Not the Abandoned, But the Queen

My name is Viola Lincoln, and I have been a practicing lawyer for three years. Five months into my pregnancy, I began taking paid legal consultation cases online to save more for the childcare fund. At 1:07 A.M., an anonymous consultation message popped up at the bottom right corner of my computer screen. "Hello Lawyer, I would like to ask: if I date someone else behind my pregnant wife's back, am I legally responsible?" I frowned at the screen, my fingers hovering over the keyboard, not moving. I've handled many consultations about marital infidelity, but those sent at midnight often carry a sense of guilty urgency. I simply replied, "It depends on the specific behavior. Without bigamy or cohabitation, there is no criminal liability for now, but during divorce, the at-fault party may receive a smaller share of the property," then prepared to close my computer and rest. Just as I closed my laptop, the phone rang. The caller ID showed the landline number of the Home Pharmacy downstairs. "Hello, is this Ms. Viola Lincoln?" The voice on the other end sounded slightly anxious and female. "Yes, this is she. May I ask what this is about?" I rubbed my throbbing temples. "Your husband, Kevin Carter, bought some items at our store tonight but didn't pay. He asked you to come down and settle the bill." "Kevin Carter?" I was stunned for a moment. "He went on a business trip out of province last week. How could he be at your pharmacy?" "Impossible. The surveillance clearly shows it was him, buying quite a few items." The clerk's voice was filled with confusion. My heart skipped a beat. My first reaction was that I was being scammed, so I hung up immediately. But less than ten minutes later, the phone rang again. This time, I didn't answer and immediately blacklisted the landline number. I thought it was over, but unexpectedly, at five-thirty in the morning, the doorbell rang urgently. I put on a coat and walked to the door. Looking through the peephole, I saw the pharmacy clerk standing outside, holding a slip of paper and a tablet. "Ms. Lincoln, I sincerely apologize for disturbing your rest." The clerk's voice was apologetic, "I have to hand over my shift at six, and this bill must be settled today. Would you like to take a look first?" I hesitated for a few seconds but then opened the door. She handed me the bill, the total amount clearly stated as "468." The itemized list caused me to freeze immediately—three boxes of different types of condoms, a box of emergency contraceptive pills, and two bottles labeled "aphrodisiac" scented oil. "Is this... some kind of mistake?" I instinctively held my slightly swollen belly, my voice trembling slightly. The clerk sighed and handed me the tablet. "Look at the surveillance footage. It really is Mr. Kevin Carter. He arrived sometime after nine last night, accompanied by a woman." I played the video, and the man on the screen was unmistakably Kevin Carter. He was wearing the dark gray coat I packed for him last week and holding the hand of a woman wrapped up tightly. The woman's face was covered by a dark scarf, revealing only her eyes. But her height, hairstyle, and the loose beige trench coat she was wearing were exactly the same as the coat I wore last month. I gazed at that scarf, and my heart tightened abruptly. That was the genuine silk scarf I hand-dyed last year during my trip to Water Town. Because Sunny said she liked it, I gave it to her as a birthday present. Sunny, my brother Jason Lincoln's wife—my sister-in-law. This realization was like an ice pick, piercing sharply into my chest. Suddenly, I recalled that anonymous inquiry at midnight. It turned out the person asking wasn't a stranger at all, but my own husband, the man who shares my bed and life. "Ms. Lincoln? Are you all right?" The clerk looked at me with concern. "Your membership card balance is insufficient. Could you please settle the payment now?" I took the POS machine from her, my fingers trembling so badly that I entered the password incorrectly three times. After I paid, the clerk handed me a printed surveillance screenshot. "You should keep this, just in case... it might be useful." Her eyes fell on my belly, filled with unmistakable sympathy. I took the screenshot, feeling a cold numbness at my fingertips. Only after closing the door and sliding down with my back against it did I finally allow my tears to fall. I always believed I was a composed lawyer, but at that moment, all my reason was overwhelmed by this sudden betrayal. I sat on the floor, crying for a long time, until a faint, dull ache in my lower abdomen suddenly brought me back to my senses. No, I cannot just fall apart like this. I've seen too many women clients trapped in unhappy marriages because of their children; I refuse to become one of them. I wiped away my tears, stood up, walked to the desk, and opened my computer to search for hospitals in the city that perform abortion procedures. Being over five months pregnant, the risks of abortion are higher than in early pregnancy, but I have no other options. I don't want this child to be born into a household filled with lies and betrayal, nor do I want him to be the unbreakable tie between Kevin Carter and me.