The Line She Crossed
My heart pounded like a drum. Thump. Thump. Betty’s words echoed in my ears.
Pregnant. A life was growing inside me.
The pregnancy test slipped from my trembling fingers and shattered against the floor with a sharp crack. What I felt wasn’t fear. It was pure, burning rage.
“Z-Zwell…?”
“Sister. Do you have any idea how angry I am right now?”
“W-What…?”
Click. Click-click. My right hand was locked in handcuffs, completely immobile. My left hand flew up and slapped her across the face.
Slap!
“You crossed the line.”
Serwen stared at me, completely stunned. Her right cheek, now branded with a vivid red handprint, was clutched in her palm.
“Take these handcuffs off. Right now.”
“W-What…?”
“The handcuffs. Take them off.”
“I… I’ve never seen you this angry before, Zwell…”
“I said take them off.”
Tears began to spill from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. Plop. Plop.
“I-I’m sorry… I just… I thought…”
“You thought that if you forced an aphrodisiac down my throat, raped me, and got me pregnant, I would be happy about it?”
“Ah…”
Serwen’s hands started shaking violently, as if she’d been struck by lightning.
“Zwell, I’m sorry… I… I didn’t mean…”
“If I had known you were this kind of person, I never would have dated you.”
She looked at me with a completely devastated expression.
“Did you know something, Sister? I… I thought you were going to hate me.”
“…Huh?”
“Because I turned into a girl. I thought… we couldn’t keep dating anymore. You’re not a lesbian, right? So I figured you’d have no choice but to break up with me. That you’d abandon me. That all those clothes you bought me in the capital were just a final parting gift. A last act of kindness because of everything we’d been through. That’s what I believed.”
“That’s… that’s not true…”
“But it wasn’t like that at all. You still loved me. You even grew that thing between your legs because of me. I felt so guilty, but you actually liked it. So I thought… maybe it was okay. Even when you touched me while I was sleeping, even when you raped me… I told myself I understood. Because I felt sorry for you.”
“Ah…”
A small, broken sigh escaped her lips.
“But do you know what? I’m really, really confused right now.”
Even as more tears streamed down her face, I kept talking.
“Having your gender suddenly changed without any warning is incredibly hard to adapt to. But before I could even get used to being a woman… you got me pregnant. All because of that stupid jealousy.”
“S-S-Sorry… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Her whole body was trembling as she spoke.
“Betty is my old friend and someone I see as a little sister. Yes, she was rude to you. But that is not a reason for you to forcibly impregnate me. I hadn’t seen her in seven years. I was just happy to meet her again. And you got jealous over that?”
“I-I’m really sorry… so please—”
“You want me to forgive you? No. You crossed the line. If you were that jealous, you could have at least used a condom. Or waited until the contraceptive pills I ordered arrived and made me take them first. But you didn’t show even a shred of consideration. You forced me to get pregnant. Do you have any idea how terrified I am right now? I’ve never even been able to take care of myself properly my whole life. Then my gender changed completely, and not long after becoming a woman, I’m already pregnant. Before I could even adjust to being female.”
“Ah…”
“There’s a life growing inside my belly right now. Do you even understand how heavy and frightening that is?!”
When I shouted, Serwen flinched hard.
“S-Sob… I’m sorry… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Zwell…”
“Take the handcuffs off.”
“H-Huh?”
“Take them off. The handcuffs.”
“O-Okay…”
“Sister. Did you know that the fact you even bought handcuffs in advance is seriously creepy?”
“Eh…?”
“You said you bought them just in case. You’re actually insane.”
“Ah… hic… sob… I-I’m sorry…”
Click. She inserted the key and turned it. The handcuffs came undone.
“Z-Zwell… this is the first time I’ve ever seen you angry… I’m so… so scared…”
“I’m even more scared of you, Sister.”
With those words, I started pulling clothes out of the closet.
“Z-Zwell? Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving this house.”
“W-What…? W-Wait… hic… what are you saying?”
“I regret ever dating you. If I had known you were this terrifying of a person, I never would have gotten close.”
“W-Where are you going…? I’m so scared…”
When she grabbed my arm, I shook her off with a sharp thwack.
“Ah.”
A small, pained gasp left her lips.
“I won’t take the clothes you bought me. Well… I guess I’ll have to take a few pairs of underwear. Sorry. I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
I began stuffing the loose outer clothes I used to wear as a man into a bag. I also grabbed several of the bras and panties Serwen had bought for me. Once everything was packed, I zipped the bag shut with a loud zzzip.
I left the room, crossed the living room, and stopped in front of the front door.
“Z-Z… Zwell…”
I turned my head to look back.
“D-Don’t go… If you leave… I feel like everything will fall apart…”
“I begged you not to get me pregnant. I literally pleaded with you to do it outside. And you’re the one who broke my heart, Sister.”
