The Day He Proposed, the Day He Picked Her Up, the Day I Threw Away the Baby Chapter 01

The Day He Proposed, the Day He Picked Her Up, the Day I Threw Away the Baby Chapter 01

Three months into my fake marriage to Garrett Lawson, things between us started to feel real.

We spent a whole year wrapped up in each other. It was sweet, happy—almost too good to be true.

Then I got pregnant. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell him.

I had fallen first. We were never legally married, and part of me was terrified he wouldn’t want the baby.

But on my birthday, he got down on one knee and proposed, ring in hand.

I cried so hard I could barely breathe. I really thought he loved me.

The day we were supposed to make it official, I wore the white dress he liked best and smiled at him.

“How do I look?”

Right then, he picked up a phone call. His tone turned cold.

“Something urgent came up at work. Let’s do it another day.”

Then he walked out the door.

Around noon, I came across a post from the girl who used to be the most popular one in our high school.

[Thanks for picking me up from the airport. Love the flowers~]

The photo showed a bouquet of white roses casually cradled in someone’s arm.

I recognized that hand instantly. I had held it countless times before.

Garrett had even taken off his ring on purpose.

So I threw away my pregnancy test report too.

—

The second I saw Tessa Hart’s post, I knew I didn’t have to wait for Garrett anymore.

If she wanted him back, he’d go running. That’s just how it was.

I opened a food delivery app and ordered something for myself.

Ever since getting pregnant, I got hungry so easily.

The three of us had been classmates in high school.

Back then, Garrett had chased Tessa like crazy. Everyone in school knew about it.

He had saved up half a year’s allowance just to buy her a birthday present.

He was a total simp for her, completely shameless about it.

I had even helped pass her the cards he wrote.

I secretly peeked at them once. The stuff he wrote was so cheesy.

And all that time, I had been quietly in love with him too.

After college, at a reunion, we were all still single and getting nonstop pressure from our families.

A few drinks in, Garrett suddenly turned to me.

“Why don’t we just fake a marriage? Get our parents off our backs.”

I thought he was joking because he was drunk, so I laughed along.

“Sure. Not like I’ve found anyone better anyway.”

But later, we actually made a fake marriage certificate.

We told our parents we were doing a destination wedding and skipping the ceremony, when in reality we never went anywhere.

Other than our families and a few close friends, nobody knew.

Even after we moved in together, I still couldn’t believe it was real, because unlike him, my feelings had never been fake.

At first, we acted more like polite roommates than a couple.

I couldn’t cook, so I was always ordering takeout.

Garrett would quietly tie on an apron and say, “That stuff’s not good for you.”

I raised a brow at him. “If you keep treating me this well, I’m going to take it seriously.”

Instead of answering, he leaned in and kissed me.

“Then take it seriously.”

From that day on, we were really together. For an entire sweet, perfect year.

Until now. Now I was eating takeout alone again.

A sudden wave of bitterness rose in my chest.

I texted him anyway.

[When are you coming home?]

His reply came quickly.

[Still tied up. Gonna be late.]

I stared at the screen and suddenly laughed.

He was with Tessa right now, wasn’t he?

What exactly was I still hoping for?

Garrett had avoided marriage for years because he’d been waiting for her all along.

I had planned to tell him about the pregnancy after we legally married.

Now, it seemed pointless.

I threw the pregnancy report away with the rest of the takeout trash.

Garrett came home very late.

When he stepped inside and saw the apartment dark, he probably figured I was already asleep.

The shower ran for a long time.

When he finally came out, his hair was still damp.

Like always, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

I pulled away without thinking.

He followed me and held me tighter, his voice low and soft.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet? Were you waiting for me?”

I wanted to ask him something. So many things.

But when I opened my mouth, I couldn’t get the words out.

In the end, I pretended I was half asleep and just gave a vague little hum.

He let out a quiet chuckle and tightened his arms around me, like nothing had happened.

“Good night.”