My breathing hitched in my chest, unable to even make it to my throat. I could see Mark's eyes fill with so much confusion, hurt, and especially hate. His face was like stone. His jaw flexed as his teeth clenched together. His eyes zoomed to my swollen stomach and he flinched, which made me wonder if he wanted the child. I him as I walked back to the living room to pick up some of the little girls' toys to distract me from Mark. I fumbled with my fingers, nervous to know what words might come from him. He didn't say anything though. He settled his belongings down and bent onto his knees to smile a sincere one at his two nieces. The girls confessed how much they've missed him and his playdates. Though I completely understand why he didn't embrace or greet me as sweetly as he did to the two, I couldn't help but wish he was that happy to see me too. With the lack of affection these long months, I was nearly desperate for attention and it was unlike me, but I guess pregnancy gets my hormones acting up. Not only that, but part of me could see how loving Mark would be to our daughter. Mark never once spared me a glance besides when we were at the door, so it was obvious I wasn't wanted in the room. I eased my way back to the guest room to hide myself. All I wanted before was for Mark to be here, but now that he was, I didn't want to face him. It was such a surprise that I didn't get to prepare myself for the encounter. To slow down my heartbeat, I straightened up the room, until Tammy stopped at my door.

"Who are the girls with out in the living room?"

His name was hard to say, so I didn't attempt it. "It's a surprise." I gave her a faint smile before she walked towards the direction of the living room.

After 10 minutes or so, Tammy came back and she gave me an uneasy look. Her eyes questioned me if I was as shocked as her. I only grinned a small one and sighed. We didn't really have to say anything to know what was going on in our minds. I was just at a lost of words as much as her. She came over and sat on the bedside with me.

"Did you guys talk?" She rubbed my back in circles and I was thankful because it was comforting as well as relaxing---since my back aches were returning.

I only shook my head because I was afraid that if I speak, my voice would crack and tears would ooze.

"I'm going to go back out there and try to ease the tension. Come out when you're ready." She gave me a side hug before she quietly closed my bedroom door to give me privacy.

I laid on my side in bed, rubbing my belly, trying to feel if my daughter would kick---just so I didn't feel too lonely. I felt the sides and front, hoping she would, but she didn't. I huffed, "Baby, it's mommy. Are you asleep?" To hear my voice speak in a soft whisper to her was kind of silly, but it made me feel better. The doctor said as a parent, I should talk to the baby because she can actually distinguish the mother's voice. Isn't that incredible? Indeed. "Hey, your daddy is here and you'll finally get to hear his voice." I smiled cheekily at the thought, but then I remember that he probably wouldn't talk to me so there was no way for his daughter to hear him. I looked down at my belly, "Princess, mommy loves you." I felt around for the last time and suddenly I felt a light tap from under my belly. My face flushed with happiness and I nearly squealed. A bit more on the brighter side now, I decided to face the world outside the bedroom door.

Just as I made it out to the living room for the second time, Mark stood up and a small part in me was excited that maybe he was going to talk to me finally. I opened my mouth to say something only to be cut off by him. "It was nice seeing you and the girls again, Tammy.  Can you send me home now? I need some rest." According to his words, he probably caught a taxi over to Tammy's straight from the airport. Anyhow, he still didn't acknowledge my existence.

Tammy cleared , probably seeing my disappointed look. "In that case, I'll go help Kate bring her stuff out to the car." She was giving her best effort to bring me into the conversation, acting as if everything was as normal as they were months ago before Mark and I quarreled, before Mark left to Korea, and before I was expecting.

"Forget it then, just let me take your car for the day and you can pick it up tomorrow." Mark said so because he evidently didn't want me to return to our own home with him. He didn't want to even stay near me, as if I was contagious of some strange epidemic.

Mark's older sister glanced at me, making eye contact to tell me to step into the conversation and stop Mark from being so stubborn. I hesitated for a bit before I managed to at least say his name. "Mark, stay. Your parents are on their way over with sushi and they don't know you're here yet, so it'd be a great surprise." Your voice was weak, small, and soft.

"Tammy, where are your keys?" He sounded impatient by the ticking second.

