Too Much to Bear, My Love

Molly smiled. “So she’s getting discharged! Since you're home alone, why don’t you bring Ms. Winters back home for a few days, Mrs. Clinton? She can keep you company, and I can continue cooking for the both of you.”

Tiffany immediately said, “Molly, you're really the best!”

Amelia thought of how Oscar had not come back for almost a month. It would be good to bring Tiffany home for her to take care of her, so she had no objections either.

After she brought Tiffany back to the downtown apartment she shared with Oscar, Tiffany could not stop singing her praises at the luxurious and cozy apartment. “Amelia, this is like a palace while my house is like a kennel!”

Amelia brought her things upstairs and smiled. “You have three bedrooms in your apartment, which is plenty for one person. However, you're so intense when you begin writing that you might not even recognize your own mother, let alone clean up your house. That's why your house resembles a pigsty.”

“Precisely!” Tiffany agreed while giving her a thumbs up.

“Alrighty, stop fooling around. I asked Molly to prepare the guest room for you. Is it to your liking?” Amelia opened up the door to the guest room and welcomed her into the room.

Tiffany walked in to see that the entire room was decked out in pink, just like a room fit for a little princess.

“Amelia, I'm a grown adult. I'm shuddering at the princess vibes in this room.” Tiffany shivered in disgust at the color scheme.

Sighing softly, Amelia explained helplessly, “Of course I didn't decorate this room. It's all Oscar's doing, as his dream woman likes pink. I'm just paid to play the role of his wife, and I have no right to speak up at all.” Tiffany was not shocked either and said, “Oscar is so weird; you're probably the only one that can stand him.”

Amelia shrugged her shoulders and said, “Are you trying to say that I'm more abnormal than he is?"

Tiffany ignored her.

Amelia patted her shoulders. “Seems like you've recovered from the accident just nice. You're even teasing me now.”

Tiffany tossed her bag on the bed and plopped herself down, stretching out like an octopus. She said, “Now that I've escaped the brink of death, I'm a changed woman. I used to focus on writing, and all I did in the past was to discuss the plots with the editors, and I had no social life at all. Yes, I made a lot of money, but I wasted so much of my youth. I've decided from now on, half of my time will be on my work while the other half will be on traveling and taking care of you and the baby.” Amelia lay down next to her and smiled. “You've finally come to your senses? Previously, every time I asked you to go to the bar or club with me, you'd say that it was a waste of time. Now that you've finally thought it through, you can hang out with me at the clubs!”

Tiffany glanced at her and said, “Babe, have you forgotten that you're no longer alone now? You're still thinking about going to the clubs? Do you want my unborn godson or goddaughter to get all the bad habits before he or she is even born?"

Amelia rolled around on the bed and said, “With a godmother like you, I guess it won't be that easy to lead your godson or goddaughter astray.”

Like her friend, Tiffany rolled around on the bed before commenting, “This pink bed is really not the most comfortable.”

“Hey, at least you get to play princess for a while. Just bear with it,” Amelia said casually. “Look at you, you could have been a princess, but you turned your house into a pigsty. I think you must have been spending too much time with only words.”

Tiffany then looked at her with a vague smile, “Babe, you're more than four months pregnant, and you're already showing. Shouldn't you confirm your relationship with Oscar? Look at him! Each business trip lasts for a whole month. Who knows if he's really out on business or if he's just sleeping around? If he's so bent on getting a divorce, then it's best that you leave him sooner. I think that he’s an a**hole that won't acknowledge this child anyway.”

Amelia stared at the ceiling listlessly.

"Amelia, don't blame me for being straightforward. When a man completely disregards you and decorates a home based on his ex- girlfriend's taste, this shows that he does not care for you at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so tactless. I've nearly fallen off the cliff of life, and I've had some thoughts about life. Honestly, as long as we're alive, the material things are really not that important,” Tiffany said earnestly.

Amelia merely listened to her quietly.

Tiffany shoved her lightly, “Babe, are you listening to me?”

Amelia's eyes were still glued to the ceiling, and just when Tiffany thought she was going to remain silent, she said, “Tiff, Oscar called me three days ago to tell me that he'll be back in two days. I think I'll be signing the divorce agreement very soon.”

“You can't bear to leave him?"

Amelia glanced at her and said, “I've been married to him for four years and I'm pregnant with his child now. Can't I just reminiscence for a while?”

“You can, but don't go overboard,” Tiffany said earnestly.

