Anna did, indeed, have a point with what she said, but it was too narrow-minded of her to judge that all of the men in the world were bad based on what she had experienced. Linda smiled and persuaded Anna, "Whatever happened, it was an isolated case that your parents had gone through. It has nothing to do with you, does it? If you don't open your heart and give it a try, how could you see that there are good men in the world?"
Anna smiled and said, "My Lady, let me tell you one more thing."
"What?"
Linda turned her body and changed to another comfortable posture while she was attentively listening to Anna's story. Anna gently swung the fan in her hand, letting the cool air blow toward Linda.
"One summer vacation, during my university years in America, I chose to come back to our country and work as an intern in a hospital. Then, one day, I had a patient who was a very young girl. She was three months pregnant. She had been crying ever since she got to the hospital, so I asked her what had happened. Then, she said that she had a boyfriend with whom she had been together for three years, but her boyfriend didn't want to marry her. The girl thought that if she would have his baby, they would be able to get married..."
"Then, what happened? Did the man run away after he found out that the girl was pregnant?" Linda cut in to ask.
"Yes. The girl came to the hospital alone. She looked so pitiful at that time. Don't you think that it was sad that she came across a bad man? Shouldn't the man marry her and take good care of her since she was pregnant?" asked Anna.
"I think the man might have already fallen out of love with the girl long before she had gotten pregnant. They must have been using contraceptives each time they slept together. But, I suppose, the girl must have figured out a way to get pregnant with his baby. The man had never wanted a baby with her. Am I right?" said Linda.
"Yes, I had asked her about it. She said that they weren't planning on having a baby at the start of their relationship, but later on, the girl wanted to have a baby with him, yet the man didn't agree. So, the girl covertly pricked holes in the condoms..."
"If that was the case, then it wasn't totally the man's fault. The girl knew what she had gotten herself into. Since the man was clear about not wanting to have a life with her, she should have had more self-respect. Couldn't she live without that man? Why did she have to prick holes in the condoms? She should've just made everything clear with the man. If the man really didn't love her, then she should have just broken up with him and started a new life. This is a new era for women, " said Linda.
Linda knew that some women still held traditional ideas in their minds, like the one Anna was talking about. They thought that they would be able to win a man's heart if they would get pregnant. But it was impossible and pointless to have a relationship if that was the case. Even if they would be able to keep the men by their sides, the men still wouldn't love them. Even if her boyfriend would compromise and marry her at that time, she still wouldn't have been happy.
"On the operating table, our chief physician was performing the abortion on the girl while she was under anaesthesia. But suddenly, she woke up during the operation and kept crying hysterically. I felt so sympathetic toward her, so I tried comforting her, telling her that it might be better for her to give up the baby..." Anna went on to narrate the story.
"Then, how was she after the abortion?" Linda asked worriedly.
Anna sighed and shook her head. She said with a pitiful voice, "She stayed in the hospital for one week. But her boyfriend had never shown up, not even once. Her parents had come to see her once, but... they just felt so ashamed of having such an indecent daughter. They scolded her with disdainful and insulting words. In the end, after the parents' visit, the girl committed suicide."
Linda went silent after hearing Anna's words.
"My Lady, there are still many similar, or even worse stories. That's why I don't believe in love anymore, and I think it's better to live alone. But, of course, Young Master is an exception. Before you came into his life, I had never seen Young Master have any interest in women, "
Anna turned the topic to Linda again. Linda acknowledged in her mind that Charles had, indeed, always treated her very well. That was why she had chosen to marry him. She could easily feel Charles's love for her from everything he did for her. Sometimes, his eyes exuded a hint of fear of losing her, which always struck a chord in her heart.
Linda stopped trying to change Anna's concepts about love at that moment. It was difficult to empathize with other people's perceptions about love.
Gradually, Linda fell asleep during her casual discussion with Anna.
When Linda woke up, she saw that there was no one in her room. She stretched her arms up and got out of the bed.
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