Tabitha's POV
On the day when the first snowfall arrived, I went out.
I thought pushing myself too hard would make my condition worse, but oddly enough, ever since I got pregnant, my abdominal wound had hardly bothered me at all.
I didn't know if I had gotten rid of the wolfsbane in my body, but one thing was for sure: my health had stabilized and wasn't getting any worse.
For me, that was the best outcome I could ask for.
It had been almost a year since I'd really enjoyed a good shopping spree or just soaked in life.
Standing in the hottest shopping center, I spotted this woman in work attire walking fast in high heels and a wool coat.
As she was glancing around under the billboard, I walked over, calling her name softly, "Gloria."
Hearing my voice, she whipped around to look at me, her face lighting up as she recognized me.
Today, I wore a black wool coat. My hair had grown quite a bit, so I curled it up in a bun.
A pair of simple earrings dangled from my ears.
Gloria only knew that I hid away to protect my pups, and we hadn't been in touch since then.
When she finally saw me again, she burst with joy, striding toward me in those heels.
"Girl, you finally came to see me. Do you have any idea how much I've missed you? Afraid of bringing any trouble to you, I didn't dare to contact you. I wasn't even there on your due date."
Gloria had no clue what I'd been through these days.
After scanning me, she said, "You look so refreshed! And you aren't as pale as before. Seems like you are having a good time. Seriously, when I saw you just now, it shocked me. You have the same face, but somehow, you feel like a whole different person."
She was buzzing with excitement, probably thinking I didn't bring my pups because they were too little.
"I was so excited when I got your call last night. Let's go dig in first. My treat. It's been so long since we last met. I've got a lot to tell you." With that, she excitedly took me to one of the most luxurious restaurants in town.
On the way, she kept chattering about what she had done over the past year.
She'd traveled all over with Alpha Leopold on business trips and got a promotion. Now, she wasn't just a negligible assistant.
By the time we reached the restaurant, she'd been rambling for over half an hour.
After taking a sip of lemonade, she suddenly realized something was off. "Wait a minute. I just realized you've barely said anything today!"
Indeed, most of the time, I just smiled at her while replying to her with things like "That's great" or "Uh-huh."
Gloria looked at me with confusion.
"Tabitha, you're acting kinda weird! I know some moms in my company. They usually just can't stop talking about their babies, but you never mention yours. Why? Oh, by the way, I got some gifts for them."
As Gloria spoke, she handed over the bag she had been carrying around and pulled out a bunch of gold trinkets.
I chuckled, "Did you rob a jewelry store?"
"Well, you can say that. After all, I'm their godmother. I gotta give them the best gifts. Oh, right, what are their names anyway?"
I picked up a beautiful necklace and ran my fingers over it again and again, sighing in my heart, 'What a pity they won't be able to wear it.'
Then, I replied lightly, "They're gone."
Gloria was puzzled. "What's gone? Couldn't decide on good names? No rush. You can start with diminutives. What do you say?"
I calmly replied, "I mean my pups are gone."
Gloria's smile froze on her face. She had a guess, but she didn't want to believe it.
"What do you mean? They..." she hesitated.
"They died. I went into an early labor. And they didn't make it," I told her directly.
The pendant slipped from Gloria's palm onto the floor with a clatter. "H-how could it be? Your firstborn's gone, and now, the twins... Why on earth would you go into an early labor?"
I sighed with a bitter smile, "It's a long story. Well, forget it. It's already in the past."
Crystal sighed, "The pain of losing our pups is unforgettable, but we couldn't let ourselves drown in sadness forever.'
"Tabitha..." Gloria's eyes showed sympathy.
I cut her off with a smile, "It's okay. It's behind us now, girl. Today, I came to say goodbye to you."