arms. The room was dark; she could barely see him, yet she kept staring.

She felt her mother's hand rest gently on her shoulder.

She turned slowly, her eyes heavy with pain and fatigue, and looked at Mama in the darkness.

In a weak, hoarse voice, she said, "𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑎… 𝐼 𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑏𝑜𝑦."

Mama released a soft, shallow breath, barely audible. Slowly, she slid her hand from Jeidi's shoulder and struggled to open her mouth. In the frail voice of someone deeply ill, she called Jeidi's name.

𝐍𝐁

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠...𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐙𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨...𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐙𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐉𝐢𝐞𝐝𝐢 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐢𝐛𝐨. 😀