The same year Louis Farley cheated on me, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
His mistress fled. I said nothing, donated my stem cells, and nursed him through every humiliating day of his recovery.
The day Louis was discharged, I told him I wanted a divorce.
He got on his knees and begged me for one more chance. Swore he'd never betray me again.
I caved.
While we were trying for a baby, we booked a couples' suite at a hotel for a romantic night. I woke up halfway through to an empty pillow.
I found him in the room next door, wearing a bathrobe, holding the same woman he'd sworn was out of his life.
Louis calmly let go of her and offered his explanation:
"I went downstairs to grab the food delivery. Came back and walked into the wrong room by mistake. Nothing happened between me and Kathy. Don't overthink it."
I didn't believe him. I demanded they both take a DNA test.
His expression darkened. He scooped me up, carried me back to our room, and kept me in bed three rounds straight.
He bit my earlobe and whispered:
"Daphne Henson, trust me. All I want right now is to have a baby with you. A happy little family of three. So stop making things hard for Kathy."
I chose to give him one last chance.
Three months later, Louis came with me for a prenatal checkup. A fire broke out in the hospital.
I was still on the ultrasound table when he abandoned me to rescue Kathy Hughes, who was having her own checkup in the next room.
"Kathy's pregnant too, and she's more fragile than you. I need to get her out first!"
While Louis carried Kathy toward the exit, I collapsed on the floor and was trampled by the stampeding crowd.
He didn't even glance back. His foot came down hard on my lower abdomen.
The baby was gone.
And so were we.
——
By the time a stranger helped me to the hospital entrance, Louis had already disappeared.
My abdomen was badly injured. Blood kept soaking through.
Out of habit, I called Louis for help. Before I could get a word out, his impatient voice cut in:
"Daphne, why do you have to be so needy? Just take a cab home. Why do you need me? Kathy just had a terrible scare. I'm taking her to see a doctor."
Then I heard Kathy's voice in the background:
"Louis, don't worry about me. Go find Daphne. Just leave me here to fend for myself."
"Shh, don't say that. I'm not going anywhere today. I'm staying right here with you..." He hung up.
Louis cared so much about Kathy and her pregnancy that he'd left me behind in a burning hospital.
I couldn't help but suspect the child in Kathy's belly was his.
But none of that mattered anymore.
Not even Louis himself mattered to me now.
I called an ambulance and went to a different hospital.
The doctor examined me and was prepping me for a D&C surgery.
That's when Louis burst through the door.
"Dr. Dickerson! Kathy's over there saying her stomach hurts. You need to go examine her right now!"
Only then did he notice me lying on the operating table. His face cycled between pale and livid, and he snapped:
"Daphne, you did this on purpose, didn't you? Instead of going home, you came here to steal Kathy's doctor?"
A bitter laugh escaped me. So this was what I was in Louis Farley's eyes.
He was the one who cheated. Kathy Hughes was the one who ran the moment he was diagnosed with leukemia.
I was the one who donated stem cells. I was the one who stayed and took care of him. I shut down my company for him. I was drained, body and soul.
And this was what I got.
I looked at Louis, my voice shaking.
"Do you remember what you promised me? You said you'd never betray me again. You said you and Kathy were finished."
"What exactly are you doing right now?"
A flicker of guilt crossed his face, but it vanished in an instant, replaced by righteous indignation.
"Kathy is pregnant. You want me to just ignore whether she lives or dies? Daphne, how can you be so heartless?"
