As I spoke, I realized my colleague Linlin, who used to be my partner, had come to serve our private room.
When Linlin saw me, she immediately acted familiar.
"Eleanor, what are you doing here? You're pregnant, shouldn't you be resting?"
"…"
Well, it wasn't exactly like that…
It was all my fault. After finding out I was pregnant yesterday, I was so dazed that I unconsciously vented to Linlin.
And before I could stop her, it was too late.
She pointed at Josh and immediately had an epiphany, saying, "I know! You're here because of this pretty boy, right?"
"Ah, so this pretty boy not only deceived our Eleanor's feelings, but now that he's a father, he's not contributing financially or helping out, leaving Eleanor to be a single mom!"
The four elders exchanged looks, trying to figure out what kind of love-hate story had unfolded between Josh and me.
I was afraid Linlin would make the situation worse, so I had no choice but to cover her mouth and pull her out of the room. "Linlin, I'll handle it myself, thank you!"
Linlin looked at me sympathetically and said, "Eleanor, don't worry. We'll make sure that jerk pays for his responsibilities sooner or later."
"Hey, why are you pulling me out? I still have to serve these guests!"
"No need, no need. Really, it's fine…"
…
The atmosphere in the room became extremely tense. Josh's parents were staring at him seriously, their looks sharp enough to rival a police interrogation.
I wasn't much better off.
Under the stern gaze of both sets of parents, we managed to play along and wrap up our story of how we met and fell in love.
"So, what about the baby?"
Five pairs of eyes fixed on my stomach, and I couldn't help but shudder.
Josh grabbed my hand and knelt down on one knee. "Eleanor, I'm sorry for hiding my identity. That was wrong. I will marry you and take care of you and our child for the rest of my life."
I was about to speak when the door was suddenly pushed open with great force:
"Mom and Dad, are you still trying to arrange marriages in this day and age? Do you know, my little brother already has someone he likes?"
"He spent months working at the construction site, all for that girl."
"And it doesn't stop there. He even gave away family heirlooms, then bought some run-down bakery and renamed it something like E & Co. Bakery. I mean, it sounds tacky, but I guess it's because the girl's name is Eleanor."
"Isn't that true love? In any case, I'm the first to object to this marriage!"
Josh's sister burst into the room, shocking everyone again.
"Sis, the person I like is Eleanor—Eleanor Jensen!"
Josh's sister: "?"
I heard her mutter under her breath, "You little brat, are you messing with me?"
Josh: "…"
Even years after marrying Josh, whenever I recall the scene of being outed that day, it still feels like a chaotic mess.
Anyway, that day, Josh and I didn't even have a chance to speak.
Both families quickly discussed the wedding date.
Josh visited every day, always bringing over a hideous cake.
I heard he even trained under the baker at the bakery to learn the craft.
I looked at the misshapen cake in front of me, and all my remaining appetite disappeared:
"Maybe you should stop trying, this is just wasting the cake."
Josh Hamilton, undeterred, had a look of determination:
"No, I'm going to make the cake you love. I'll feed it to you on our wedding day."
I paused for a moment:
"Please, just spare me and the cake!"
Josh: "…"
...
Years later, when Josh Hamilton and I had a son who was seven or eight years old, he also had a little girl he liked in his class. He happily asked me, "Mom, I want to make a cake for a girl, just like dad made for you."
"Of course! Let's go find dad, and he'll teach you."
At that time, Josh was in the garden, pushing his little sister on a swing.
The little one saw me and happily jumped off the swing:
"Mom, I want to eat cookies."
I pretended to be troubled, "Oh no, what should we do if mom doesn't know how to make them?"
The little one pointed at Josh: "Dad can!"
Josh and I exchanged a smile, holding each other's hands tightly.
