It wasn’t until I repeated myself three times that they finally heard me.
The room instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, the air thick with tension.
“Kenneth raised his hand and gently pressed it on my shoulder, lowering his voice.
“Shannon threw it out. She said it had bacteria. She was just thinking of your well–being.”
Thinking of me? He knew perfectly well that it was something my mother had left behind.
I wasn’t going to eat it, and I certainly didn’t ask Shannon to. So who gave her the right to throw it away?
Then again, he was always quick to lecture me, never to offer the respect I deserved.
Let alone care about the things I cared about.
Tears streamed down my face, one after another. Kenneth was stunned for a moment and reached out, trying to touch my cheek.
I slapped his hand away.
Just then, Shannon let out a shrill cry.
She stepped in front of Kenneth, her face full of righteous fury.
“Regina, I was the one who threw out the pickles. If you’ve got a problem, come at me.”
Connor wasn’t pleased either. He muttered, “It’s just a jar of lousy pickles. Is it really worth making everyone upset over this?”
Anthony’s face immediately darkened with irritation. “Shannon studied biology. She knows better than her, doesn’t she? Biting the hand that feeds you–doesn’t even recognize kindness.”
Everything they said stood in support of Shannon. To them, I was just being petty and unreasonable.
They even looked at Kenneth with sympathy, as if to say, “How did you end up marrying someone like this?”
But I didn’t care. I didn’t care about any of it. I only cared about the pickles my mom made for me.
Tears hit the floor like raindrops as I knelt down, reaching into the trash to retrieve them.
Kenneth panicked and tried to pull me up. “What are you doing? You’re pregnant!”
Shannon’s eyes flickered. She rushed over to kneel beside me and reached in too, her voice choked with tears. “It’s my fault. Let me help you get them back.”
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But despite her seemingly sincere words, her fingertips jabbed harshly into the back of my hand.
The pain made me flinch. I instinctively shoved her away.
She fell backward, looking disheveled and pitiful, her face streaked with tears.
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In the next second, everyone in the living room rushed to her side, shielding her like a human wall and staring at me with hostility.
Kenneth snapped at me, voice full of anger. “Regina! What is wrong with you?!”
I said nothing. I simply continued pulling the pickles out of the trash, piece by piece.
Kenneth’s expression turned stormy. He grabbed me by the arm as if to seek justice for Shannon.
“Regina, apologize!”
I stared at him calmly, refusing to back down even a little.
This wasn’t the first time Kenneth twisted the truth. In the past, I had been too timid–afraid to worry my mother–so I
endured it all.
But now, my only family was gone. I no longer wanted to tolerate anything.
“Kenneth, let’s get a divorce.”
The moment those words left my mouth, Kenneth’s face instantly darkened.
We’d argued and fought in our two years of marriage, but I had never once mentioned divorce.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Shannon cut in with a soft, delicate tone.
“Regina, as a woman, let me give you some advice. Don’t try to play hard to get. Your belly’s already showing–do you really think you’ll go through with a divorce? What are you going to do, abort the baby?”
Her words were like a stone thrown into a still lake, stirring up waves of judgment. Kenneth hated being threatened more than anything.
He stared at me, his voice filled with disappointment. “Regina, you’ve been spoiled. Reflect on your behavior at
home.”
With that, he grabbed Shannon and stormed out the door.
Within seconds, the entire house fell silent. I was the only one left.
I gathered up the pickles and heard my phone buzz.
It was a text reminder from the hospital–my appointment was in five days.
I quietly went back to my room, packed my documents and necessities, and waited for that day to come.
But the next day, my friend called in a panic.
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“Regina, turn on the news–now!”
I opened a media app, and right at the top was a paparazzi photo of Kenneth.
He and Shannon were walking hand–in–hand on the beach, looking like a blissful couple. Shannon’s face glowed with happiness–and on her waist, she had tattooed Kenneth’s name.
The media also noticed that the wedding ring Kenneth had worn for two years had disappeared.
Naturally, speculation about the state of our marriage exploded.
