"Arthur, you and Selena have been married for three years now, you should consider having a child," came the deep, poignant voice of an elderly man from the study room with a partially open door.
The cold, indifferent voice of a man then answered, "Why should I have a child with a woman I don't love?"
Selena, who had just been about to knock on the door, abruptly halted, her gentle face turning deathly pale.
The man's voice rang out again, this time tinged with impatience, "Grandfather, I must insist - Selena and I are not going to have children. Please give up on this idea."
"You ungrateful brat!" the old man angrily bellowed, followed by the sound of a teacup being hurled to the ground, and then the footsteps of the man exiting the room.
In a panicked rush, Selena dashed into the restroom next door, bumping her waist hard against the sharp edge of a miscellaneous item due to her haste.
The searing pain coursed from her body into her heart, her eyes welling up with tears from the agony.
A few days ago, she had received a "Renchen" notification on her phone from Clare, the longtime sweetheart of her husband, Arthur.
Accompanying the notification was Clare's taunting message -
"Selena, you've been married to Fu Arthur for three years and he still hasn't fallen for you. Just how pathetic are you?"
"Only you could serve a man without receiving his love in return, an act of such shameful self-degradation that I would've thrown myself from a building out of sheer embarrassment if I were in your shoes."
Only after her marriage did Selena find out that her husband's heart belonged to another.
On the night of their wedding, she had caught sight of gossip articles about her husband, Arthur, entering and exiting a hotel with the popular actress, Clare.
She had once held hopes of a loving, blissful life with him, even resigning her job to become a full-time housewife, dedicated solely to him.
Laughable, really, these past three years...
Just as she snuck into the restroom, the door was forcibly pushed open, stumbling her backwards a few steps.
Through her tear-blurred vision, she saw the stern man that entered – her husband, Arthur.
His face was icy cold, rendering his black suit even more intimidating. He promptly, without hesitation, gripped her chin tightly, "Did you persuade our grandfather to pressure me into having kids with you? Selena, your tricks have certainly improved over the years, haven't they?"
Before Selena could open her mouth, his eyes turned even icier, "Three years ago, you climbed into my bed and earned yourself the title of Mrs. Jefferson, now you plan on using a child to chain our Jefferson family down forever?"
Selena's face changed color, she bit her lip firmly, "I didn't!"
"If you didn’t, then why were you guiltily eavesdropping on the conversation between my grandfather and I?"
Arthur's eyes held a trace of mockery, "It's a good thing you heard it, now you know my stance. Selena, to have my child, you...are not worthy!"
His cruel words gripped Selena's heart making her clench her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms.
She had always known that Arthur did not love her but hearing him utter the words "Not worthy," seemed to transfix her heart with a thousand arrows.
For three years, she had fulfilled her duties as Mrs. Jefferson, both in and out of bed.
She thought she could gradually melt Arthur's heart, but now she realized, his heart is like a perennial iceberg, no matter how much she gives it can not be melted.
"Arthur, in the past three years, did you...did you ever like me a little?"
Her voice was lowered, her body suppressing an overwhelming tremble, seemingly using all her strength and courage.
This humble inquiry cast a fleeting strange feeling in Arthur's heart, but it was gone in a moment.
His eyes were filled with indifference, "What do you think?"
The ridicule and contempt destroyed the last line of defense in Selena’s heart, the ache in her heart almost numbing.