No wonder the employees had been shouting ‘Mrs. Gilbert is here!’ every time I showed up at the company lately.
They weren't welcoming me. They were tipping James off.
All those years of building this company together, and our bond couldn't compete with a cup of boba Nora bought the staff.
But I couldn't blame them. James set the tone, and everyone else followed his lead.
I'd stepped away from management long ago to focus on IVF.
If only I hadn't……
My phone buzzed.
A reply from my best friend, Belinda Simmons：
【Actually, the sperm your husband provided two months ago was all dead. Natural conception is impossible.】
【I was afraid you two couldn't handle it, so I've been keeping it from you.】
Things just got interesting.
The next second, we both received a system notification from the hospital.
【Mr. Gilbert / Ms. Rowe, your embryo transfer is scheduled for 3:00 PM today. Please arrive 15 minutes early.】
James glanced at it once and let out a contemptuous scoff.
The look he gave me was laced with disappointment.
“Nora was right. You've been refusing to have my baby because you're afraid of the pain and losing your figure. Peter, you even conspired with Belinda to make the IVF fail every single time!”
“Now that Nora's pregnant, you're finally willing to let the procedure succeed after three years of sabotage!”
“But I. Don't. Need. It. Anymore!”
The moment the words left his mouth, he called the hospital：
“Cancel the embryo transfer for Madge Rowe this afternoon. Her frozen eggs and embryos can be thrown out.”
Meeting the smile in James's eyes, cold and completely devoid of warmth, I finally understood. He'd confessed to the affair and the baby on purpose. This was punishment for not giving him a child.
That was what I thought, and that was exactly what I asked him.
He nodded, a thin smile on his lips：
“But I'm generous. For old times' sake, I won't divorce you. If you know what's good for you, you should learn a thing or two from Nora!”
Learn what?
Learn how to be a shameless mistress?
Learn how to pass off another man's baby as his?
The doctor on the other end of the line, having heard our entire exchange, sounded visibly uncomfortable.
But he still asked to confirm with me directly.
I swallowed the nausea and the grief rising in my chest and answered the doctor：
“You heard him. Toss them in the trash.”
James saw the mocking curve on my face and something flickered behind his eyes. Unease.
When he spoke, it came out as a demand：
“You'd really throw them away? Just like that?”
“Why wouldn't I?”
That flicker of unease hardened into anger.
I had no interest in analyzing why he was angry. I turned to leave for the lawyer's office.
He grabbed my arm and pressed the intercom：
“Bring the things in for my wife.”
Peter Sullivan pushed through the door, one hand hidden behind his back, head bowed, unable to look at me.
“Mr. Gilbert, maybe I should just do it myself……”
James clicked his tongue in irritation：
“Nora doesn't like other men touching her things. My wife's always been good at this sort of task.”
He shoved me into the private lounge, then pulled Nora aside and sat her down.
“You're pregnant now. You need to rest!”
Then he turned, took whatever Peter was holding, and dumped it into my arms：
“I've got a meeting. Change the sheets and take the old ones home to wash.”
I looked down at the sheets in my arms, then at the wrecked sofa bed, its covers twisted and tangled. My heart sank like a plum dropped into ice water, sour and bitter all at once.
That bed meant something to James and me.
When we first started the company, we shared a basement apartment barely a hundred square feet. The most valuable thing we owned was that sofa bed, the one we sat on by day and slept on at night.
Our first three babies were conceived on that bed.
But because of his sperm quality, none of them survived.
Later, when the money came and we could afford a real house, he still refused to get rid of it.
He'd carried it up to the office lounge himself.
