I sought out my attending doctor termination of pregnancy.
"Elodie," the doctor said gently, "please think this through. You conceived this baby after three rounds of IVF."
"That’s exactly why," I replied. "I know how hard it was. And I can’t let this child be born into a home where the father doesn’t love the mother. Or worse… where he doesn’t want the child at all."
Maybe I had cried too much already. My voice was calm, detached—like I was talking about someone else’s life, not my own.
The doctor looked at me with pity in his eyes, sighed and handed me the paperwork. "The earliest slot is the day after tomorrow. Try to rest. Avoid strain. And take care of your injured leg."
I did not even remember the drive home. Everything was a blur until I stepped inside and smelled food wafting from the kitchen.
Darien was there. Wearing an apron. Cooking the dishes he knew I loved, just like he always did.
Just an hour ago, he had been whispering sweet nothings into another woman’s ear. And now, here he was—playing the devoted husband without a crack in his mask.
He should win an award for this performance, shouldn’t he?
He turned to grab a plate and saw me standing in the doorway. His face lit up.
"You’re home? I was just about to bring you dinner at the hospital."
I stared at him and asked, "Darien, when a man stops loving a woman, why doesn’t he just let her go?"
His hand trembled. The seasoning bottle in his grip shook.
"You poured too much," I said, staring at the pan.
"Ah, right… I’ll just add more ingredients to balance it out," he replied hoarsely.
He had heard my question. He just did not answer.
"Just forget it. It won't be the same dish anymore."
I was not done, my voice sharpened this time. "You fell in love with someone else. Why didn’t you just leave me? Why did you lie? Why fake a bankruptcy, stage a divorce, just to keep me around—working myself to the bone for your promise of some future remarriage?"
In the end, I thought about the ten years I had given him—my youth, my love, my everything… and the child growing inside me. Tears slipped down my cheeks again, uncontrollably.
Darien put down the spatula and rushed over to hold me, his arms tight around me as he spoke in a panicked voice.
"Ellie, where did you hear such nonsense? I love you! I’d never lie to you. I can’t even imagine my life without you."