That night, they lay in bed in the bedroom. He turned to her side and wrapped his arm around her body. Kira quietly moved his arm away, but after a while, he silently reached out to her again.
So she sat up, turned on the light, slipped on her slippers, and unplugged her phone from the bedside table. Looking at Orion, who had already sat up, she said in an extremely calm tone, "The bedroom feels a bit cramped. I'll sleep in the guest room."
She seemed to notice Orion's eyes dim a little more. He got out of bed, tidied up the bed slightly, and said softly to her, "I'll sleep in the guest room. I'm afraid you won't sleep well there."
Kira didn't argue further. She put down her phone and lay back on the bed, staring at the chandelier above her, wide awake.
The bedding beside her still held the warmth of Orion's body, yet she suddenly felt a burning pain in the skin where he had just touched her. She got up again and turned on the light. The area that hurt looked no different from the rest of her skin—no redness, no swelling—just a sensation of sharp, needle-like pain beneath the surface.
She went to the bathroom in the bedroom and washed the area of skin, which seemed to help a little.
After washing up, she remembered that Orion had slept in this bed, so she carefully changed all the sheets, the duvet cover, and the pillowcases. She threw everything into the washing machine. As she pondered how much detergent to use, she absentmindedly poured the entire four-pound bottle into the machine.
After finishing all that, she started to feel uncomfortable all over, so she changed her clothes again and took a shower. By the time she was done, it was already three or four in the morning, and only then did she begin to feel sleepy.
She had taken a few days off work recently, and Orion had already left for the office early in the morning. He had ordered breakfast and left it in the living room for her. Kira didn't wake up until noon, reheated the breakfast, took two bites, and then started vomiting—worse than in the early stages of her pregnancy. She didn't dare eat any more and threw the rest directly into the trash.
She had no appetite at all, but for the sake of the baby, Kira forced herself to cook a bowl of noodles and made herself eat it.
Orion came home around six or seven in the evening. He had been coming home on time a lot lately. Today, he bought some groceries and planned to cook dinner for Kira himself.
Kira hadn't gone out today, and the trash in the kitchen hadn't been taken out, so Orion immediately noticed the discarded breakfast in the trash can. He paused for a moment, then bent down to prepare the vegetables. Just as he was about to start cutting the meat, he heard Kira's voice, "Don't bother. I don't wanna eat."
Orion turned around and saw that Kira was standing at the kitchen door as she spoke to him. She didn't even want to get any closer to him.
He felt a pang of sadness, but he still smiled, washed his hands, and went over to take her hand. "You may not want to eat, but maybe the baby does."
It started again—the pain in the places where Orion had touched her the night before flared up once more.
Kira pulled away from him as if she had been stung, then took two steps back. She forced a smile and said, "I really can't eat dinner. Just make something for yourself."
With that, she hurried back to the bedroom.
In the bathroom, she scrubbed the areas where Orion had touched her, rubbing them for nearly ten minutes before the pain finally subsided a bit.
A few days passed like this, with them sleeping in separate rooms and only communicating from a distance. After much consideration, Kira finally spoke up, "Orion, I still think it's best if we take some time apart..."
"Okay." Orion nodded, staring down at the bowl of salad in front of him. "It just so happens that the company has some business in B City. I might have to stay there for half a month. But since you're pregnant and it's inconvenient for you to be alone, I'll ask my secretary to find a housekeeper to take care of you."
The lady called Hazel Walter, she had a good temperament and was always smiling. Having been entrusted with the task, she took care of Kira with great dedication.
One day, while tidying up Kira's bedroom, Hazel asked if she should put away the gift box that had been sitting on the jewelry stand for a week.
Kira hesitated for a moment, and when she saw the beautifully wrapped box in Hazel's hand, she realized it was the gift Orion had left for her when he departed. She remained silent for a while before asking Hazel to open it.
It was a shiny silver necklace, and in a daze, she vaguely remembered receiving one like it a long, long time ago.
So she began rummaging through drawers and cabinets, searching for the necklace, and after a long while, she finally found the one she was looking for.
It was still wrapped in a plain box, with a white ribbon tied into a bow that had yellowed with time. Over the years, she had taken it to the silver shop for cleaning almost every year, wrapping it carefully in silk afterward.
But despite her efforts, it had become mottled and ugly due to oxidation.
Kira stared at the now-blackened silver necklace and suddenly started to cry. Then, all her emotions began to unravel and explode; all the pain surged into her heart at once. She bit her lip hard, her body wracked with spasms of grief.
What should she do? What should she do? No matter what she tried, she couldn't stop it from aging. This necklace was just too old, too worn out.
A warm rush flowed from her lower abdomen, and Kira panicked. She didn't dare move and quickly cried out in a trembling voice to the lady working in the living room, "Hazel, Hazel, come here quickly..."
By the time Orion arrived at the hospital on the fastest flight, Kira had already undergone surgery. She sat on the hospital bed, an IV in her left hand, holding a glass cup in her right hand. Tears were falling in large drops onto the white sheets, into the steaming, transparent cup.
Her lips were dry and cracked, her face pale. She spoke in a very soft, almost inaudible voice, "I've tried my best."
She had truly done everything she could, both for their relationship and for their child.
Orion opened his mouth, but no words came out. He knew that the last thread binding them had slipped away along with their child.