I don't know how he was doing it, but he completely ignored me and it was beginning to hurt. Was he really this mad that he could even go to the extent of speaking and living as if I wasn't here? Tammy refused to tell him where her keys were and tried to persuade him to stay for a bit longer. She even offered him to sleepover, using the excuse that the girls would love to have his company when really, she wanted to make sure we talked or at least made some kind of progress in our marriage.

"Mark -" I completely lost what I was going to say to him when he finally caught eyes with me and raised his voice.

"Can't you tell I don't want to talk to you?! I don't even want to see you right now!" He boomed and I could see his chest heave with anger. He probably kept it all in since he's been here. His tone got louder, "Don't you dare talk to me, Kate! Don't you dare!"

He sounded decent over the phone the last time I talked with him, so it shook my whole being to see such a different sight. If it was due to my pregnancy, I guess it was going to be hard to accept since the last time he was here, there was no belly, no baby. To suddenly be back after months seeing me with a different appearance, I guess I can comprehend his behavior. He rested his hands on his hips as he glanced at the ceiling, inhaling and exhaling his feelings.

I maintained a calm state for the baby's sake, "Mark, I want to talk."

"We do not have anything to talk about!" His eyes were glossy and I believe he was on the verge of crashing down in tears.

Tammy stepped in, "Mark, if she tells you she wants to talk, you should hear her out."

He rolled his eyes at the whole situation and I could feel the atmosphere grow cold. In that moment, Joey came through the door, probably from his date because Andrea trailed in behind. He saw his brother in the room and I could see that his face had dropped just like how mine did in the beginning.

"Bro, you're back so soon." The quarrel that just went on was unknown to the younger one and his girlfriend.

Mark gave Joey a sarcastic scoff, "Soon?! Too soon for this right?! Too soon to come back and see that you've all have been keeping a secret?! Too soon to come back and see that Kate's pregnant?!"

Joey sensed the tension that he didn't realize earlier. "Mark, bro. We can explain-"

"Save it! I don't want to hear any of it from either of you!" Just then his phone lit up in his hand and he took a minute to see the text message that came through. His face tightened even more. "I can't believe it," he breathed out with so much hurt. I could just feel it. "It seems I can't even trust my own group members! They even know about all this!" Due to that eruption, I figured probably Jackson had texted him about becoming a father or something along those lines. Mark turned to me and gave a disgusted look, "Did you turn my family and friends against me like this?! Why am I the last to know?!"

He was yelling now and Tammy had took the girls to their room to avoid the negative environment, but she came back quickly to cool down her brother since she was the oldest in the room. "Mark," she sternly said his name, warning him to not say anymore, but he kept raging.

His rage was more towards me since he figured I had talked everyone else to keep their mouth shut about my pregnancy. What the hell, Kate!"

"Mark, you need to calm down." Joey placed his hand on his older brother's shoulder.

Mark threw Joey's hand away from him, "Don't touch me! You were in on this too!" To make it worse, Mark pushed at Joey and the two ended up grabbing each other by their shirts.

I closed my eyes at the scene. I couldn't bear to see the two brothers fight over my condition. As soon as I opened my eyes I requested for them both to stop. "Mark, let him go. I know you're mad, but don't put it on them. It's my fault they kept it from you." He flicked his wrist as he released Joey and walked towards me.

What he said to me next made me shiver with numbness.

 "THAT. CHILD. IS. NOT. MINE." With those clear and precise words, he said it to my face.

It was like a bad family reunion because right at that time, it wasn't only Tammy, Joey, Andrea or me who heard those words.

"Son, how dare you say such thing!" His father's voice rang from the doorway. "That child is your blood!" His mother stood by his father on the way in. Her face was filled with a mixture of emotions, it seemed. She nearly dropped the plate of sushi in her hand until Tammy helped her put it on the table.

Mark's tone never lowered, "Dad, you all knew except me! If I am the father of that child, I would be the first to know!" With anger still present, he pointed at me.

