Page 100 of Oracle Returns: Time will Stop

He went there.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were depressed after our last child?” he asked. “I would have helped you through it. I would have gotten you some help if I couldn’t do it myself.”

She shrugged.

“You were busy building this business. You were stressed, and I figured I could handle it.”

He was silent.

And that was trouble.

For both of them.

Tori took a stab at it. Julian had a few speeds.

Happy.

Indifferent.

Pissed.

Most things fell into those three categories. It was rare he deviated from them. If anything, you could set a clock by his mood. He woke up happy, by midday, he was indifferent, and at night, he was generally pissed at Trey.

“Are you angry that I didn’t tell you? Because you just got REAL quiet, real fast.”

He stopped her.

Moving, Julian put his head in her lap, so that he was staring up at his wife, and he realized he’d pushed too hard. He’d not seen it from her perspective.

It never occurred to him that she’d struggled. If anything, his wife had been a soldier and was damn good at carrying on.

“I’m not angry. I’m…”

She waited.

“You’re what?”

He went there.

“I’m getting fixed. I don’t want you to suffer. If having children is hurting you after the fact, making you suffer, I don’t want that, Victoria. I love kids, but I never considered how brutal it is for you. I’m sorry that when you said no, I didn’t take the time to find out why you were not happy about it. I should have known you had a valid reason.”

And this was why she loved him.

Her husband had moments of fear and lunacy, but at some point, he figured it out. She didn’t have to worry about that.

Because she didn’t tell them at work about it for sympathy or pity, she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before explaining.

“I love children, Julian. I do. I especially love your children, but I’m tired. I don’t want to do this again. I’m getting fixed.”

He stopped her.

“No. I’ll get fixed. I’ll call the doctor as soon as this is done. I’ll get a vasectomy and take one for the team. I know that it’s harder on your body, and you’ll have to go under, whereas I will just need to close my eyes and get numbed up. I want to put my wife’s needs first. You birthed the babies, and I’ll get the snip. It’s only fair.”

She appreciated that.

“Really?” she asked.

He nodded.