“Welcome,” a thin, frail woman with graying hair but a youthful smile greeted Minji and Zeno as they entered the small room.
“My name is Raya, and I will be assisting you with your concerns today,” she continued, the smile on her face not faltering.
Zeno took a seat and observed the lady for a short while.
Like Devon, she somehow didn’t look like the same person anymore. It was most likely the stress of being with someone like Victor.
Zeno knew that would suck the life out of him.
Still, it seemed she fared well better than Zeno thought.
“You guys are Mindy and Zander?”
Minji and Zeno froze, and then Doha’s voice, who was the one who booked the appointment for them, spoke through the in-ears.
“It was the only names I could think of at that moment!”
“Are you guys foreigners?” Raya asked.
Minji shook her head. “Our parents are just quite hip.”
“Hmm,” Raya hummed. “Well, a lot of people have English names these days. Anyway, that’s not why you’re here today.”
“Based on your answers in the online form, the two of you are twenty years old?” she asked once more.
Zeno pursed his lips while Minji’s breath hitched. He truly shouldn’t have trusted Doha with this process! If only he hadn’t been too busy writing the script, then he would have done it himself!
“You told me not to use your real ages!” Doha whisper-shouted.
“You could have made them older, you idiot!” Eli exclaimed, and the two began arguing.
Zeno massaged the bridge of his nose, but Raya interpreted his distress wrongly. She reached over and placed a hand over his shoulder. For a second, Zeno thought she recognized him. However, he was covered from head to toe, not giving anything away, so there was no chance.
“It’s alright,” Raya said with a smile. “Young parents should not to be shamed but supported instead. I’m happy that you came here to seek help.”
With that, she went settled back in her seat and started bringing out some papers.
“Wow, she’s really kind,” Minji muttered under her breath, and Zeno couldn’t help but agree.
Raya had always been kind. In fact, she was way too kind. Who else could tolerate Victor for a long ass time?
Zeno could still remember the first time he met Raya. It was at his uncle’s lowest point in life. Raya came to their house and apologized on his behalf. Sanjae was eighteen years old at that time.
They were only a few months into dating, but Victor got her pregnant and had a shotgun wedding sponsored by Sanjae’s father.
However, even then, Victor didn’t stop with his vices, nor did he try to improve his toxic traits, so he still went quite often to their house, especially when his child was born. Back then, Victor even complained about their house always being filled with cries, and as much as Zeno found babies a bit annoying, he knew that it wasn’t their fault.
It was innate in them.
Even as a sentient baby, he cried from time to time due to the frustration of not being understood.
“You don’t have a bump yet,” Raya started off, snapping him back to reality. “It must be early on, huh? How long have you known you were pregnant?”
Minji froze. “Seven!” Eli exclaimed through the in-ears.
“Seven months,” Minji answered, causing Raya’s eyes to widen.
“Days,” Zeno quickly corrected her. “My girlfriend is just too anxious. It’s our first check-up.”
Minji turned to Zeno and found her cheeks reddening. Before she knew it, she unconsciously reached for his hand. Her cheeks warmed up even more when Zeno didn’t pull away.
Well, he was engaging in method acting, so Zeno was determined to go all out.
“I see,” Raya smiled, jotting down some notes. “It’s good that you sought out help this early into the pregnancy. This way, we will see if there are any complications and prevent them if possible,” she said, her tone sounding sadder and more quiet at the end of the statement.
Zeno noted the look on her face. He also knew why she was so passionate about this job. Just then, Zeno cleared his throat. He just had to make sure of something.
“Are you married, ma’am?” he asked.
Raya froze and turned to him with raised eyebrows.
“Umm,” she started off, unsure whether to answer the question. However, Zeno quickly clarified his intentions.
“It’s only because we’re so young, and we don’t know what to do. It hasn’t been long since we’ve been together, but she suddenly got pregnant. Our parents aren’t present at all, so we’re navigating this new world on our own,” Zeno muttered, getting into his character.
Eli, Doha, and Minji watched him with empathetic eyes. How could he be so good at this? It was very believable!
Even Raya’s expression slightly changed.
“That’s why I asked,” Zeno continued, looking down at his lap like all his courage had been spent asking that question.
“I just—I just feel really lost.”
His voice broke, and that was the cherry on top.
Raya quickly grabbed some tissue and handed them to Zeno, who took it with a small, grateful nod.
Yet, it was Minji who was the first one to tear up. She was moved to tears by Zeno’s performance!
As Zeno glanced at Raya, he knew that his words had broken through her, too.
As much as she was kind, she was also very softhearted.
The words that Zeno said practically described the life that she and Victor lived. They hadn’t been together for long, but she got pregnant, and that led to their marriage. It was clear that Victor didn’t love her as much as she did.
Raya sighed, the motherly look returning to her face.
“I would always say it’s better to get married before building a family,” she started off.
“However, in this case, you should think about it.”
“Not just once. Not twice. Even more than three times.”
“Your marriage will not decide your whole life, but it is a very big factor in your happiness.”
“So, ponder upon it so you don’t regret it,” she ended, the somber look on her face becoming even more intense.
Zeno let the silence linger for a moment before he dropped the bomb.
“So… you regret your marriage then?”