Ficorpio
Chapter 1
After I got pregnant, I became impossible to please.
I made my husband strip down in the summer so the mosquitoes could feast on him. I sent my mother-in-law out to buy bubble tea in the middle of the night.
Whenever they refused, I burst into tears.
The entire family spoiled me until I became more and more demanding.
Then I saw the supernatural floating comments.
[The canonical heroine is back in the country! The lazy, high-maintenance supporting heroine is about to be thrown out!]
[The canonical heroine is the perfect daughter-in-law in her mother-in-law’s eyes. If not for the baby, she would’ve pushed them to get divorced long ago.]
[Keep acting out, doomed supporting heroine. The male lead never loved you in the first place. Even his last bit of responsibility has been worn away by your behavior. Once the canonical heroine returns, those two will rekindle their old feelings.]
[The supporting heroine is a stay-at-home wife with no job and no income. After the divorce, she takes the unwanted child and jumps off a building. Hee hee.]
I shuddered violently.
Without meaning to, I kicked my husband in the face while he was washing my feet.
“I—I can do it myself. You don’t have to trouble yourself. Thank you.”
I had kicked far too hard.
Adrian Bennett grunted. Blood immediately began pouring from his nose, dripping into the basin and spreading through the water in widening red circles.
At that exact moment, his parents pushed open the door and walked in.
Snow still clung to their coats, not yet melted. The icy air rushing inside made me shiver again.
Tears began falling before I could stop them.
The floating comments exploded.
[Girl, you kicked the male lead. Why are you crying? You humiliated him, and now you’re the one acting hurt?!]
[All that crying is making you cry away every bit of good fortune you have!]
[The Bennett family already regretted letting her marry in. Now they hate her even more. The second she gives birth, they’ll throw her out!]
[Her mother-in-law worked in the fields even when she was pregnant. This woman can’t even wash her own feet. She knows bubble tea isn’t good for the baby and insists on drinking it anyway. She’s so selfish! Just wait until her mother-in-law teaches her a lesson!]
Margaret Bennett didn’t even bother changing her shoes. She strode toward me, fury in every step.
She raised her hand.
I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.
The next second, the slap came down with a rush of wind—on Adrian.
“Young man! Did you hurt Chloe?”
Margaret glared at him.
“I told you to be gentler! Don’t you know how delicate a pregnant woman can be?”
Adrian plugged his nose with a tissue, then quietly fetched another basin of hot water.
“I’ll be more careful this time.”
I jerked my feet back and hurriedly shook my head.
Chapter 2
“I can wash them myself from now on. It’s nothing. You don’t need to bother.”
His hands paused.
After a long silence, he left without saying a word.
[The male lead is obviously fed up. He can’t even be bothered to talk to her anymore.]
[Anyone would get tired of being treated like this. She kicked him in the face over washing her feet. Who could put up with that?]
Margaret opened the bag in her hand.
“The bubble-tea shop was already closed. I went to two supermarkets before I found the tapioca pearls. I bought fresh milk, and we still have that black tea you like at home. I’ll boil some water and make it for you.”
“Have a few sips to satisfy the craving. Don’t drink too much this late, or you’ll be unable to sleep and end up with another headache.”
Half an hour earlier, I had been bent over the toilet, vomiting until the world spun. Stomach acid had risen into my throat, leaving it raw and burning.
Then, all at once, I had craved bubble tea.
Adrian had stayed behind to clean up the mess in the bathroom while his parents put on their coats and went out.
Before today, I would have linked my arm through Margaret’s and watched her make the drink, sweetly telling her, “Mom, you’re the best.”
Now I hunched my shoulders.
“Mom, you’ve both worked so hard. I don’t want any anymore. Please go get some rest.”
Margaret stared at me.
“What’s wrong with you? Try it first. If it doesn’t taste right, just leave it on the table. As soon as the shop opens tomorrow morning, I’ll go buy you some.”
I had always been so spoiled and demanding.
So when I refused something, they assumed I was throwing another tantrum.
I apologized again.
“I really don’t want it. I was being inconsiderate, making you go out in the middle of the night.”
“I know I was wrong. Please go get some rest.”
Thomas had been shaking the snow from his coat by the doorway. When he heard that, his expression darkened. He grabbed Adrian and pulled him toward the balcony.
I could just barely make out a few words.
“Giving her attitude… indulging her… divorce…”
Thomas looked grave, as if he were giving Adrian a serious scolding.
The floating comments delivered their live report.
[Hahaha, Thomas is tearing into the supporting heroine for giving them attitude. He says the Bennett family won’t indulge her awful temper and that they’ll divorce as soon as she gives birth. You can tell this family really hates her now.]
[Later, when the canonical heroine gets pregnant, she insists on keeping her job, cooks for the whole family, and takes care of her in-laws’ medication. Compared to her, the canonical heroine looks even more virtuous. No wonder the whole family loves her and her baby!]
I didn’t know what Thomas had said to Adrian.
Chapter 3
By the time Adrian came back to the bedroom, it was already one in the morning.
He walked to the bed and started unbuttoning his pajama shirt. The fabric fell open, exposing the lean line of his waist. Then his hands moved toward the waistband of his pants.
I caught his wrist in a hurry.
“A hot-water bottle is fine.”
I’d become unusually sensitive to the cold after getting pregnant.
During the summer, I couldn’t stand having the air conditioning on. Mosquitoes kept me awake at night, so I’d ordered Adrian to take his shirt off and lie beside me. The mosquitoes seemed determined to bite only him, and I got to sleep peacefully.
In winter, my hands and feet were always freezing. Then I’d make him take his clothes off again so I could warm my feet against him.
Adrian paused.
“Whatever you want.”
I couldn’t see his expression in the dark, but his voice was faintly hard.
Maybe he was getting impatient with me.
[The male lead is probably sick to death of this. He has clinic at eight tomorrow, and she’s keeping him up in the middle of the night.]
[What can Chloe do besides make trouble? She doesn’t care about anyone but herself.]
Not long afterward, Adrian’s breathing deepened into the slow, steady rhythm of sleep.
But I couldn’t sleep at all.
The floating comments kept replaying in my head.
So I was the doomed supporting heroine in a second-chance reunion romance.
Victoria Hayes was Adrian’s childhood sweetheart. They had grown up together, and Margaret and Thomas had always treated her like a daughter.
After graduation, Victoria had wanted to study abroad. Adrian had planned to pursue his medical training in South City and stay at a hospital near home.
Neither of them had been willing to change their plans for the other.
So they broke up.
A man like Adrian, with his looks, career, and family background, should never have ended up in the dating pool.
And yet, somehow, I got lucky.
I’d pursued him relentlessly until he agreed to be with me. I hadn’t neglected his parents, either. Every few days, I’d show up at the Bennett family home with gifts. I’d go grocery shopping with Margaret and help Thomas water his flowers, charming both of them until they couldn’t stop smiling.
After we got married, life had been quiet and happy.
When I became pregnant, work grew too exhausting. Adrian’s parents worried about me, so they encouraged me to quit and stay home for the baby.
Pregnancy had made my moods impossible to predict. Sometimes, I didn’t even understand myself.
Once, I looked at the flowers on the balcony and suddenly felt sorry for them, trapped inside their pots. My eyes filled with tears.
The next day, every one of those flowers had been replanted in the landscaping beds downstairs.
Another time, I suddenly craved one of those sad little boxed meals they sold on trains.
Margaret hadn’t said a word. She’d bought a ticket for the next train out, spent four hours traveling there and back, and returned with one boxed meal in her hands.