Sorry Hayden, I’m Seven Months Pregnant with Another Man’s Baby Chapter 02

Sorry Hayden, I’m Seven Months Pregnant with Another Man’s Baby Chapter 02

My voice was perfectly calm.

This was also the last chance I was giving him.

He froze for a second, then smiled.

As if coaxing a child, he pinched my cheek and said, “Nora, you know I’ve always wanted to challenge myself.”

“This is the one thing I want to do before we get married. You don’t want me going into our marriage still thinking about it, do you?”

I did not pull away, but I did not smile either.

“I met a few backcountry hiking buddies a while ago. They’re all very experienced and have done through-hikes in remote wilderness before. Oh, and if the service gets bad, I might not be reachable, so don’t worry.”

As he said that, his eyes flickered away.

In the end, I nodded. “Okay.”

He paused, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily. “You’re not upset, are you?”

“Didn’t you say it was your last wish before marriage? I support you.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss my forehead.

I turned my head to grab a strawberry and avoided him.

He did not mind. Instead, he started talking excitedly about his planned route.

He mentioned something about starting from Pine Creek Trailhead, passing an alpine lake, and camping at the 9,200-foot site.

I ate strawberries while listening and nodding along.

But all that kept replaying in my mind was another sentence.

“That girl has to carry the baby for almost ten months, and she’s been all teary and clingy.”

Who was that girl?

A rich, good-looking golden boy like him had never lacked women eager to throw themselves at him.

I used to worry that I would be replaced someday, which was why I had been so desperate to get married.

But now that I had truly found out I had been replaced, I felt numb instead.

I did not know who she was, and I did not plan to ask.

He talked for a long time before adding, “When I come back, I’ll bring you a rock from the Sierra High Route. I heard the cloud inversions up there are unreal.”

I tugged faintly at the corner of my mouth. “Okay.”

Satisfied, he went to take a shower.

I sat on the couch, picked up my phone, and opened my chat with my dad.

The last message was from before Hayden and I had finalized our wedding date.

Dad: [That guy sent the family friend again this year. He said he’s just waiting for you to say yes. He’s been doing this for seven years. If things really don’t work out, maybe you should consider him.]

I remembered him. He was a guy from my hometown whom people rumored had gotten into trouble out of town and spent years in prison without coming home.

Every single year, without fail, he asked the same family friend to come to my parents’ place and ask about me.

Every time, my dad would say, “My daughter is seeing someone in the city.” The family friend would leave with a smile, then come back again the next year.

I had always thought the man was unhinged, so I never responded to my family about him.

But today, as I looked at that message, I suddenly felt something different.

He had done it once a year for seven years.

That sounded far more reliable than a man who kept saying he would settle down after marriage while secretly planning a fake disappearance to get away.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom.

I lowered my head and typed a message to my dad.

Me: [Dad, tell the family friend to let him come this year.]

I locked my phone, placed it face down on my lap, and looked up at the ceiling.

We had dated for three years and been engaged for six.

Hayden always thought I was just “a little impatient.”

He did not know that I had become so impatient that I no longer wanted to wait for him at all.