Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 69371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
The feeling I had before comes back tenfold. My hand goes to my stomach now as it dips and rises. Almost as if the storm is coming, and my stomach is the waves picking up. I think I'm going to throw up. Louise doesn't wait for me to talk. Instead, she just goes ahead and continues her story.
"I met Edward four years ago," she starts. "I fell in love with him after the first date." She wipes the tear rolling down her face. "I never had anyone treat me with so much love and affection before. He was the Prince Charming that they talked about in Disney movies." I try to swallow, but my mouth is dry, and the lump in my throat grows bigger and bigger. My dress feels like it is squeezing my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. "He took me home to meet his parents, and they didn't exactly approve of me. I didn't have an education like they thought I should. My parents were in and out of my life, and I was a server." I swear my breathing comes out in pants now, or at least that is what it feels like.
"So he decided to hide our relationship, and I agreed with him at the beginning. It made it better, to be honest, there were no disapproving phone calls when we were together. No one to tell me exactly why we couldn't be together. We were living with each other, and his family had no idea." I close my eyes for a minute, each and every single word that she is saying is like a stab to my heart. Every single word sinking in more and more, and the only thing I think is that it's all been a lie. "But then they found out, and they gave him an ultimatum. It was them or me." She takes a big breath.
"So he chose them. Even though I hoped he would choose me and stand up to them. I knew that the choice would be them. After all, Edward was living off them. They supported him; they still support him. They would cut him off if he didn't break it off with me." My head spins around as I think back to the conversation I had with him about his family, especially his parents. I met his parents only a handful of times because they traveled so much. His father was a retired stockbroker, and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. "So, he moved me into a little apartment an hour away from them, and every single Thursday night, he would show up and stay until Monday." I swear the room is spinning, but it's just the beginning of the tip of the iceberg.
"When I told him I was pregnant, he was happy, so happy." She smiles through the tears at the memory she has of them. She leans forward and kisses the baby on his head. "I don't know why but I thought having his baby would change things. But one week turned into another week. Every single time he promised he would tell his parents about the baby, he came back and said it wasn't the right time. There was never a good time. But then, six months ago, he started acting strange." My knees start to shake, knowing that this is when we met. "And standoffish, I thought it was because he was nervous about the baby. But then the weekend trips would be canceled at the last minute, and instead, he would come by during the week. I knew in my bones that something was going on. So a month ago, I followed him one day and saw you walking out of your house. He ran up the stairs to greet you and handed you a bouquet of sunflowers." The memory of that day comes back, he was gone all week and was supposed to come back on Wednesday, but his trip got extended. The sunflower bouquet was in his hand as he apologized over and over again. "I drove back home that day. My heart broke that he was lying to me. Broken that I put all this faith in him, and every single time he just broke my heart. Broken that the family I envisioned giving our son was over. I think all the stress and the nerves pushed me into labor. I called him as soon as I was admitted to the hospital. It went straight to voice mail, and when he finally called me back, I was almost five centimeters. He made it there in time to see Edward being born." She looks down at her son, who sleeps in her arms as she sobs.
The memory of that day again, piecing all together; he walked out of the room two hours after he got home, and when he walked back into the room, he was as white as a ghost. An emergency had come up, and he had no choice but to go. I never even questioned him, never even thought anything of it. I was a fool. "I tried to keep my calm, but with all the hormones in me, I confronted him about you, but he said it was just a fling. He would end it with you, and then the three of us would be a family. I was stupid and naïve to think he was telling me the truth. But he started coming around more and more, spending all week with me. A couple of weeks ago, he was in the shower, and his phone beeped." I can't even imagine what she saw. "There in the middle of my living room while I was nursing our son, you sent him a message informing him that he needed to go for his suit fitting so it would be ready for the wedding.”