“Meow~”
At eight months old, the Ragdoll cat had grown to be around ten pounds. Mrs. Rugger took good care of its fur, and those blue eyes were incredibly well-behaved when they stared at people.
The Ragdoll cat was very affectionate, willing to approach even Hamish, who always seemed gloomy. It would nuzzle up to him, rubbing its head against him, leaving a trail of cat hair before sauntering off leisurely.
At the moment, Hamish was flipping through his phone, looking at photos of Elisa. The Ragdoll cat came over to nuzzle him, jumping onto the back of the sofa and then treading on Hamish’s shoulders with its paws.
Once, Hamish detested pets and wouldn’t even let them come close. Now, being stepped on by the cat didn’t bother him at all. He reached out to rub the Ragdoll cat’s head, then twisted around, using both hands to pick the cat up and, pointing at the photo of “Elisa” on his phone, said, “She’ll be back soon, your mom.”
The Ragdoll cat nuzzled the phone and let out a soft meow.
…
“Elisa, stop right there!”
Elisa didn’t dare stop; she ran and climbed upstairs as if chased by a ghost.
She didn’t dare look back, but she could feel Hamish’s gaze on her back, freezing her with dread.
Elisa grabbed the railing with one hand and clutched her stomach with the other as she stumbled and climbed to the third floor.
The door closed, and Elisa frantically unzipped her bag and rummaged inside. Her hands were trembling, and in her panic, she knocked her bag to the ground, spilling its contents, including money, all over the floor. With time running short, she couldn’t care less about picking them up. Instead, she emptied everything out of her bag until she found a key buried at the bottom.
Her hands, already disabled and uncoordinated, were now shaking uncontrollably from fear, resembling the tremors of Parkinson’s disease. Although she held the key in her hands and the lock was right in front of her, she couldn’t manage to fit it in. Finally, she managed to insert the key.
Heavy footsteps echoed behind Elisa.
“Have you had enough fun outside, Elisa? Come back home with me.” These words from Hamish in the silent corridor struck Elisa like lightning. Her mind went blank, and she stopped breathing altogether.
After a long while, Elisa slowly regained some composure. But she felt as if she was trapped in a nightmare, as if she had fallen into the depths of the sea, surrounded by darkness, consumed bit by bit by an ignorant fear.
Had Hamish found her? Was she unable to protect her child?
Seeing her tightly clutching her abdomen, Hamish breathed a sigh of relief. It meant she hadn’t regained her memory yet. If she remembered, how could she tolerate being pregnant with his child?
Bitterness welled up within Hamish as he approached Elisa. His movements were slow, but each faint footstep felt like a weight on Elisa’s heart. Even though the back of her head had no eyes, the sensation of being watched from behind was undeniably real.
When Hamish’s gaze fell on her, it felt like a finely woven net of knives, leaving her with no escape. With a soft “clink,” the key slipped from her hand and bounced to the ground by her feet. Hamish approached and stooped to pick up the key, then inserted it into the lock to open the door.
From behind, Hamish seemed to envelop Elisa entirely in his embrace. They appeared close, but their clothes didn’t even touch.
“Elisa, I’m here to take you back,” Hamish said in a gentle voice.
Looking down at Elisa’s pallid face, illuminated dimly by the corridor’s sensor light, it seemed as though she might vanish entirely. Elisa furrowed her brow, her long, dark eyelashes veiling her tear-filled eyes. She bit her lower lip tightly.
Amidst the fear, there was also a strange surge of emotion as Hamish drew close. It felt revolting to fall for him again after being hurt so many times.
As the corridor light suddenly went out due to the lack of movement, the dark, deserted hallway made it nearly impossible to see. Hamish, with a greedy impulse, embraced Elisa’s waist, pushing the door open with one hand and bringing her inside.
He casually felt along the wall until he found a raised switch, then pressed it without hesitation. The light instantly illuminated the surroundings.
The room’s brightness surpassed that of the corridor’s sensor light, making Elisa’s pale face look even more haggard.
Elisa had no choice but to facethis man, to avoid a moment was to avoid a lifetime, and avoiding itself was the most cowardly choice.
“Hamish, I won’t go back with you,” she said, her tear-filled eyes carrying a stubbornness, just like her previous unyielding nature.
Hamish disliked Elisa’s stubbornness the most. Her temper was too obstinate, to the point of being unreasonable. For example, when she had stomach cancer before, she kept it from him. Did keeping it from him benefit her? No! Not only did it not benefit her in any way, but it also led to unjust treatment and his unfairness.
If Elisa had told him the truth earlier, perhaps they wouldn’t have reached this point.
