“Travis you cannot just barge in here,” I said sharply while struggling to sit upright against the pillows.
He ignored my words and walked straight toward the crib beside my bed while his expression slowly changed from panic to stunned disbelief. His hands trembled as he looked down at the tiny sleeping baby.
“She looks exactly like me,” he whispered.
The entire room fell silent as the nurses exchanged uneasy glances near the doorway. I felt anger rising inside my chest because his sudden appearance felt like an intrusion into a fragile moment.
“What are you doing here,” I asked coldly.
He turned toward me with confusion and desperation mixed across his face. “Why did you never tell me the baby was a girl,” he asked.
A bitter laugh escaped my throat because the question felt ridiculous after everything he had said months earlier. “Why would I tell you anything,” I answered firmly, “especially after you insisted the baby could not possibly be yours.”
“That is not what I meant,” he replied quickly while running a hand through his hair. “I thought you were no longer pregnant because my fiancée told me you had lost the baby.”
A sharp pain tightened inside my chest as the realization settled in. “Your fiancée lied to you,” I said quietly, “so congratulations on believing her.”
He began pacing near the window while breathing heavily as if trying to process the information. “I only invited you to the wedding because she demanded it,” he admitted after a moment. “She wanted proof that you were completely out of my life.”
He paused while glancing back at the crib where my daughter continued sleeping peacefully. “When I told her you had just given birth she started screaming that the baby could not exist,” he continued, “and then she fainted.”
I leaned back against the pillows while studying his face carefully. “Travis what exactly did you do after that,” I asked.
He swallowed nervously before answering. “I left immediately and drove straight here.”
At that exact moment another voice echoed loudly in the hallway before the hospital door burst open once again. A tall woman with disheveled hair and smeared makeup stormed into the room while pointing angrily toward the crib.
“THAT BABY IS DESTROYING MY LIFE,” she screamed hysterically.