I Think There’s Something Wrong with he and His Cat

I worked at my husband's company for three years, only to be fired right before my promotion. All because I neglected to feed the cat he gave me during one busy overtime shift.

When I got home that night and discovered the food bowl hadn't been refilled as usual, my normally gentle husband lost his temper for the first time. "If you can't even take care of a cat properly, maybe you should quit your job and stay home to look after it full-time."

I opened my mouth to explain, tears blurring my vision, but he wouldn't hear a word. The next day, he had HR terminate my employment.

Sure, animals are supposed to have some intuition, but that cat named Coco was downright unsettling. I'd been caring for it for six whole months, yet it remained consistently cold toward me. It even deliberately bit my hand when I tried to feed it.

Meanwhile, it loved cozying up to my husband, burying its head in his palm with satisfied purrs, sprawling across his lap and rubbing against him. Yet its eyes would look past his shoulder, staring straight at me. Those eerie eyes terrified me.

It usually ignored me, but whenever my husband and I were intimate, it would deliberately push the door open and jump onto the bed to disturb us. Fed up, I'd try to carry it out, but my husband would always intervene, saying cats naturally get energetic at night. So nothing ever came of it. Our relationship plummeted to freezing point because of this.

Until one day, an accident changed everything. I discovered I was pregnant.

I thought maybe this baby was heaven-sent to mend things between my husband and me. To be safe, I went to the hospital for a complete prenatal checkup. Only after confirming the baby was healthy did I excitedly clutch the test results, ready to call my husband.

But the next second, the doctor's routine question extinguished some of my uncontainable joy. "Do you have any pets at home? Pregnant women need to be careful. It's best not to keep pets like cats."

My hand trembled involuntarily as I held the ultrasound report, but thinking of this hard-won child, I steadied myself.

When my husband got home, I deliberately closed the pet room door, shutting out that cat. Then I excitedly handed him the report and wrapped my arms around him from behind, unable to hide my happiness. "Mike, I'm pregnant."

"What?" My husband froze for a moment, then joy flashed in his eyes. He took the report and studied it carefully before turning around to embrace me with delight. "That's wonderful, Amy. We're finally having a baby."

I spoke cautiously. "Honey, the doctor said I need to be careful during pregnancy. Cats carry toxoplasmosis. It's best not to keep one at home."

The moment those words left my mouth, I felt my husband's arms around me stiffen. Confused, I continued coaxing him. "Let's just have your parents look after the cat for a while. We can bring it back after our baby's born."

My husband's expression changed dramatically, his voice strained. "Does your pregnancy mean Coco absolutely has to go?"

Not understanding what he meant, I stated the obvious. "For the baby's safety, sending the cat away is the best choice."

My husband's tone turned cold. He dropped his arms from around me. "Let's terminate the pregnancy first."

"What?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I took a step back. "Because of a cat? You want to abort our child? Michael, are you even human?"

My husband rubbed his temples wearily, his voice heavy. "If you can't even tolerate my cat, then I don't see any need to keep this child either."

As he spoke, he glanced tenderly at the closed pet room door, his gaze holding something I couldn't decipher. The next moment, he seemed to have made some final decision. He forcefully grabbed my wrist and started dragging me toward the door.

Seeing my eyes filled with disbelief and tears, he sighed and softened his tone. "Amy, we can have children later. Coco is afraid of strangers, and besides, it's only six months old. How could I possibly give it away to someone else? Once it turns one, I'll send it away then. Plus we'll have other children in the future. There's no need to rush."

He tried to free one hand to wipe away my tears.

"I'm not going! I didn't blame you for firing me because of it, but no matter what, I won't abort this baby!" I struggled desperately to shake off his hand, tears blurring my vision. It felt like I was seeing him for the first time.

His expression darkened. "Amelia, you don't have a choice. You're going whether you like it or not."

His strength was overwhelming. I couldn't break free. I could only let him drag me toward the door.