Rejected By My Mate

"Through the Calm Times"

Ever since New Years Eve in 2000, when nine-year-old Ethan Shaw took Sophia Shaws hand in his, leading her out of despair to light fireworks, he had etched himself into her heart. Even though she never crossed paths with him again, Sophia Shaw loved Ethan Shaw, from the age of five to twenty-one.

Her life had been a series of ups and downs, like a journey through stormy weather, and the name she held close to her heart was the sum of all her worries and the source of all her peace.

Sophia felt that a girl like her, worldly and tainted, perhaps didnt deserve to love someone as pure as Ethan. So she kept him deep within her heart, taking him out occasionally to think and reminisce. It was her secret, and that was okay.

She had dreamed of reuniting countless times, imagining every possible scenario, but she never expected their paths to cross in such a manner...

On this day, with a cry of "Ouch—", Sophia Shaw was carried into the hospital by her colleagues from the Garden View Hotel. She had just woken up from a faint, her forehead still beaded with sweat the size of marbles. Cold sweat had soaked the corners of her clothes.

Her colleagues, finding medication in her bag that suggested pregnancy,联想到 her usual flirtatious demeanor with guests, immediately took her to the gynecology department.

The young doctor, dressed in a white coat and wearing a thick mask that concealed most of his face, revealed only a pair of cold eyes, framed by large glasses. Sophia, the assistant to the lobby manager, was dressed as usual—heavy makeup, uniform, a pencil skirt, thin-heeled black patent leather shoes, and a white blouse under her blazer, with buttons left undone, presenting an alluring appearance.

"If youre pregnant, consider an abortion," the doctor said with a face that turned from green to yellow to white.

"Beauty, youll need a family members signature for that. Go get a urine test first," the doctor continued, writing out a form with an officious air, his handwriting as illegible as any other doctors, a scrawling mess.

The doctors voice, though cold, was pleasant to the ear, like a glacier just beginning to thaw, carrying with it the dust of years past, as if it came from a distant time, unsure of where it was headed.

Sophia was fond of such a voice, reminiscent of an old acquaintance from times gone by.

With a gloomy face, she left the examination room. Her colleagues had all returned to their posts, leaving only her partner and supervisor, Rita Lee.

An hour and a half later, the urine test results were ready. Sophia received the slip and returned to the waiting area, too afraid to move or even look at the results.

Ritas eyes were wide with anticipation, her neck stretched out in eagerness.

After twenty minutes of restlessness, she finally took a deep breath, mustered all her courage, and unfolded the test results.

Pos, positive! The word stared back at her from the paper.

Her worst fears were confirmed; the medication had failed her.

Her face flushed with embarrassment and shame, Sophia thought to herself, "Great, I should go buy a lottery ticket with this kind of luck."

"Wh-whats wrong..." Rita asked cautiously.

"Im pregnant. Im pregnant! Oh no," Sophias expression was not that of a joyful expectant mother, but rather one who had received a dire diagnosis.

"Whos the father?" Rita inquired, her face alight with curiosity as she looked at the report.

Sophia continued to look dejected, recalling the passionate night with her boss, Lucas宁, two months prior at the companys annual party. She wished she could strangle and erase the memory of his devilishly handsome face.

However, she couldnt just admit to Rita that she had slept with Mr. Ning and was now carrying his child! Despite previous rumors around the hotel that her ability to stay on after the internship was due to being involved with someone in power.

"Ethan. Ethan Shaw," she finally said, giving Rita the name that had been buried in her heart for sixteen years when she saw her insistent look.

At that moment, the gynecologist who had just consulted with Sophia passed by and, hearing them say "the fathers name is Ethan Shaw," dropped his lunchbox with a loud "clatter" on the floor.