The curtains moved slowly in the breeze, sliding open a glass door. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed the cool night air gently touching his skin. He was a man leaning back in a balcony chair, wrapped in a blanket that protected him from the cold night. It was warm enough to keep him company in the loneliness of the night.
His hair was not neatly combed as usual. His face looked up, the moonlight was very beautiful. Even too beautiful to be paired with darkness. But wasn't that what made it look perfect? The light would not be as beautiful if it were paired with brightness.
Sean tried to close his eyes. He didn't know how many times he had remembered Liora's words today. It was as if they refused to disappear from his mind. Since when?
"Sean, this medicine is for people who have trouble sleeping. It's like a sedative. It shouldn't be taken without a doctor's supervision."
"But I have to see the packaging first or at least know the prescription. So I don't make a mistake. Or you can take the medicine to the pharmacy, they can confirm the type and ingredients."
He pulled back the blanket that helped ward off the cold of the night, then stepped inside. He saw his wife's innocent face, which remained beautiful even without makeup. His hand gently touched his wife's forehead. He kissed her for a long time. His eyes shifted to his wife's bulging belly. His gaze stopped, and his eyes filled with tears. Trust me, I love you so much.
Sean held his wife tightly. He didn't know if she was really asleep or pretending to sleep at that moment. Did she notice my movements every night?
***
The elevator doors opened, the sound of the coffee machine and the aroma of freshly baked bread filling the room. The corners of her lips turned upward. She walked toward the dining table, her hands moving in circles over her stomach. Alexa swallowed, her eyes fixed on the food already laid out on the table. Everything looked incredibly appetizing. She pulled out a chair, ready to enjoy the meal. Her head moved from side to side as she took a bite of bread. With her mouth full, Alexa spoke.
"THIS IS SO DELICIOUS!" she said enthusiastically.
"Really?" Sean came over carrying a strawberry smoothie. He placed it in front of Alexa.
Alexa nodded, then continued eating. "Gia is a good cook."
Gia was one of Sean's assistants who was in charge of preparing breakfast.
Sean cleared his throat, adjusting his tie. "Ahem. Excuse me, WHO? GIA?"
Alexa glanced at him. "Why? It's not possible that you prepared it, right?"
Her lips pursed, seeing Alexa's sarcastic gaze, she forced a smile. Remember, pregnant women shouldn't get stressed.
"It's okay. Come on, eat. You have to eat a lot so our baby will be healthy. I can't wait to hold her. I want to play with her. I'll buy her anything she wants. I'll prepare a special room for her. Oh, how about we buy some baby supplies now? Your belly is getting bigger. I'm afraid that later, you'll be more..." His hand moved to take a piece of bread that he put on Alexa's plate. Every now and then, Sean stole glances at his wife.
Alexa exhaled roughly. "Sean."
His lips pursed as he looked at Alexa. Before he could finish his sentence, Alexa always cut him off.
"I'm only six months pregnant. Calm down. And anyway, since when have you cared about this child?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her conversation partner.
"I've always cared. You just don't know it." His voice was barely audible.
Alexa bit her lower lip as she saw the sad expression on Sean's face. There was a long silence, broken only by the sound of a fork scraping against the bottom of a plate. She spoke. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I mean..."
Sean immediately turned to face her. Hearing the magic words coming from the mouth of this magical woman. Sean quickly cut Alexa off.
"It's okay. What you said is true. All this time, I really didn't care about you and our child. But I want to change for the better. Like you said back then. I've promised myself that I will treat her as best as I can. I will love this child with all my heart. I beg you, forgive me for all my mistakes and I will prove it to you. Stop thinking that I don't care about her. After all, she is my own flesh and blood, Lexie." His hand reached out to take Alexa's hand in front of him.
"Hm. How could I not mention it!? I always remember it." said Alexa.
"But you always remember the bad things, Lexie. Remember our beautiful moments!" said Sean.
Sean immediately remembered the last sentence he had said.
"OH WAIT!!!, OOPS. I think I made another mistake." he said, covering his mouth with both hands. He chuckled.
"You never make mistakes." Alexa turned her face away. She emphasized her last sentence.
Sean chuckled at her sarcastic tone. His laughter stopped when he looked at Alexa's innocent, makeup free face as she busily enjoyed her breakfast. She was very beautiful. Everyone who saw her would agree how beautiful Alexa was.
The corners of his lips curled slightly as he watched his wife devour the food he had made. Yes, Sean had made that food. Not just today, but every morning Sean prepared food for Alexa. After the incident where Alexa had almost eaten peanut butter on bread, Sean didn't want that to happen again.
***
"This one is better." Sean pointed to a pink baby bouncer.
Alexa took a deep breath. "Sean, we don't know if it's a girl or a boy yet. It's better to choose a neutral color."
"Buy two, three, four if necessary. Stop being so frugal, Lexie. I don't like it!. I'm not going to go broke just because I bought a baby bouncer." He said as he handed her a card.
Alexa chuckled. "Aren't you the one who's always liked the lower class?"
"Lexie." He growled.
Alexa had moved to the newborn clothing section. Her eyes sparkled as her hands deftly moved to select one item of clothing after another and put them in the basket.
"Lexie, this is cute." Sean patted Alexa on the shoulder and showed her what he had found.
Alexa sighed heavily. Her eyes looked lazily at this man. "That's a girl's shirt, Sean."
"I'M SURE OUR CHILD IS A GIRL." he said enthusiastically. He had already imagined what kind of daddy he would be to his daughter.
"Whatever you say." Alexa replied. She didn't have the energy to argue with her husband.
A few hours later
Her legs swung slowly at the edge of the park bench. Hanging in the fading afternoon air. She sighed deeply. She had been waiting for quite a while, but the man had not yet shown up.
After a tiring shopping trip, Alexa asked Sean to take her to the park. She wanted to breathe in the fresh air. They argued for quite a while, as Sean wanted Alexa to rest at home because he still had work to finish. Finally, Sean agreed to Alexa's request on the condition that he would pick her up at the park soon.
She walked through the city park, throwing away the plastic wrapper that had left ice cream on her lips. She picked flowers with her slender fingers. Then she tore the petals into small pieces that flew along her steps.
At the same time, Sean arrived in a hurry. His eyes darted around restlessly, scanning every corner for Alexa, whose phone had been off since earlier. Maybe Alexa was angry because she had been waiting for a long time.
She stopped for a moment at the side of the road. She bent down slightly, trying to pick up a fallen flower stem. In a split second, the sound of a horn broke the air. A car sped by.
"LOOK OUT!" someone shouted.
Alexa turned her head.
"AAAAAAA!" she screamed, her body instinctively taking a step back.
The tires screeched. A loud thud filled the air, followed by screams.
Alexa felt her body being pushed away. She fell onto the asphalt, protected from a direct impact but not completely. Her hands reflexively held her swollen belly. A sharp pain spread through her body. Her head shook slowly as she felt warm liquid flowing from her lower body.
"No, no. Please hold on. I'm sorry." Her breath was labored, then her vision blurred. The world spun slowly, then went dark.