Chapter 10
Chapter 10
After our wedding, Oliver and I embarked on the honeymoon we’d both been dreaming of.
Walking along the Seine at sunset, Oliver’s fingers intertwined with mine, I felt truly cherished for the first time in years. All the pain from my past seemed to melt away.
“Rita, thank you for giving me a second chance,” Oliver whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead as the Eiffel Tower sparkled behind us.
I smiled up at him. “You’re the one who showed me what real love looks like.”
Those weeks felt like something out of a fairy tale. Until that evening at a cozy bistro in Montmartre, when a wave of nausea hit me like a freight train.
“What’s wrong?” Oliver was instantly at my side, concern etched across his face.
I bolted for the restroom, dry heaving until my legs nearly gave out.
“We’re going to the hospital,” Oliver insisted, his arm steady around my waist.
The doctor’s words left us both speechless: “Congratulations, Mrs. Harrison. You’re pregnant.”
I watched Oliver’s face transform – surprise melting into joy, then something that looked almost like panic.
“We’re going to be parents,” he said softly, his hand finding my still–flat stomach. His voice carried a tremor I’d never heard before.
We cut our honeymoon short and flew back to New York the next day.
Oliver’s penthouse was stunning – floor–to–ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, minimalist furniture that prol more than most people’s cars. But from the moment I stepped inside, something felt off. Every surface was cold marbic or brushed steel. It felt more like a high–end hotel than a home.
“I’ll have the designers start on the nursery immediately,” Oliver said, already pulling out his phone to make calls.
cost
Pregnancy hormones made everything feel magnified. Oliver’s immediate dive back into work mode left me feeling isolated in this beautiful, empty space.
“Could you come with me to my OB appointment tomorrow?” I asked one morning over breakfast, trying to keep my voice light.
“Sorry, I’ve got the Blackstone merger presentation.” He didn’t even look up from his tablet. “I’ll have Marcus drive you.’”
I bit my lip and nodded, swallowing the hurt.
Seven months later, we were having dinner in the formal dining room a rare occurrence since Oliver usually worked through meals. The silence between us/had become a third presence at the table.
–
His phone rang, shattering the quiet!
He glanced at the caller ID, and his entire demeanor shifted. “I need to take this.”
“Oliver… please…” A woman’s voice carried through the speaker, thick with tears. “Tyler’s burning up. The fever won’t break-
13:02
My Bestie Sacrifices Her VCard to Heal Mulishand While Fit Mu ba
Chapter 10
and the doctor mentioned pneumonia…”
I recognized Cathy’s voice immediately. My stomach dropped.
–
“Hey, breathe. I’m on my way.” The gentleness in Oliver’s tone the same warmth he used to save just for me – felt like a knife between my ribs.
He ended the call and was already reaching for his jacket. “Rita, there’s an emergency I need to handle.”
“Oliver, wait-” But he was already gone, leaving me alone with my untouched dinner and a growing sense of dread.
That night, my water broke.
I lay in the delivery room at Mount Sinai, contractions tearing through me as I desperately tried to reach Oliver. Call after call went straight to voicemail.
“Push! Come on, Rita, one more big push!” Dr. Matthews coached from between my legs.
I gripped the bed rails and sobbed, not just from the physical pain but from the crushing loneliness. The most important moment of my life, and I was facing it alone.
At 3:17 AM, our daughter entered the world.
“Congratulations, it’s a healthy baby girl,” the nurse said, placing the tiny, perfect bundle on my chest.
I stared down at her wrinkled little face and felt my heart break and heal simultaneously. She was beautiful. She was ours. And her father had missed it all.
Oliver finally appeared in my room the next morning, looking haggard and guilty.
“Rita, I’m so sorry, I-”
“Where were you?” My voice was hoarse from screaming.
“Cathy called. Tyler’s condition took a turn, and she was falling apart. She needed-”
“So you
chose to be there for someone else’s child instead of your own daughter’s birth?” I cut him off, my exhaustion making
me brutal.
Oliver fell silent.
That fight became the crack that split our marriage wide open.
“You have to understand,” Oliver would say during our endless arguments. “Cathy lost her husband. Tyler doesn’t have a father figure. I have a responsibility to them.”
“What about your responsibility to us? To Iris and me?”
And every time, like clockwork, Cathy would materialize with perfectly timed support for Oliver.
“Rita, you’re being unfair to Oliver,” she’d say with that practiced maternal wisdom. “He’s doing his best. As mothers, we need to understand the burdens men carry.
Slowly, I watched the boundaries between Oliver and Cathy blur beyond recognition. They carpooled Tyler to soccer pracuci They attended parent–teacher conferences together. When Tyler got sick, Oliver somehow knew his symptoms better than knew my own daughter’s bedtime routine.
Hos V Card to Haal My Husband While I Hit My Peak with Her
Chapter 10
When Iris turned five, I finally reached my breaking point.
“I think we need some space,” I told Oliver over another silent dinner.
“What do you want?” His tone was ice–cold, businesslike.
“I want to move out for a while. Take Iris with me.”
He nodded curtly. “Whatever you think is best.”
His indifference shattered what was left of my heart.
I threw myself into renovating the brownstone I’d bought before our marriage – my insurance policy that I’d never thought I’d need. It would be our sanctuary, mine and Iris’s.
I was so consumed with creating a better future for us that I missed the signs of my daughter’s growing distress. I thought providing stability was enough.
Until the day Iris came home from Oak Lane Academy in tears…
