The Pink Bag

When Henry had proposed to me, I had once looked forward to it.

After all, he looked too much like his brother.

But that man was something one could meet only once and never find again.

Now, Henry did not compare to him by even one-billionth.

I returned to the villa and packed what belonged to me.

I planned to come back the next day for my safe.

Sitting in the car, nausea suddenly rose.

I thought about it.

My period had not come for three months.

Panic stirred.

I asked my secretary to buy pregnancy tests.

Two clear lines.

Without much hesitation, I scheduled surgery for the next day.

He should not come into this world to suffer cold eyes with me.

The next morning, I returned to the villa to retrieve my safe.

I tried the password several times.

Wrong.

Only one attempt left before lockout.

I called Henry.

Tina answered.

No surprise.

“Sister, Henry took me to Disneyland. I can’t tell you the password.”

“After all, it wouldn’t be good to tell an outsider my home password.”

She did not know the house was under my name.

My property.

I hung up and entered today’s date.

Tina’s birthday.

The door opened.

Every trace of me in the house had been erased.

I took out my safe.

It had clearly been touched.

My heart tightened.

I entered his birthday.

The lock opened.

Inside was nothing.

I smashed everything in the room.

Then sat in the living room holding the empty safe.

At midnight, Henry and Tina returned.

With my loose hair, I probably looked like a vengeful ghost from a horror film.

“Where are the things inside?”

Tina said carelessly,

“Just a jar of paper stars. I threw it away.”

“Where?”

“The trash. Where else?”

“And the letters? The ring?”

“Threw them all away.”

“Meaningless things should stay in the past.”

“Past? What do you know about the past?”

Henry knew what those things meant to me.

He let go of Tina’s hand and said he would take me to find them.

“Tina, why are you making such a big deal?”

I ignored her.

Mountains of garbage piled before me.

I did not care about filth.

I knelt and began digging.

“They were all in one bag.”

“I can find them.”

“If I can’t, you go find him.”

“Qingqing…” Henry’s voice trembled. “I can’t find him.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Tina touch your things.”

“Yes,” I said. “President He forgot that we’re not divorced yet and brought someone else into my home.”

I stopped speaking.

Rain fell on me.

Dirty water splashed onto my clothes.

I only cared whether I could find them.

“Girl, is it this?”

An old woman handed me a pink bag.

It was filthy.

I hugged it like treasure.

I offered the old couple money.

They refused.

“It’s not much,” I said. “You’re old and got caught in the rain. You may catch cold. Buy some medicine later.”

Only then did they accept.

I opened the bag.

The jar had shattered.

Paper stars lay scattered.

The letters were safe in the waterproof bag.

The ring was still there.

I finally breathed.

Back in the car, I held the bag carefully in my arms.

Then my strength gave out.

I fainted.

When I woke, I was in the hospital.

Henry walked out to answer a call.

The door was not closed.

Tina’s voice came from the other side.

“Henry, I can give you children too.”

“Be with me.”

“My children were always meant to be born by you,” Henry said.

“You know Clara Zhu is only your substitute.”

He left without saying goodbye.

Though I did not love him, hearing him speak of me with such disgust still chilled me.

Conveniently, today was the day of my scheduled abortion.

He would never see the child that belonged to us.

I touched my belly.

“Baby, don’t blame Mommy for being cruel, okay?”

I remembered the night we were both intoxicated.

Henry had said he wanted a child with me.

One who looked like me.

Look, Henry.

The child existed.

But you were unworthy of being its father.