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“Olivia is not Ben’s,” she insisted.
Squinting my eyes skeptically, I asked, “How old is she again?”
“Three.”
“Technically, it’s possible, then. How can you be sure she’s not Ben’s?”
“I’m ninety-nine percent sure.”
My eyes stretched open. “Ninety-nine. Not a hundred…”
“Like I said, it’s nearly impossible.”
I leaned in. “How is that the case if you were having regular sex with him?”
“Ben was religious about using condoms. He didn’t want to take even the smallest risk of getting me pregnant.”
“And this other man you were with…you had unprotected sex with him?”
“Yes. He was my long-term boyfriend. We’d been together almost ten years when I met Ben. Brian and I aren’t together anymore.”
I checked my phone and realized it was time for me to head to work.
“Look, Gina, I’m not going to push this issue or do anything to influence Bridget one way or the other, but if she ends up wanting a DNA test, would you be willing to have Olivia tested to match for a sibling against Brendan?”
“Yeah. I mean, if it will put this to rest. My ex, Brian, knows about my affair with Ben. I ended up telling him after we broke up. But he’s taken responsibility for Olivia. He believes he’s her father.”
“Alright…well, I appreciate your willingness to cooperate if it comes to that.” I stood up. “I have to be going now.”
She stopped me. “Before you go…for what it’s worth, please tell Bridget I’m really sorry. I don’t think she’s gonna want to hear that. But it’s the truth. It was so hard not being able to go to Ben’s wake and funeral. Aside from my own injuries that prevented me from it, I couldn’t face her. Ben may not have been in love with me like he loved his wife, but I knew he cared about me. It wasn’t just sex, you know? We were friends, too. I’ll never get over what happened to him. But I certainly wish that this whole thing hadn’t come out. Nothing good can come from this now.”
“I wish I’d never found out about it, to be honest. Now, I’m faced with having to ruin her memory of him. But I can’t not tell her.”
“I understand. You’re in a difficult position.”
“Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”
“No problem.” She smiled, her eyes landing on my torso before returning upward. “Bridget’s a lucky woman.”
I walked away, refusing to acknowledge her last comment, which didn’t sit right with me at all. It made me feel like she’d do it all over again if given the opportunity. Once a cheater, always a cheater. It was amazing how easy it was for her to justify her actions. They had a connection, my arse. Fuck that. He was married to someone who believed in him and who thought their marriage was sacred.
Driving to the hospital, I didn’t know how I was going to make it through my long shift. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to address any of this with Bridget until our mutual day off this weekend. While the time apart would allow me to gather my thoughts, I wasn’t sure there was any way to do this without shattering her world.Brendan had tomorrow off because of a professional day at school, so I dropped him off at his grandmother’s house for a sleepover. I planned to pick him up on Saturday afternoon.
Driving back from Ben’s mother’s place, I found myself dreading returning home to an empty house. Even though I had loads of laundry to do and plenty of housework to occupy my time, I was really missing Simon tonight. I hated when we ended up on opposite shifts like this. He’d be working all through the night.
It was a bizarre week to say the least with his unexpectedly getting called into the deposition and then his drunken night away. Simon never lost control like that, and I guess it was a matter of time before stress caught up with him.
Making matters worse, he hadn’t nailed down a permanent position here yet, so he was facing unemployment on top of everything. He had some discussions with the management at Memorial about their taking him on permanently, but no one had been able to give him any guarantees yet.
So, I couldn’t say I blamed him when he let loose at the bar the other night.
I’d just pulled off the highway when my phone rang. Quickly glancing at the screen, I realized it was Ginnifer, one of the nurses at the hospital. She was the only co-worker I’d really confided in since Simon publicly announced our relationship.
It was odd for her to be calling me outside of work, though. It made me wonder if I’d left something behind.
“Hey, Ginny. What’s up?”
“Where are you?”
“I just dropped Brendan off down in North Kingstown. Headed home to crack open a bottle of wine and do laundry. Exciting night.” I chuckled. “What’s up?”
