Chapter 2

2: 2

2

"Mm, a girl. Just over a year old."

"Looks a lot like her."

It struck me as funny, all of a sudden.

His first love had a child with another man, and that didn't disgust him.

Instead he used her to lecture me?

"George, you promised me."

"I accepted the clone, and in return you'd never bring up Cecily in front of me again."

Cecily's name had always been the forbidden thing between us as husband and wife.

Every fight came back to her too.

When I was sick, he wouldn't take a single day off.

When Cecily twisted her ankle, he took two months off without a second thought and cared for her himself.

More than that, I'm seven months along now.

And George has never once come with me to a prenatal appointment.

While Cecily had George's careful attention through her entire pregnancy, even though that child had nothing to do with him.

The living room went quiet for two seconds.

George slowly sat up straight and looked at me, his eyes turning cold.

"Weren't you just saying you wouldn't make a scene?"

"I'm not making a scene."

"When it comes down to it, this is still my fault for finding a clone to keep you company, isn't it?"

The corner of his mouth curled up, and that smile sent a chill down my spine.

"A clone is such a good thing. I tell him to go to your checkups with you, and he goes to your checkups."

"I tell him to eat with you, and he eats with you."

"If you don't mind, I could even have him sleep with you."

Those last few words drove into my ears like needles.

My face flamed. "George!"

"Ivy, drop the act."

He stood, looking down at me, his eyes full of open mockery.

"Don't you enjoy it?"

"Last time, after your checkup, you fell asleep in his arms."

"I stood in the doorway watching for a full five minutes, and you never noticed."

My blood froze in that instant.

That night I'd thought George wasn't home.

Kerry was lying on the other side of the bed as usual. I turned off the light and closed my eyes in the dark.

Then the baby kicked, and my belly hurt so much I couldn't stand it.

I couldn't help reaching out and grabbing the hem of his shirt.

Kerry didn't just let me clutch at his shirt. He gathered me into his arms, mechanically.

So George had been standing right there in the doorway, watching the whole thing.

My eyes went red. "That day I called you twenty-nine times!"

"You'd rather stand in the doorway and watch than take me to the hospital?"

George gave a cold snort.

"That day I was on a video call with Cecily in the study. Cecily said if I hung up, her baby would cry."

"The baby smiles the second she sees me. She needs her father so much."

George said it carelessly.

"And you should know, if I upset Cecily, I have to coax her back."

"As for you, the pain passes after a while."

"Besides, you had Kerry there with you, didn't you?"

His footsteps faded around the corner of the stairs.

I sat on the couch, staring at the half-knitted little sweater in my hands, tears sliding down slowly.

Then someone gently wiped them away.

I turned my head and saw the earnest look on Kerry's face.

"Don't cry."

He asked me, wearing the exact same face as George.

"Is there anything else you need me to do, ma'am?"

I shook my head. He was turning to leave when, the next second, I caught his wrist.

"Kerry, do you think George sees you as a person?"

Kerry was silent for a long time.

"Mr. Henson is my creator."

His voice was very calm.

"Every rule I follow bends to Mr. Henson's will. If he doesn't see me as a person, that's his right."

"And you? Do you think you're a person?"

Kerry didn't answer.

But I stared into his eyes and said it word by word.

"Then starting today, you're my husband."

Kerry's head snapped up.

I saw the shock in his eyes, and slowly smiled.

"But before that, there are a few things I still have to do."

The next afternoon, I went to the office to ask George for this month's living allowance.

Over the past year, Cecily had appointed herself the manager of his time and his work.

Me, the wife, the Mrs. Henson, I had to file how much I planned to spend each month.

And get a signature first.

Even seeing George at an event required booking an appointment in advance.

Spending our wedding anniversary together, denied.

Taking me to the hospital, also denied.

Even the living allowance needed a form, an application, and a signature to release it.

But this month's allowance had been held up by Cecily for two weeks now.

Even the money for this pregnancy's checkups I'd borrowed from Peter, the butler.

The driver dropped me off downstairs.

I carried the food container into the elevator and rode up to the top floor.

When the secretary at the CEO's office saw me, her expression turned a little awkward.

"Ma'am, Mr. Henson is... in a meeting right now."

"That's fine. I'll wait for him."

I pushed open the door to the CEO's office. On the desk sat a gaudy Hermès bag.

There was even a photo standing on the desk.

It was a picture of Cecily and her daughter.

I glanced at that photo of the baby, and my whole body went still.