Goodness, I must've done something so wrong to have led the family to here. It didn't cross my mind that it'd get this messy. What hurt me more was  Mark did not claim the child as his. Did he really think that lowly of me that I would have an affair while he was away? He's my husband and never would I ever step over him disrespectfully.

He smirked at me as he approached my unmoving body, "So tell us Kate, who did you have an affair with?!"

"Yi En!" For the first time ever, I heard his mom raise her voice at him, even calling him by his Taiwanese name.

There was too much stress, so I sincerely apologized before I excused myself back to the guest room. "I am sorry that I brought all of this upon us. Mark, I'm sorry I kept this from you. I didn't want to worry you while you were away since we were already on a bad start when you left to Korea. You were also busy and I didn't want you to worry. Your family all wanted to tell you, but I held them back because I was stubborn." I then looked at everyone else beside Mark, "I'm sorry you all have to face this with me when I'm the one who deserves it all alone." I directed my gaze back to Mark, "Let's not discuss our problem here. I'm sure you're tired from your flight, so you should rest. If not, take this time to hangout with the family. They've missed you." Respectfully, I bowed to my in-laws as my figure descended down the hall to the room to cry out my hurt.

I don't know how I ended up back at our house, but I was in the kitchen stirring up a cup of tea for myself after waking up from bed. Mark was yet to be found. It was just yesterday when he let his tear-jerking words slip, so I'm sure he's still hiding from me, hating me. I tried to remember if Tammy had brought me here or if his parents did after scolding him. The only way I knew it was a new day was because I remembered the date change on my cellular device. However it happened, I was glad to be back within the walls of my own home after being away for such long months. The place was left untouched and it reminded me of that beautiful day Mark and I stood staring out our window, embracing each other before our argument. I was brought back to the present when I heard a cupboard close. I looked behind to catch a glimpse of Mark's back.

"Hey, how'd we end up back home?" I had a feeling he wasn't going to answer, but I thought it was worth a try.

Mark filled his cup with water and left to the living room, avoiding my words. To even drown me out more, he volumed up the television. I exhaled defeat, pondering when this war between us was going to end. It was a dumb and desperate move, but I decided to occupy the space next to him only to have him scoot over, furthering himself. I felt so incredibly humiliated.

I pushed aside humiliation and tried again. "Did Tammy bring us home?"

He uttered a dry, incomplete sentence. "Parents did without my will." Well, at least he said something.

"You know, we should really talk about us. I really can't take this distance any longer." It's such an irony that I still feel miles apart from him when he was sitting in the very same room. "I really can't take it, Mark." I was being completely honest, hoping he'd feel it too.

I could see his eyes gluing themselves to the screen, but he was lost in some other space. No words came from him after awhile, but when they did, they were powerful. Mark replied, "Then leave."

Those two words were not the ones I was hoping to hear from him. Those two words we far from it. Was he being serious? Did he really mean them from the bottom of his heart? My eyes locked on Mark to see if he'd add anything else that would change the meaning of his statement. "What?"

His gaze was similar to the hateful one from yesterday at Tammy's. "I'm giving you the option to leave if you can't take it anymore with me." His face emitted an unpleasant glare that caused me to look away. He continued,  "Nothing's going to change. I won't ever see you the same again."

A sudden boldness struck in me and I ignored my clenching heart. "It's okay if you don't ever see me the same again, but I'm not going to leave---yet." It was not okay at all, but I wanted to keep a tough front. "I just want to be able to give birth to my daughter with you by my side." I swallowed in preparation for what I was to say next. "It's also okay that you don't claim her, but I would like it if you pretend until her arrival." I sighed, "That's all I ask for."

I got up and returned to our bedroom, which was obvious he was no longer sharing with me since his side of the bed laid untouched and his clothes were no longer in the closet. I assume he made use of the guest room. Shockingly, I didn't cry after toughening it out with him and it truly scared me. Was I beginning to accept the fact that it's okay if our marriage falls apart? Maybe.

Author's Note: Omg!!! ~Hello to all my faithful subscribers as well as new subscribers! I'm finally back with an update and though it's not all that great, I hope you all don't mind. Thank's for sticking with me! Enjoy this chapter! :D