It was my birthday today. Had William forgotten?
Once he cupped my face, his eyes full of love.
He said that my birthday was the greatest day in the world.
Nowadays, in William’s mind, today was not my birthday, but the day of that woman’s maternity checkup.
I cried until I couldn’t breathe and slumped to the floor.
Wiping my red, swollen eyes, I got up and walked to the kitchen to cook myself a simple meal.
Looking at the food on the table, I had no appetite. This was my first birthday without William.
Maybe they knew each other before my last birthday?
When did they get together? It looked like they had been together for a couple of months.
I felt a chill when I thought of William and that woman having sex and then he would kiss me too.
I finished eating and was washing the dishes when I heard the sound of the door.
There was a rustle behind me. William’s hands encircled my waist from behind.
“Honey, why didn’t you wait for me?”
There was a smell of baby soap on his body. It must be that woman’s. A wave of nausea washed over me.
Unlike usual, I pushed him away immediately.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
William looked perplexed and took out his phone, pretending not to know what had happened.
“I had a busy day. And my phone died.”
I couldn’t help but sneer. “What a coincidence. You are busy on my birthday.”
A trace of abnormality flashed in William’s eyes. He then returned to normal.
He made a show of pulling out an elaborate jewelry box from behind.
“Happy Birthday, honey!
“Silly girl, do you think I forgot your birthday? How could I?”
Instead of looking surprised, I took the jewelry box in silence.
Opening it gently, I smiled.
Inside the box lay a gold bracelet.
It looked familiar. It reminded me of that woman next to William at the hospital.
