To the Love of My Life

Ruby still couldn’t let it go: “But, if these are contraceptive pills, how could I possibly be pregnant?”

“Contraceptives are not 100% effective. The effectiveness of contraceptive pills is much lower than that of contraceptives like condoms. Even with condom use, some people still manage to conceive, let alone by taking contraceptive pills.”

Ruby turned pale and stammered, “What about the baby? Is the baby okay?”

“The baby should be fine. Contraceptive pills only prevent pregnancy, they won’t harm the fetus.” The doctor probably felt that Ruby was asking too many questions and called the next patient into the examination room.

Ruby stood there, statue-like, for quite a while, before grabbing the bottle of supposed ‘vitamins’ off the table and leaving dispiritedly.

She was at the gynecological department, surrounded by pregnant women clumsily moving around, all of them wearing happy smiles on their faces.

But her?

Ruby lifted her hand, gently patting her still flat belly. Her other hand gripped the bottle of pills, so tightly that the bottle twisted under the pressure.

These ‘vitamins’ were given to her by Steve Burton, who said her immunity was low and needed to be boosted. She had been happily swallowing them religiously every day, never missing a dose. More diligent even than when she was sick and needed medication. Now she finally realized, after all this time, they were contraceptive pills…

If she hadn’t become pregnant, if the contraceptive had continued to be effective, would she have unwittingly continued to take them day after day?

While she was waiting for the test results earlier, she had been overjoyed at the thought of being pregnant. She had even held hopes that this child could better the relationship between her and Steve… Now she realized it was just wishful thinking.

Upon leaving the OB-GYN building, Ruby wandered aimlessly to a stone bench in the garden. She stared blankly at the deep blue sky, and her eyes watered up. She couldn’t control herself and tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Ruby’s mind was devoid of thoughts, after a considerable while just sitting there, she mechanically got up and headed towards Maxwell Gregory’s hospital room.

Maxwell happened to have just woken up from a nap and was in a good mood due to the beautiful weather. So, he wanted Ruby to play a game of Chinese chess with him.

Ruby was unable to focus, repeatedly placing her chess pieces in the wrong places. Maxwell didn’t even need to think to win the game. Towards the end, it was Ruby’s turn, but she just blankly stared at the piece, no response.

Maxwell finally realized something was wrong and pushed the chessboard away, “Ruby, are you feeling upset?”

Ruby shook her head, “No, I’m just a bit tired.”

Maxwell looked at her downcast face and raised his hand to smooth her hair, “Rest if you’re tired. It just so happens that your dad is tired too and needs a rest.”

Ruby managed a faint smile, got up, helped Maxwell lie down on the bed, and covered him with a blanket.