Visitors to the maternity department are usually husbands accompanied by their wives, which led the sales clerk to instinctively identify Steve Burton and Ruby Gregory as a young and attractive couple.
Upon hearing Ruby Gregory's comment, the sales clerk first froze, before realising the meaning contained in Ruby's words. Surprise written all over her face, she glanced at Ruby's large belly, then turned her head towards Steve Burton, who was handing over his credit card, and exclaimed in delighted surprise, "Sir, you're truly remarkable!".
The sales clerk's high praise was genuine, yet this praise didn't bring Steve any joy. Instead, it worsened his mood.
Remarkable... he wasn't the remarkable one, Edric Reat was!
Steve Burton's finger lightly twitched. He was too drained to even explain that the child in Ruby's womb was not his. He could only muster a slight smile for the sales clerk. Only he knew how bitter and heartbreaking that smile was.