Page 57 of The Broposal

“I think I’m gonna keep it,” she said, and the pain in my chest grew.

“Okay.” I focused on taking deep breaths. In. Out.

“I don’t know for sure yet. But if I do, you have to break it off with Han and help me raise it.”

“No,” I said, surprising myself with my firmness. I was just as committed to marrying Han as I was to raising this baby.

Unsurprisingly, my answer earned me a swift slap to the cheek, bringing tears to my eyes.

“I meant… I’m not breaking up with Han. But of course I’ll help you raise it.” My voice cracked as I turned to face Jackie. The woman who never hesitated to put her hands on me anytime I didn’t do exactly what she wanted. The woman who made me feel so small I wanted to disappear. The woman who I would be spending the next eighteen-plus years raising a kid with if she decided to keep it. Telling her I wasn’t breaking up with Han may have been one of the only times I’d told her no in our entire relationship.

My whole life flashed before my eyes. I couldn’t bear the thought of getting slapped around like this on a daily basis. Maybe we could split custody. Maybe I wouldn’t have to interact much with Jackie at all.

“I swear I’ll be a good father,” I found myself saying, “but I’m not breaking it off with Han.” I was sure the kid would have a much healthier upbringing with Han in the picture anyway. Plus, I seemed to bring out the worst in Jackie. I didn’t want my kid to grow up seeing their dad getting slapped around all the time.

“Whatever… I know you’ll change your mind. We don’t have to talk about it right now, though.”

“Okay.” I sighed in relief. I really didn’t want her to try to convince me to break up with Han. I wouldn’t do it no matter what she said, but I knew she’d be able to make me feel like the world’s biggest asshole for it. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have ignored you, I just thought you were trying to get me to break up with Han. I had no idea you were pregnant.”

“But Idowant you to break up with Han!” Jackie replied angrily. “Ugh! Please just think about it? I want to raise this baby right. Two parents, you know?”

“I thought you said we didn’t have to talk about it.”

“You’re the one who brought it back up!”

“The baby is going to have two parents whether I’m with Han or not,” I said. I couldn’t just dump him after everything. Not when we were so close to getting him a green card. This might have been a good excuse for us to get divorced sometime after the wedding, but not now. Not until Han was staying for good.

“You know what I mean, Kenny. Just think about it, okay?” Jackie said, then got out of the car, walked to her own, and drove away. I reluctantly unblocked her number.

I stopped at the store before going home to get some things for Han. We didn’t have any ice at the apartment, so I got some, plus heat packs, an ankle brace, crutches, ibuprofen, and some Ace bandages. I channeled all my anxiety about the baby into worrying about Han instead. If I focused on that, I couldn’t think about anything else.

When I got home, I rushed up the stairs, wondering how Han could have made his way up here with his ankle as messed up as it was. I hoped he didn’t hurt himself even worse in the process.

When I got to the apartment, I was greeted by several stray cats eating food Han must have left out. I grinned. Of course he would still find it in him to feed the cats when he could barely stand.

Luna greeted me excitedly when I opened the door, panting and wagging her tail so hard her butt wobbled around. She jumped up on me, which she never did. She was way higher energy today than usual, which I figured had something to do with the fact that Han wasn’t able to play with her or take her out after coming home. I made a note to myself to take her out after taking care of Han.

I gave Luna a kiss on the head and pet her really quick before checking on him. He was napping on the couch with an open laptop on his stomach. The slight wrinkle between his brows showed that he was in pain even in his sleep, and it made me want to punch something. It wasn’t fair that he had to rely on the kind of medical help I could get at Walmart. He should have been able to go to a doctor and get an X-ray, a cast,realpainkillers… This was why no matter what Jackie said, I wouldn’t drop the wedding. I wanted Han to be safe. I wanted Han to be able to hurt himself and not face permanent consequences just because he couldn’t go to the hospital.

I carefully took the laptop and set it on the coffee table, catching a glimpse of the screen. Looked like Han was studying civics for his eventual exam before he could officially get his green card. I had no doubt he’d ace that part. Maybe he was just studying because he was nervous about our interview at the immigration office the next day. Most of the work to apply for a green card came after marriage, but there was still a good amount we could get ahead on.

According to the research I’d done on my own, Han had a pretty good chance. As long as we didn’t get caught pretending, we would be just fine. We had witnesses who could attest to Han and me being in love, we already lived together, both our names were on the lease, and hell, Han even cosigned on my car since he had the better credit. We’d be fine.

I closed the laptop quietly. Then I gently slipped a couple of pillows under Han’s foot to elevate it, careful to lift his leg by the calf instead of the ankle to avoid hurting him.

“Ahh…” Han hissed at the movement, his lids scrunching together harder.

“Sorry, babe—I mean, Han. Sorry, Han,” I stuttered. I wasso used to having someone I could refer to as “babe,” and with the act we were putting on, I was getting used to calling Han that. I had almost forgotten we were only doing that in public. I hoped Han was still too far into his nap daze to have registered it. “I brought you some stuff. You should probably ice it.”

“Thanks,” Han muttered, finally opening his eyes, “pumpkin.” He smirked.

“Shut up.” I laughed, glad Han wasn’t taking it too seriously. “Have you eaten? Had any water?” I asked. The two of us hadn’t eaten before our shift at eleven, and it was now well after eight p.m.

“Nah. Didn’t want to get up.” Han frowned as Luna hopped up on the couch, refusing to be ignored. “Could you take her on her walk for me?”

“Of course,” I reassured him as I set my water bottle down on the coffee table for Han. “First you have to eat, though. I’ll make you something.”

“You’re the best,” Han said, though Luna didn’t seem as pleased with the decision. I went to the kitchen to heat up some food.

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