Creak. I opened the door.
“Zwell…! Zwell…!”
Bang. I stepped outside and slammed the door shut behind me.
It was colder outside than I expected. I thought about heading to Aunt Angelina’s house, but I stopped myself and turned away.
“Haa… How could I show her what I’ve become…?”
I had left the house with no money at all. Everything belonged to Serwen. I couldn’t just take it. Maybe I had been too harsh with her… Even as that thought crossed my mind, my anger refused to fade.
“Oh. I didn’t even take off the wedding ring.”
I should have thrown it on the floor before I left. But I just kept it on.
“Whatever. I’ll just wear it.”
The truth was, even though I had stormed out in a fit of rage, I had nowhere to go. And there was a baby growing in my stomach. If I imposed on someone else’s home, I would be pushing the responsibility for this child onto them too. I couldn’t do that.
So I just sat down on the side of the road.
It was cold. It was early spring, but winter’s chill still lingered in the air.
“Huu… huu…”
White puffs of breath spilled from my mouth. I gently placed a hand on my lower belly.
I had to keep it warm… The baby that would be born… I wanted it to be healthy…
“Huu…”
I wrapped my arms around my stomach and stayed like that for a long time. The village was quiet, so hardly anyone passed by. I was hungry and exhausted. It felt like I might fall asleep at any moment.
I can’t… fall asleep here…
My eyelids grew heavier and heavier. If I fell asleep here, I might get hypothermia… and then the baby…
“Huu… huu… ugh…”
“Oppa!”
Someone came running and shook my shoulder.
“Oppa! What are you doing here?!”
“B-Betty…?”
It was Betty.
“Oppa, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“Ugh… Betty… I…”
“Oppa, let’s go to my house first.”
Leaning on Betty’s support, I slowly walked. The place we arrived at was…
“Betty, you really moved back into this house…”
“Yes, Oppa. It’s the house you used to live in.”
A house full of memories. The home where I had lived with my parents. Aunt Angelina’s house was right next door. That place held memories too.
“Oppa, come inside quickly.”
The moment I stepped inside, a rush of warm air enveloped me. My frozen body began to thaw. The scent that filled the house was cozy and comforting.
“Haaah…”
The tension left me all at once, and I collapsed.
“Oppa?!”
Betty shook me frantically.
“Betty… I’m… pregnant… I shouldn’t have come to you…”
After saying that, I lost consciousness.
Zwell Haleyan. The human I love. Do not worry about the pregnancy. There will be no pain.
“Haaah…?!”
I woke up gasping for breath. Someone… had spoken to me… telling me not to worry about the pregnancy…
“Oppa? Are you okay?”
“B-Betty…? Where am I…?”
“Oppa, don’t you remember?”
“Ah…”
The memories returned like fog lifting.
“I… I remember… yeah…”
“That’s a relief…”
Betty gently stroked my head.
“Oppa, you must be hungry. I’ll bring you something to eat.”
She dashed out of the room like a bullet and soon returned with food.
“I’ll eat outside the room. I don’t want to spill anything…”
“No way, Oppa. Eat here. Say ‘ah~’”
Betty scooped up some chicken stew with a spoon and brought it to my lips. In the end, I opened my mouth and accepted it. It… it was delicious…
“Hehe… Oppa, it’s good, right?”
“Mmm… yeah… it’s good…”
“Hehe… Oppa is so cute♡”
Betty stroked my head again. It was a little embarrassing, but it felt nice.
“U-Um, Betty… I have something to tell—”
“Ah~ Eat first, Oppa.”
Nom. In the end, I kept eating the stew until both bowls were completely empty before I could speak again.
“Betty, w-wait… I’m full now.”
“Huh? Ah… I prepared so much…”
Betty looked a little disappointed.
“S-Sorry… I need to leave now.”
“Where are you planning to go?”
“I’m… pregnant… I can’t burden you with that responsibility…”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“H-Huh…?”
“I’m asking what pregnancy has to do with it. I already knew, you know?”
“Ah…”
I must have said it right before I passed out at the front door.
“Oppa… did you fight with that sister? Is that why you left home?”
“Y-Yeah… that’s why I left.”
“Then stay here. Where would you even go?”
“W-Well… I’m a married man… well, a married woman now… and I’m pregnant…”
Betty stared at the wedding ring on my left ring finger for a moment before speaking.
“So… you’re planning to go back to that house?”
“N-No! I’ll go somewhere else… I can’t stay at your place… It would be too hard on you.”
“It’s not. Stay here.”
“H-Huh…?”
“Stay here. Oppa… where on earth were you planning to go?”
“B-But…”
“Oppa… please. For my sake, just stay here for a while, okay?”
At Betty’s earnest plea, I lay back down on the bed.
“O-Okay… I understand.”
“Hehe…”
Betty smiled happily.