Love's Change of Heart

"He's a decent guy. I heard that his parents are teachers and that he's working for a state-

owned enterprise. That's a solid and steady income we're talking about. He's a reliable

man!" Naomi uttered. Leanna sat down beside the other woman. She was at a loss for

words.

"Aren't you going to consider him?" Naomi looked up and gazed at Leanna.

Leanna smiled. "You don’t understand my situation, Ms. Fletcher. I…"

"You're pregnant, right? What's the big deal?" Naomi asked.

Leanna's eyes widened upon hearing the other woman's words. "How did you find out

about that?"

"What's the surprise? There is a bunch of middle-aged women living in this area, and

we've all given birth to our own children. We knew about your pregnancy from the day you

moved in. You came here because you wanted a fresh start, right? Why do you care so

much about the past, then? I can tell that Harry genuinely likes you. If you're interested in

him, perhaps you could talk to him about this while you guys watch the movie tomorrow. A

relationship involves two-way effort, so there's no harm in taking the first step to try

things out," Naomi advised.

"I don't think any man can accept a woman who's pregnant with someone else's child,

right?" Leanna said after a long pause.

"There are always going to be exceptions to the norm. You'll never find out until you try

him out. You should make things clear, and you should help him to understand why you

rejected him. If he's able to accept you for who you are, he'll come looking for you. If he

doesn't accept it, that's still good news! At least he wouldn't pester you anymore," Naomi

uttered.

Leanna stared at the other woman quietly. That sounds simple and straightforward. It does

sound like the most effective plan, she thought. She had never intended to keep her

pregnancy her secret in her new residential area. She simply didn't have a reason to

announce it to everyone—she figured that everyone would know about it when her belly

got bigger. However, she hadn't foreseen someone like Harry to pop up at a time like this.

"I'll clarify things with him tomorrow," Leanna finally said after giving it some thought.

"How does it look?" Naomi held up the knitwear that she had been working on in the past

two days, and Leanna immediately realized what it was. It was a pair of baby socks!

…

At 6.30PM the next evening, Leanna showed up at the front entrance of the cinema in one

of Naomi's dresses. Soon enough, Harry jogged over with his forehead covered in sweat.

"I'm so sorry! There was a jam on the way here, and I had to run as I was worried that I

would be late. I'm not late, am I?"

Leanna beamed at him. "No. We still have ten minutes until the movie starts, so we're just

in time." He let out a sigh of relief after hearing her words. "Great. Let's go in, then."

However, Leanna didn't move immediately. "I have something to tell you, Harry," she

uttered instead.

"We can talk about it later. My colleague told me that this movie is really amazing," he

replied.

She thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Okay."

This was the first time Leanna had come to the movies alone with someone who wasn't

Zoe. Throughout the process, Harry didn't speak much—his gaze was fixed on the screen.

When the movie was over, he stretched his limbs while turning to look at the woman. "Are

you hungry? Let's have a meal," he suggested.

"I am rather hungry. Sure," she replied. Leanna paid for dinner, but Harry insisted on

paying her back when he found out that she had paid. "I'm the one who asked you out.

How can I expect you to pay for me?"

Leanna smiled at his words. "It's fine. You paid for the movie tickets, so it's reasonable for

me to pay for dinner." Harry understood where she came from, but he protested against

her logic anyway. "My department was the one who gave us these movie tickets, so I

didn't pay anything…"

"It's fine. It's the same thing," she replied. After they got out of the restaurant, Harry

addressed Leanna in a gentle tone. "Miss McKinney, is it… okay if I call you by your first

name?"

"Sure," she replied.

"L-Leanna, I'm 29 years old this year. My parents are teachers working in my hometown,

and they have sufficient savings to retire and grow old on their own. I—" Leanna

interrupted him before he could go on. "Harry, thank you for telling me about all this.

However, I'm not looking for anything romantic right now. I just want to focus on taking

care of the baby in my belly," she uttered.

Harry seemed rather anxious after hearing her words. "But you're a girl, and it's really

hard to care for a kid all on your own. I'm willing to do it with you," he offered. Leanna

wasn't surprised that he was already aware of her pregnancy. "We've only known each

other for two weeks, and we don't know much about one another. Furthermore, your

parents would never agree to this," she replied.

"Well, relationships are built with time, aren't they? My parents… I can just tell them that

the baby is mine. They'll be so happy!" he cried.

But she shook her head. "You're just infatuated with the new girl in the neighborhood—

your feelings aren't going to last for long," she told him.

"But—" he started.

"Thank you for the movie. I'll leave now."

After finishing her words, Leanna turned around to leave. The moon was especially bright

that night, and its light seemed to spill onto the ground as Leanna took a stroll along the

river nearby. She was kicking a pebble that she had found on the ground, and she was

having a lot of fun with it.

However, all of a sudden, the pebble skipped and landed right beside a granite stool.

There was a man seated on the chair.