"I need to call Wen. I'm pregnant, Meili. What if he doesn't want this child?" She worriedly asked Li Meili.

  "What the heck are you talking about? I thought you've already wanted a child of your own?" Li Meili frowned while waving away Lin Qianrou's bodyguards as she'd already made a reservation at the restaurant where they'd be having their lunch.

  Lin Qianrou chewed her lower lip as she slid onto Li Meili's passenger seat.

  "I'm just not sure, Meili… I'm scared." She confessed.

  "Then why don't you give him a call now and inform him about your baby." Li Meili buckled her seatbelt and waited for her friend to make a move to call her husband.

  Lin Qianrou sighed and took a deep breath before dialing Xu Wenyang's number. After the fifth ring, he finally picked up her call.

  "Hey, darling." He said, and Lin Qianrou heard the sound of papers being flipped on his end.

  "Hubby, I have something to tell you. I-"

  "Qian, I'm in the middle of an important meeting. Is it important? I'll call you back later once this is done." Xu Wenyang asked without giving his wife an opportunity to say what she needed to say.

  Lin Qianrou knew that her first pregnancy was an important matter, but she didn't want to break the news when it was obvious that he was busy at the moment. Maybe she can tell him later tonight once he was home. It was better to talk about it personally than over the phone.

  "No. Just finish your work. We can talk later."

  "Okay. Bye, Qian." He cut the call as soon as he bid his goodbye.

  Lin Qianrou's eyes were shimmering with tears. He was always like this and she was starting to get tired of it. She was starting to question if her husband would continue to act like this once their child was born. She hope not, because she was sure she would swear bloody murder.

  Li Meili shook her head before igniting the engine of her car, driving both of them to their next destination.

  "Congratulations. You're pregnant. So what now?" She asked the woman who was sitting on her passenger seat.

  What now indeed. Lin Qianrou looked at the traffic jam ahead and sighed. She'd been wanting to have a family of her own, to keep herself busy and so she wouldn't feel alone in their huge house. However, now that she was pregnant, she felt more alone than ever.

  "What if he doesn't want this child?"

  "Why wouldn't he want it? It's his. You are husband and wife. Shouldn't the two of you think and discuss what you both want and expect in this marriage?" Li Meili asked back as she made a turn into the smaller roads to avoid being stuck in the traffic ahead.

  "You'll be surprised on how children can affect their parents," Li Meili let out a chuckle while keeping her focus on the road. She slowed down a bit to avoid accidents.

  "You know Moyu has a pair of twins on her own, right? When everyone turned their backs on her, it was her children that gave her motivation and strength to move forward. She worked harder than before, making sure she would be able to provide everything they needed without relying on a man. If she could add more hours in a day, she would, so she can work more for their future."

  "But how did she manage to take care of her children then?" Lin Qianrou's curiosity got the best of her. She'd heard several rumors about Tang Moyu, but Li Meili always reminded her not to believe in those nonsense.

  "She always has her laptop with her working inside the nursery room. Little Star was a sickly baby back then and there were times she had trouble breathing on her own, so Moyu had to stay home to look after them. I'm not saying it's easy, but a child could change you and your husband's priorities."

  "I hope you are right, Meili," Lin Qianrou paused, "I'm still scared of how Wen would react to this." Three years of being together and yet she still felt that she wasn't enough, that she would never be enough for him.

  How could she trust him when he wasn't even around?

  "You're overthinking, Qian." Li Meili stopped her car and stepped out. Lin Qianrou followed her shortly. "Who knows, maybe he'll start to pay more attention to you and your child and he will stay at home more after that."

  "Or he would hire an army of nannies to look after us," Lin Qianrou muttered to herself.

  "That's also a possibility, but don't jump on conclusions yet, Qian. Give him a chance and listen to what he has to say."

  The restaurant staff greeted them and led them to the reserved booth before placing the menus on their table. Lin Qianrou should be feeling hungry by now, because she only had a light breakfast that morning, but looking at the list of dishes at the menu, she didn't think she could eat any of it.

  Their lunch was filled with silence as Lin Qianrou suddenly lost her appetite and barely ate anything. When Li Meili drove her home, she was once again reminded how lonely she was in this estate. She had everything, but her husband.

  Wouldn't it be great if Xu Wenyang spent more time with her and their unborn child? He'd already neglected her as his wife and she didn't think their child deserved to be treated the same way.

  The rest of the afternoon was spent by reading a book on the balcony of their bedroom while waiting for her husband to return her call.

  When the sun set and the wind started to feel chilly, Lin Qianrou lost her hope and went back inside to take a nap. Maybe by the time she woke up later, he would be home. However, her waiting was for a naught because the moment she opened her eyes, Xu Wenyang was nowhere to be found and she had to eat dinner alone again.

  At that moment, she realized that she was like a bird trapped in a golden cage.