Chapter 2

I stared at those words, somewhat confused. Why did Morant's message sound exactly like what that post had suggested?

After a moment of shock, I replied:

"Overseas assignment? Why so sudden? Where are you going?"

The typing indicator above the chat box appeared and disappeared intermittently.

Morant's message finally came through:

"It's a new project in the Southwest."

"Cedric, this is a rare opportunity. The company values this project highly and specifically requested me to lead the team. Once this is done, I'll definitely get promoted and get a raise when I come back. Our lives will be so much better."

Morant sounded earnest and sincere.

In the past, I probably would have supported his career.

But I'd just finished my postpartum recovery period. My parents had died in an accident two years ago, and Morant's parents were unreliable.

If he left now, I'd be the only one managing everything at home, inside and out.

I told him what I was thinking:

"I don't want you to go."

"The baby is still so small, I really can't handle it alone."

"And when my maternity leave ends, I have to go back to work too. Who will watch the baby then?"

"If you leave now, you're dumping all the burden on me."

Morant replied almost instantly:

"Cedric, I know how hard this is on you. I don't want to leave you and the baby either."

"But we need to think long-term. This separation now is for a better future."

"As for taking care of the baby, there's always a way."

"You can take the baby to work with you. Lots of moms do that, don't they?"

"Just tough it out for a few years. Once I'm back, everything will be fine. You'll just have to work hard these few years, and when I return, everything will be better."

I frowned, laughing bitterly.

How dare he say such things, casually telling me to sacrifice while he wanted to be a deserter?

I couldn't hold back and confronted him:

"Easy for you to say. How am I supposed to work and take care of a baby at the same time? Carry the baby to the office? Or should I split myself in half?"

He paused for a moment this time, then dropped a bombshell:

"If it doesn't work out, just quit your job."

"I can definitely support you and our daughter, no problem."

"You can focus on taking care of the baby at home. Isn't that great? Many families arrange things this way."

I stared at those lines, instantly furious, my chest tightening with frustration.

I didn't even want to type anymore. I sent angry voice messages instead.

"I'm not willing to do that."

"Before we got married, I made it clear to you that I wouldn't be a housewife. It hasn't been that long, and you're already going back on your word."

"You leaving for three years isn't fair to me, and it's not fair to Ellis either."

"The child needs a father. You have parenting responsibilities too."

He defended himself pitifully:

"Then what do you want me to do?!"

"I'm doing all this for—"

"Enough!"

I cut him off.

"We can't talk clearly on the phone. Come home early tonight. We need to discuss this face to face."

This time, a full two or three minutes passed before his message finally appeared:

"I can't tonight. There's a project kickoff meeting. I have to have dinner with the leadership. It'll definitely be late. Don't wait up, get some rest."

"I'll come home early tomorrow and we'll talk properly, okay?"

I was exasperated. Ever since the baby was born, he'd been leaving early and coming home late, suddenly becoming a workaholic.

I didn't think much of it before, but after seeing that post, something felt off.

I didn't give him room to negotiate.

"Tonight. I'll wait for you. We must talk this through."

After a long while, he finally replied with a simple "okay."

I let out a deep sigh.

On impulse, I clicked back into that post. Surprisingly, it had been updated.