Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?

"Over here!"

Rebecca White nodded, pocketed her phone, and walked toward him.

"Have a seat," Eddy stood up, pulling out a chair for her. "It's raining. Was the traffic bad?"

"Not too bad," Rebecca replied. "I left the office just in time to avoid the rush hour."

"That's good."

It had been a while since they sat together like this, calmly and without tension.

Eddy was a bit nervous as he handed her the menu, "What would you like to eat?"

"I'm fine with anything."

"Shall I order then?"

"Sure," Rebecca said nonchalantly, adding, "It's on me today."

"...Alright," Eddy was taken aback but didn't refuse.

He ordered according to Rebecca's usual preferences, then looked at her, "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Just today, his lawyer had informed him that their divorce papers would be finalized soon.

Rebecca must have had something else on her mind.

"Yes," Rebecca said, holding her water glass and taking a deep breath. "I wanted to ask you..."

She looked him straight in the eye, her heart pounding, "Did you know... that I was pregnant before, and had a child?"

"!"

The words hung in the air, and Eddy's expression instantly froze.

Seeing his reaction, Rebecca's lips curled into a slight smile as she ventured a guess, "You... knew?"

"You..."

Eddy took a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing as he struggled with words, "Why are you asking? Did you... remember something?" "Remember?"

Rebecca frowned, catching his choice of words, confirming, "So, you did know."

"I..."

Eddy's face shifted through a range

of emo struggling in

finally nodded. "Yes...

remembered?"

"No."

you

Rebecca let out a soft, incredulous laugh, pointing to her head. "Not a single memory."

"Then how did you..." Eddy was puzzled, "How did you find out?"

Rebecca remained silent, sidestepping the question.

"That's not important... I asked you here to talk about my pregnancy and the child I had."

Her eyes reddened slightly, her voice trembling as she continued, "After our wedding night... I was pregnant?"

Eddy's face turned pale, his eyes shutting tightly. He nodded after a long pause, "Yes."

When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with a deep, pained red.

"After that night, I really wanted to forget the past... to start fresh with you! But, but..."

He couldn't continue, the words stuck in his throat.

Who could have predicted that when

he finould inced himself to

return to Rebecca, he would

was pregnant? Content.ne

Rebecca listened quietly, understanding his unspoken words.

out

Though she couldn't recall it, she could imagine the turmoil he must have felt back then. "Then..."

The past was the past, and Rebecca wasn't here to dig up old grievances. She steadied herself and asked, "What about the child? I did give birth, didn't I?"

"It seems you did."

Rebecca caught the uncertainty in his words. "Seems?"

"Because I don't know the full story."

Eddy took a deep breath, recounting the painful memories. "You were planning to terminate the pregnancy..."

A child under those circumstances was hard for both Eddy and Rebecca to accept.

"And then, your mother came to Portland..."