272 What kind of bastard is he?

- Inside Selina's Office -

Sniff

Selina handed a tissue box to Lia, letting her pull out more tissues to wipe her tears and snot.

"I'm sorry.." Lia muttered as tears quickly drenched the soft tissues in her hands. Selina moved the trash bin closer to where Lia was sitting, so it would be more convenient for her to toss the used tissues out.

Soon, a third of the trash bin was filled with balls of soaked tissue paper. While Lia let her emotions out, Selina poured her a glass of warm water and placed the glass to her side.

"You don't have to apologize for how you feel. It is better if you let yourself release all the negative emotions instead of piling it all up inside. Here, drink some water. I boiled it not too long ago, so it should be warm now to drink." Selina handed her the glass and took the used tissues from her hand.

After tossing the tissues out, Selina watched as Lia sipped water from the cup. " Sorry for cutting off your call earlier. Mmm...This is not related to me, so you have the right to not tell me anything. But if you don't mind telling me your problems, I would love to listen to you." Selina apologized sincerely.

Lia shook her head slightly, lowering her head to stare at the glass in her hands. Her vision blurred as another wave of tears attacked her. However, this time, she did not take a tissue to wipe them. "It's okay. Deep down, that is probably what I wanted as well - to have someone come and stop my stupid decision."

"If you don't want to talk about this, we don't have to. If this is something really private to you or something you don't want to share, you don't have to either." Selina reassured her as she picked up her mug of milk tea and took a sip from it. The sweetness was a little more than what she craved for, so she only took one sip and wiped her mouth with a tissue.

"It's fine. It isn't really anything that can't be talked about anyway. As you probably have guessed already, I am pregnant. I didn't find out about it because my period was late and I was stress out recently. I thought it was just a late period this month. I never had any experience and just..well..yeah.. I started having symptoms, so I took a test and...that's really just it." Lia didn't know what to say and how to phrase her words.

"Have you spoken to the baby's father?" Selina didn't hear a word about him just now, so she didn't give the man a relationship title.

Lia shook her head and rubbed her abdomen with a mocking smile. "He doesn't love me. That night was a mistake...He just mistook me for another woman when he was drunk. I know he loves this woman very much, so I just played it off as if I didn't care about that night. He doesn't know about my pregnancy and he doesn't have to know. If I have this baby, I will be a single mother. No need for him to care for my baby."

"What kind of bastard is he? He ate a meal and left without paying for his bill? The heck? I don't care if he likes another woman and have all the other excuses to justify what he did. Being drunk does not give him a reason to do anything out of hand. If he was drunk and decided to rob a bank, does that mean he can use that as an excuse and avoid jail time? I don't think so." Selina crossed her legs and leaned back on the couch.

Clearly, she did not like the sound of this one bit.

"It's fine. I know him. I don't want this baby to be the reason why he is forced to be with me and take care of the baby. I don't plan on having him be my baby's father either." Lia spoke softly as she stroked her flat tummy.

"Then, may I ask why you considered aborting the baby if you want the baby? It sounds like you really want this baby and are willing to take care of the baby. Is it because of finances? If that's the case-" Selina wanted to offer her a long term position with a high salary to support her.

"No, it isn't a money issue. I understand that life has its ups and downs, but I really don't know how I can take care of this baby. I am..Well...My current position is really difficult and having a baby at this time will make me change a lot of plans. Not only that, I don't want to put this baby through what I've been through before. It is hell."

Lia didn't specify what she meant, but the vague summary already told Selina enough.

"There is no one way in life. Even if you go for a career, you will see many many different routes ahead. There will always be more options, choices and obstacles. You might see that having a baby now is the most inconvenient, but what if you do keep the baby? What routes can you see ahead? Will you be happier with a baby?"

Selina observed Lia's expression with a faint smile on her face. "See? You also smiled just now from stroking your stomach. Think about holding your baby in your arms and hearing your baby's first cry. All of these are precious moments that are irreplaceable. And in this world, not many people are as lucky to have their own baby."

"Since you've decided to not contact the baby's father, then so be it. You can be the most awesome single mother with a high salary. If you encounter any difficulties, come to me and I will try my best to help you. I will also keep your pregnancy a secret. But please reconsider your choice for abortion. It will harm your body and your baby if you go through with it."

Lia nodded and smiled gratefully at Selina. "Thank you. I feel much better than before. I think I should-" Lia covered her mouth for a few seconds and patted her chest gently.

"Morning sickness?" Selina handed her a tissue to wipe her mouth.

"Yeah, but it is already afternoon. It's gotten quite bad lately." Lia sighed as she thought of the many months left until her labor date.

"Here, try some of these sour plums. It tastes really good. Maybe it'll help." Selina handed her a bag of snacks that she took from the food pantry earlier.

"Oh! Thanks! I've never seen you like sour snacks before. You always enjoyed your milk tea during work and not as much for snacks." Lia took a piece of sour plum and stuffed it in her mouth. The sour taste worked like magic for her nausea.

"Yeah, I think these documents really stress me out these days. I've been liking more snacks lately and I couldn't believe I was missing out on all these great snacks! These snacks taste good, but it also affects my appetite for regular meals. Life is hard when you are a foodie." Selina shook her head and fed herself another piece of sour plum.

Lia remained quiet when she heard Selina's words. However, she had her own suspicions in her mind. 'Could she also be...'

A sudden vibration from her phone immediately distracted her attention. After seeing the notification on her phone, the smile on her face froze. 'Another mission....' She read the coded content on her screen and widened her eyes. She looked up to meet Selina's joyful expression while eating the sour plum snacks in her hand with an indescribable expression.

"What's wrong? Do you feel sick again? Here, have some more." Selina handed the bag of snacks to Lia's hands.

"Mm." Lia replied, but didn't say anything else.