Chapter 3 The Reveal (Pt 3)

• DAPHNE
• “The baby Lori is carrying is mine. Also the person she’s engaged to is me.”
• Only a few hours had passed since I came home from the party, but my whole world had been flipped upside down. In horror, my gaze went to Lori’s baby bump; a bump I’d stared fondly at a few times over the past month.
• Lori was about three months into her pregnancy. That was three months of them lying in my face, three months of the people at the office smiling to my face but laughing behind my back. With horror, I realized they must have all known about the truth. That was confirmed by the restroom talk I heard earlier.
• Their relationship must have begun even before that. All those times Micah told me not to worry about Lori because she was just a friend and a secretary, he lied.
• “Y-You…” My words came out in a stutter as I pointed a finger at Lori’s tummy. “It can’t be!” I shook her head wildly as if that would erase the truth that was right in my face. The wetness on my face increased. “Micah, how could you do this to me?”
• Micah looked unapologetic. His expression was unrecognizable to me. “Sometimes, marriages last, sometimes they don’t.” Then Lori added, quietly, under her breath, but still loud enough for me to hear, “If you gave him a child, maybe this would never have happened. This is your fault.”
• Furious hot tears streamed down my cheeks. Maybe it was the realization that for over four years, I had lived with this person, thinking I knew him, only to find out that I didn’t, I sobbed loudly as I looked down at her belly. Had I been so blinded by love that I didn’t see the signs, or had Micah just been really good at pretending?
• “My fault,” I whispered those words to herself in the midst of her tears. “It’s all my fault.”
• Back then, all the hospital visits had concluded the same thing: There was nothing wrong with either of us, and eventually, we would conceive. And it had happened as all the doctors said. The ache in my chest grew more intense. My child would never experience a full family, would never know what the love of a father felt like.
• Micah didn’t give me any time to pull herself together after breaking the news. He spoke again.
• “Seeing that you’re ruined the first divorce papers, I’ll give you another one. You have a week to get all of your things and leave my house after that. As you can see, I’m being generous.”
• When I didn’t respond, Micah and Lori turned around and left the kitchen. Shaking with tears, I held on to the counter to steady myself.
• I signed over all my shares to Micah, which meant the company was totally his now. Also, the house was bought in his name, so I couldn’t fight him for that. All of my expenses had been taken care of by Micah too, so there was little to no money in my bank account. In conclusion, I had made all the wrong mistakes.
• I was going to be thrown out of her matrimonial home pregnant and penniless, with nowhere to go.
• Oh, but you have somewhere to go, don’t you? A quiet voice spoke in my head. You can go home.
• Shaking my head, I responded to the voice out loud, “I can’t do that to him. ”
• You have nowhere else to go.
• Before I could respond to that, the kitchen door opened and Lori walked in again. She was alone this time. Her lips curled up in a smug smile when she saw that I hadn’t moved from the position they left me in.
• “Don’t feel too sad, okay?” Lori’s words dripped with mockery. “He was never ever going to move on from me. You must not know how it is with your first love; you never forget them no matter how much time goes back. Although I broke up with Micah then, that didn’t mean I let him go, so how dare you try to replace me.”
• Lori laughed before settling onto the kitchen stool. My teary eyes followed her, watching her every movement. I didn’t want to remain in the same space as her so I turned around to leave. As I took the first step towards the door, Lori called me back.
• “Wait. I’m hungry. Make me something.”
• I’d already been humiliated, but wasn’t this crossing the line? With a spiteful glare at Lori, I shook off my shame and left the kitchen. I didn’t bother going into the room Micah and I shared. Instead, after picking my purse from the living room, I went into the spare room.
• Looking around the bare room, I made up my mind then. For my baby’s sake, I would have to put aside my pride. Bringing my phone out of my purse, I, from memory, typed out a number, then dialed.
• After one ring, the call connected. A couple emotions, including shame rushed to the surface at the moment so I didn’t speak. I couldn’t. I could only sob into the phone.
• “Daph, talk to me. What is it?” A gruff baritone asked from the other side of the phone.
• “Pops, If you let me, I want to come home.”