Now, they had reached the edge of a cliff. Regardless of whether there was an ocean or a path below, they could only jump down.
Hamish looked at her, raising his hand to stroke her face and speaking in a low, gentle voice, “Elisa, you’ve been out here for almost three months. It’s time to come back with me and terminate the pregnancy.”
Elisa was stunned. She looked at him, tears streaming uncontrollably, and after a while, she murmured, “I’ve been carrying this child for four months. I won’t go back with you to terminate him.”
Hamish lowered his eyes to her tears, then cupped her face, gently wiping the tears from her eyes with his thumb. His voice was calm and gentle, as if he were recounting something inconsequential, “Without me, where did the child come from? This child is an accident. It shouldn’t have appeared in the first place, let alone be born. Elisa, I’m doing this for your own good. Will you go and have the abortion? We were fine without children before. Keeping this child will only bring us misfortune!”
Each of Hamish’s words fell on Elisa’s ears like thunder. Her tears flowed more fiercely, her body trembling, devoid of any sobs, just tears falling coldly.
Her eyes, like cracked obsidian, had lost their former luster.
Elisa’s tears had a certain intimidating effect on Hamish. He would feel distressed and would relent to make her happy, but not this time. Elisa had to terminate the pregnancy.
Elisa was undergoing cancer treatment and was due to start the next round soon. Carrying a child would only destroy her life. He had to remove the child from her womb to save her.
“It’s your presence that has brought me misfortune! You planted the seed, what does it have to do with me? The child has been in my belly for four months. Why should I give him up just because you say so? Whether the world wants him or not, I won’t abandon him!”
“It’s not about whether you want to or not. You have no choice in this matter!” Hamish didn’t want to tell Elisa about her cancer, afraid that she would recover her memory and leave him.
Such selfishness made even his words of concern seem ridiculous.
Elisa, in a sudden frenzy, struggled as if she were mad. She couldn’t understand Hamish’s words or his intentions. In her eyes, Hamish was now a lunatic.
“Let go of me. I don’t want to see you. Get out! Get out!” In her urgency, Elisa slapped Hamish with all her might.
She didn’t know if it hurt Hamish, but she felt a numbness in her right palm. The crisp sound of the slap echoed loudly in the quiet room. Elisa had used all her strength, but Hamish’s face hadn’t even flinched, which made her even more afraid.
“Have you had enough? Let it all out?” Hamish’s black eyes were as dark and deep as ever, carrying a faint sense of detachment and indifference. “If you haven’t vented enough, continue. Once you’re done, we will go to Chiwood Hospital. I’ve already made arrangements.”
This translation aims to maintain the narrative and context of the original text without altering the plot or the emotional essence conveyed in the writing.
In such coldness, Hamish’s words were sincere, even carrying an almost imperceptible tenderness in his eyes, which was nauseating to witness!
Losing control of her emotions, Elisa’s chest heaved violently. She raised her hand and slapped Hamish, then began to punch and kick him. Finally, she sank her teeth into his neck, drawing blood.
Hamish stood rooted to the spot like a stake, his brow furrowed slightly, allowing Elisa to tear and bite at him.
Despite Elisa’s feeble strength, it was she who was biting Hamish, yet she was the one in agony. Tears streamed down her cheeks and into her mouth, causing her to choke, feeling somewhat nauseated.
Elisa pushed Hamish away forcefully, wiping the blood from her mouth. “Hamish, I hate you. If you take away my child, I will hate you for life! I will never forgive you!”
Some emotions are like a sumptuous feast, initially alluring, the taste lingering in one’s mouth. But if left for too long, even the finest cuisine loses its original flavor. Overindulgence can lead to revulsion, and if left untouched, food begins to spoil and mold, teeming with maggots.
Elisa’s face turned sinister, her gaze cold and piercing, her chest heaving, the veins on her forehead bulging.
Suddenly, Hamish dared not meet Elisa’s gaze directly, uncertain of how to persuade her to terminate the pregnancy.
Why did Elisa value a mere “seed” more than life itself?
“If your hatred allows you to willingly terminate our child, then I am willing. You may never forgive me, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“Hamish, you are nothing but a cold-blooded creature.” They say a tiger does not eat its own cubs, yet here he was, insisting on forcing her to terminate the child in her womb.
The taste of blood in his mouth suddenly turned bitter. Elisa trembled as she spoke, “I don’t care how much time you use to make it up to me. I only ask: can you let me go? Completely remove yourself from my life.”
“Hamish, you must have never understood a mother’s love. Otherwise, how could you bear to make a mother kill her own child?”