Sitting up on the bed, Amelia reassured her friend, “Don’t worry, this divorce has to happen. He doesn't want children, and there's no way I'm aborting the child. For the sake of the child, I will have to go through the divorce no matter what.”

Tiffany picked up a pink pillow and said, “Babe, I think there are just too many obstacles in this marriage of yours. I've heard you talk about divorce multiple times, but you're still married after all these months. At the end of the day, you allowed the other woman to exist while Oscar is basking in the attention of two women. You handle the family while he has a lover out there.”

Amelia looked at her. “I think that Audi knocked your senses out of you.”

Tiffany's anger grew. “Speaking of Audi, have they caught the culprit? If they have, I'm suing him till he loses everything.”

“They caught him two days ago, but I didn't tell you because you were still hospitalized. I've passed everything to the lawyer. Don't worry; Oscar specifically hired this lawyer from Beshya. His expertise is in these kinds of hit-and-run cases and divorce cases.”

Tiffany smiled and said mockingly, “Looks like Oscar is about to hit two birds with one stone with this lawyer. After he handles this hit-and-run case, he can follow up with your divorce. How convenient.”

Amelia ignored her.

“What does that driver do?” Tiffany changed the topic.

“He owns a small advertising company and is about twenty-five years old. His parents are in the real estate business and are quite well off, so he’s the typical rich kid,” Amelia answered.

Tiffany clenched her teeth. If that driver were standing before her right now, she would have eaten him alive. “That a**hole! Why would he still hit and run if his family is so rich?”

“He said he was too afraid that he would be sent to jail and that his newly established career would come to an abrupt stop. That was why he ran.”

“Since he knows that he could go to jail, why did he drive so fast at the car park exit? Is he looking for the highway to hell?” Tiffany muttered through gritted teeth.

“The law will handle his crime, so why are you so angry?”

“I'm just angry at all these unethical drivers! Just because they have money, they drink and drive. Either that or they drive so fast just to show off.”

“All right, there's nothing to be angry about. We'll just leave everything to the police then. Don't worry, we won't let your suffering be in vain.” Tiffany finally subsided a little and said, “Babe, let's sleep in the same room tonight so we can have a chat.”

Amelia nodded in agreement.

After dinner, they watched some television. At about 11 p.m, Tiffany switched off the television and said to Amelia, “Now that you're with child, your bedtime should not be past 11 p.m. Go to bed now!”

Like an obedient child, Amelia climbed into bed at the order.

In the dark, Tiffany's voice piped up again, “Amelia, you're not quite showing yet, so you should quickly settle this issue between you and Oscar. In another month, you won't be able to hide your five-month- old belly anymore. If Oscar really doesn’t want the child, he would have plenty of ways for this child to be miscarried. So, think about it carefully. Otherwise, you might lose more than what you bargained for.”

Amelia sighed in the dark. After a few seconds, she responded, “Tiff, let me tell you the truth. Oscar is the one that calls the shots in this relationship, while I have no authority at all. When we signed the contract back then, we agreed that I would have to pay him one hundred million if I were to insist on a divorce or if I did not fulfill the requirements as a wife. That's why I haven't left him yet after all this time.”

Tiffany switched on the lights and looked at her with disbelief. “Amelia, I must have misheard you, right?”

Amelia's response was calm, “You didn't.”

Glaring at her coldly, Tiffany snapped, “Did you lose your brain? How could you do something as stupid as this?”

Amelia chuckled instead. “Do calm down first. Back then, I signed this contract as Oscar was worried that I'd run away halfway through. I thought since I loved money so much, there was no way I would bail on this. Despite it sounding like a serious agreement, it doesn't affect me negatively. As long as I'm not the one who brings up divorce, he can't do anything to me. Now that he wants to divorce me, I can't do anything about that either.”

Although Tiffany did calm down, she had since lost all respect for Oscar. “Babe, don't forget how unpredictable and domineering Oscar is. He keeps talking about divorcing you, but it's been a month and he still hasn't done anything about it. I think he'll most probably go back on his word. What are you going to do if he doesn't divorce you and yet doesn’t want the child? Are you really going to give it up?”

Amelia's hand traveled to her stomach subconsciously. “Tiff, I've already thought about every single thing that you brought up. I won't let anyone hurt my unborn child. If Oscar really goes back on his word and doesn't divorce me, I'll find an excuse to leave the city.”

Tiffany stared at her with utter disbelief.