Chapter 334 Hair Turned White in Just Half a Day
Chapter 334 Hair Turned White in Just Half a Day
Britney found some time today to go to the OB-GYN for a checkup.
She had already given her colleagues in the department a heads-up. But the moment she stepped out after getting her results, she ran right into Tristan and Gloria.
She was about to slip away, but Gloria called out to her: "Britney!"
No escaping now.
She turned to look at Tristan, and he was looking back at her.
His eyes were clearly shifty, full of guilt.
Before the divorce, he had sworn up and down that he would never have a child with Gloria. And yet here they were — and they'd already registered at the clinic, which meant she was over three months along.
"Britney." Tristan greeted her, his eyes still carrying a trace of longing.
Since the divorce, Britney had actually been doing better. Her skin looked more radiant, and there was a new spark in her eyes.
She gave him nothing more than a nod.
Tristan suddenly asked, "I thought you weren't in this department. Did you... transfer to OB-GYN?"
"No," Britney said. "I'm just here for a checkup."
Gloria chimed in from the side with a smug look: "A checkup for infertility? Britney, right after you and Tristan split up, I got pregnant almost immediately. A woman really should get herself checked out — if something's wrong, get it treated. You're still young, and I'm sure you'll want to get married and have kids someday, right?"
Britney couldn't help but smile. "Thanks for your concern. But actually, just like you, I got pregnant right after Tristan and I divorced. That's what I'm here to check on."
"You... you're pregnant? Who are you trying to fool? You're not even married."
"Not being married doesn't mean there's no man in the picture," Britney retorted.
Just then, the door to Exam Room 2 swung open. A female doctor stepped out, saw Britney standing in the hallway, and called out, "Dr. Wales, why are you still waiting out here? Your results from last week came back normal. We just need to run another blood test — if everything looks good, come back at three months to register!"
Both Tristan and Gloria were stunned.
She really was pregnant?
"Got it, I'll head in now." The military hospital had strict rules — doctors from other departments couldn't write orders for OB-GYN tests. Britney needed to check her progesterone levels and other things, so she had to come here to get the orders written.
Before she walked in, Britney glanced at Tristan. "We were married for four or five years and never had a child. Now I leave you, get with someone else, and suddenly I'm pregnant. Doesn't that seem a little strange to you?"
Then she walked into the exam room.
Tristan stood there, staring blankly at her back. Then he turned to look at Gloria.
A flash of panic crossed Gloria's eyes. "She — she's the one who can't have kids. The baby I'm carrying is absolutely yours!"
There were quite a few pregnant women in the waiting area that day. At Gloria's words, every single one of them turned to stare.
Tristan didn't argue. "Let's just fill out the paperwork," he said.
……
At lunch, Britney told Matilda about running into Tristan.
Britney had always had a bit of a gossipy side. Even talking about her ex-husband, she had the same casual, gossipy tone.
"It was always me going in for tests, and when nothing happened, his whole family said it was my problem. But now I've barely left the marriage and I'm already pregnant — who knows whose problem it really was."
There was a clear sense of satisfaction in Britney's voice. It made Matilda laugh.
But then Matilda thought about her own situation, and the laughter faded.
Maybe things were the same between her and Wentworth.
Ugh.
Matilda asked, "Did you tell Tristan to go get checked?"
"I dropped the hint. If he has any sense, he'll go get tested."
That got Matilda laughing again.
……
Tristan actually did go get tested — the very next day, right there at the military hospital.
He didn't try to hide it either. He walked in openly, no hesitation.
He ran a full panel of fertility tests. The results showed that his sperm motility was extremely low — the kind of numbers that made natural conception very unlikely.
After getting his results, he walked out of the hospital feeling completely deflated. Then he sat down on the curb and started laughing.
When the laughter stopped, he cried.
He thought about all the years he and Britney had been together.
When they first met, they were crazy about each other, inseparable. Back then, he used to come up with little surprises for her, doing whatever it took to make her feel loved and devoted to him.
Then he enlisted, and they barely got to see each other. She would take long bus rides just to visit him, and sometimes they'd only have two days together before he'd be called out on a mission, leaving her to make the trip back alone.
People always said a soldier's wife had to sacrifice. He had accepted that without question.
He threw himself into his career, and eventually worked his way up to a position where he could arrange for her to transfer over. He figured that was his achievement — all she needed to do was be there for him.
Even when he brought his mother to live with them and Britney complained repeatedly, he just tried to keep the peace.
He told himself he didn't care about not having children. But deep down, he was a traditional man. There was no way he could truly be at peace with that.
So when his mother started driving a wedge between them, he didn't stop her. Or maybe he tried, but not hard enough.
He couldn't face the thought of growing old with her and having no children around. What would that even look like?
After the divorce, his mother kept pushing Gloria on him. Gloria was young and pretty, and he figured that since he was busy most of the time anyway, they'd barely see each other. As long as she could give him a child, raise it, and take care of his mother, that was enough.
But even that simple wish hadn't been granted.
He sat on that curb until evening. It was only when dinnertime came that his mother finally called. "Tristan, why aren't you home yet? Dinner's almost ready."
Only then did he realize how late it had gotten.
About ten minutes later, he dragged himself home, exhausted.
His mother looked at him and frowned. "Tristan, your hair — why has so much of it gone white?"
"Has it?" Tristan walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.
Nearly half his hair had turned white. He looked like he'd aged ten years overnight.
He was already 35, but staring at his reflection, he could have passed for 50.
"Tristan, you..." Gloria had come out too, holding an apple she'd half eaten.
Tristan turned around and looked at them both, his expression flat.
Mrs. Lang was still holding a spatula. Ever since Gloria announced her pregnancy, Mrs. Lang had been the only one cooking. Gloria did nothing but eat and sleep, and on top of that demanded fresh fruit and bird's nest soup every single day.
Britney had never once asked Tristan to hand over his paycheck. But Gloria had already insisted on seeing his bank card every month — she was clearly moving to take control of everything in the house.
"Tristan, why has half your hair gone white? Is it because of running into Britney at the hospital this morning? Did she say something to upset you? Did you — did you go see her this afternoon?"
Mrs. Lang immediately launched into a tirade. "Her again? Wasn't she all high and mighty when she left? Walked off with her share of our money without a second thought. Now that Gloria's about to have a baby, she's jealous. She's definitely trying to get her hooks back into Tristan. I'm going over there right now — I want to see for myself just how shameless she really is!"
"Don't you dare go near her!" Tristan snapped.
"Tristan, going this white in a single day — you must have been through something terrible. Don't worry, I've got your back. And if I can't handle it, you've still got your army buddies, right? They'll help you sort this out. I'm going to her workplace right now to make a scene. I'll make sure she can never show her face in Cloud Town again!"