Married by Accident [ZhanYi FF]

Chapter 23 - New family member

Yibo wiped the cleaning cloth over the smooth and shiny surface of his new sales counter. He looked lost in thought and smiled at the glass walls of his new mini market and across to Zhan's new restaurant. He saw Zhan sitting at a table with his staff. Yibo knew they were discussing the shopping lists and daily menus for the coming week. When Zhan looked up and saw Yibo, Yibo's heart thumped happily in his chest. He waved to Zhan and Zhan waved back. "Heavens, I love you so much." Yibo whispered and then turned back to his cleaning work.

When Yibo reached the shelf with the baby food, he thought of Lara again. A few days ago, she suddenly appeared in his mini market. Her child was sitting in the baby carriage and sucking his own hand. When she saw Yibo, she smiled. She immediately approached him and asked him: "I had heard that you have your mini market here now. And since I was nearby, I thought I'd come in and say hello. How are you?" Yibo had the impression that she wasn't there by chance as she claimed. But he didn't say anything at first.

"I'm doing well. And you? Are you alright?" He asked disinterestedly. It had been six months since he had last thought about her. That was on the day of his and Zhan's wedding ceremony. After that, however, he didn't waste another thought on her.

"Yeah, all right so far."

"But?" Yibo knew she was waiting for him to ask this. He knew she wanted it to look like she was just pouring her heart out because he asked her!

"Well, it could be better. It's hard."

"What's hard?" Why couldn't she just say what she wanted, Yibo wondered, annoyed?

"How much do you know about me since the two of us ended?" She turned red in the face. She looked at him sheepishly, as if she was afraid of breaking Yibo's heart. Even though she knew that there had never been anything between them, apart from a good friendship at first.

"Nothing, really. At some point I heard that you got married in a small circle and had your baby shortly afterwards. But that's all I know."

"Mhhh, then you really don't know much." She said and sat down at the table that Yibo had set up for customers who wanted to have a coffee at his place or just a small snack.

"Why don't you just tell me? It's easier than me having to ask you about everything."

"Yeah well, I guess you're right about that."

Yibo sat down at the table with her. "So?"

She lifted her son on the baby carriage, sat him on her lap, stroked his rosy cheeks, kissed his cheeks and sighed: "It's true, we got married. But, well, it wasn't a beautiful or big wedding like he had promised me. It was just him, me and our two witnesses at the registry office. We lived together in my apartment and although I was heavily pregnant, he didn't support me. He was always going out with his friends and only came home in the middle of the night, completely drunk. When I went into labor, I had to take a cab to the hospital alone because he was at a bar with friends and his cell phone was turned off. My mom came and supported me during the birth. After the little one was born, he often spent the night at his best friend's house because he was annoyed that the little one woke up and cried so often during the night. And then I found out about two months after the birth that he wasn't staying at his best friend's house at all, but with his secret girlfriend, who he had been with for five months. All his friends covered up for him and lied for him. But instead of showing remorse when I found out, he packed his belongings, moved in with his girlfriend and had his lawyer send me the divorce papers. Since then, I've been alone with my son and I can't go to work because I don't have anyone to look after my son. Without a job, I can't take him to daycare. I um... don't get any child support for my son from him either."