A few hours later, we’re strolling down Fifth Avenue arm in arm. We’ve already been to an outrageous number of stores and bought way too many things that we dropped off at the car not long ago. Shane will probably freak and have a ton of questions when he sees his credit card bill. He knows I’m not a spender, but every time Hailey saw something cute, she insisted I try it on and buy it.
She looks over her shoulder at Lionel who walks casually behind us. “I still can’t believe Julian insisted on you having a bodyguard to follow you around everywhere. What does he think will happen?”
I shrug. “Julian’s just overprotective when it comes to people he cares about.”
She scoffs. “That man does not care about anyone but himself.”
“I think he’s just misunderstood, he’s actually pretty nice once he shows his softer side.” I suddenly feel the need to defend him. I’m not sure why Hailey and Julian dislike each other so much, but I could sense the tension between them at the party.
“I’ll have to see it to believe it.” She laughs.
“He hugged me not too long ago,” I provide as proof.
She stops abruptly as people walk around us. “The ice king hugged you?” she asks with wide eyes.
Her expression makes me chuckle. “He did, I was a bit emotional, and Shane was out talking with my brother. Julian comforted me.”
“Wow… I believe you… but I still can’t believe that. I’ve known Julian for so long and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hug someone.” She blinks, starting our walk again.
I catch her glimpsing down at my stomach and she lets out a little sigh. “I don’t know if Shane told you this… but we had tried for a baby when we were married.”
Unease crawls up my skin. I don’t understand why she would be telling me this.Does she wish she was in my place? Carrying his child?“I… I didn’t know that.”And now I’m wondering why Shane never said anything.
When she looks at my face, she quickly puts her free hand up. “Oh no, Aubrey. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just thinking to myself. Let me explain it better. In the first years of our marriage, I felt like something was missing. I had always wanted to be a mother, and I thought maybe that was it. I knew Shane wanted children as well, but he wasn’t really in a hurry for them.”
I nod, staying quiet as she goes on. I’m really not sure where this conversation is going, but I also don’t want to jump to conclusions.
“Anyway, when I asked him, he agreed to try for one. After a year of trying without success, we ended up going to a fertility clinic because I was worried something was wrong. But everything came back clean, there was no reason that we weren’t having a child, it was just taking time, that’s what they told us.” She shrugs.
“It had started to affect me mentally, so we had put a hold on it and said we’d try again in a few months. Finally, a few months later I bumped into Henry. That’s when I realized what was actually missing from our marriage. It wasn’t a baby, it was love.True, passionate love. And well, you know how the rest of that story goes.” She bumps her shoulder against mine with a smile on her pink lips.
“I was just thinking about how strange life works. All it took was one night with you to have what he always wanted, because it’s what was meant to be. I think that’s why I couldn’t get pregnant, because I wasn’t meant to have a child with him, just like he wasn’t meant to have one with me. I’m just happy he’s finally getting it.”
I smile, looking down at the ground. “Do you still want children?” I ask her.
“I do. Henry and I plan on starting right away after the wedding. We wanted to wait a year, but with my biological clock ticking, I don’t want to wait and risk missing out on my chances.” The way she smiles when she talks about her fiancé lights up her entire face.
“I hope it works for you two,” I tell her genuinely. She’s such a nice person, she deserves it.
“Thank you. I hope so, too.” She squeezes her arm tighter around mine. “Ooh! Let’s stop there”—she points across the street—“I heard they have a nice summer collection this year.”
I turn my head to look across the street in the direction she’s showing, but as I do, I’m hit with a wave of dizziness. I quickly grab onto her arm with my free hand to stabilize myself as I feel my body sway. I close my eyes, trying to stop the spinning from happening, but my breath begins to shorten with each new inhale I take.
“Aubrey? Are you okay?” Hailey’s concerned voice reaches my ears.
I shake my head slightly, not wanting to make it worse. “Lionel… take me home.”
“I’m right here. We’re going,” he says from behind me as his arms grab hold and lift me off the ground, one hand behind my knees and the other along my back.
“What’s wrong with her?” Hailey’s heels click against the sidewalk beside us as Lionel speed walks to the car.
“She has low blood pressure,” he answers bluntly. “Aubrey, do we need to take you to the hospital?”
“No… I just need to take my blood pressure and rest. It should be fine,” I tell him quietly as I try to take deep breaths to calm my racing heart.
He nods when I look at him. “You tell me if something changes, all right?”
“I will.”
