AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I drive into a posh neighborhood in the outskirts of the city and slow down as I near my destination. My heart pounds hard in my chest as I bring the car to a stop in front of a three-story mansion set back along a winding driveway. I make a left turn and drive toward the stucco-walled mansion.
I suddenly wish I’m brought Lexi with me, but I know that’s just cowardice speaking. I have to learn to do things for myself and my daughter, no matter how difficult they are. I get out of the car, straighten my dress and then march up to the front door as if I’m expected. My hands tremble as I ring the brass doorbell.
I’m expecting a servant to open the door, similar to my grandparents’ home but when the door opens, I know that the woman standing in front of me is Gabriel’s wife. She’s breathtaking with long, silky hair and a pretty open face. There’s no wariness in her eyes at seeing a stranger at her door. I feel bad about what I’m about to do. She seems so peaceful and unaware of the kind of man she’s married to. But who knows, it could all be an act.
“Hello,” she says and smiles.
“Hi,” I say, surprised that my voice comes out strong. “Are you Pam?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“You’re who I came to see. My name is Vanessa Allen.” Something flickers in her eyes. “I’m Ivy’s mother. May I come in?”
That surprises her but she stands to one side and welcomes me in. It’s cool and pretty inside, but that does not surprise me. I follow her into the living room, and we sit opposite each other. Sweat forms under my clothes. I know that this is the right thing to do but it doesn’t make it any less difficult.
“Can I get you anything? A drink?”
“No, thank you.”
My admiration for her goes up a notch. How can she be so polite to a woman who had an affair with her husband? Unless…
She looks at me with sympathy and curiosity. “Yes, Gabriel told me about you. I’m sorry you have to give up your baby.”
I blink rapidly. “What?” I ask her. “I’m not giving up my baby. What exactly did Gabriel tell you about me?”
“Is that not the truth?” she says, narrowing her eyes. “What’s going on?”
I take a deep breath. “Let me start from the beginning.” I tell her how I met Gabriel at the hospital and how he led me to believe that he was single and free to date.
The only clue that she’s affected by what I’m saying is the tightness around her eyes. As I come to the end of my tale and how he threatened to take my daughter from me, tears fill her eyes.
“I would never be involved in something as horrible as that. We’ve tried to have a baby now for almost a decade. I can’t believe that Gabriel thought that this was the answer,” she says completely heartbroken.
I ache for her.
“How long were you together?” she says.
“A few months,” I say. “Please believe me when I say that I never knew that he was married. I never even suspected it. Had I known, I wouldn’t have touched him with a ten-foot pole.”
A tear falls from her right eye and flows down her cheek. “He said he had changed. We even went for counseling.”
Cheaters don’t change. I don’t say it aloud. She’s going through enough pain without me adding to it. She talks but I have a feeling she’s not talking to me. I just happen to be there.
Then we hear the sound of a car outside.
“Gabriel is home,” she says.
As if by mutual agreement, we both fall silent and remain so, even when we hear the front door open and close.
“Honey, are you home?” he says.
“In the living room,” Pam calls out.
He walks in with a smile that freezes when he sees me. He grinds to a halt. He looks at me then his wife and then me again. “Vanessa, what are you doing here?”
Chapter 40
Logan
“Look at her sleeping, she looks like an angel,” my sister Janice says.
She dropped in for a visit and we’re relaxing in the living room after an hour spent entertaining Emma. Janice and I have sung, danced, and made silly faces at her. She’s probably tired from all the stimulation as she’s fallen asleep before finishing her bottle.
“She is. Do you want me to take her up to the nursery?” I ask Janice.
She gives me a dirty look. “Don’t you dare. This is my moment to get my weekly dose of Emma love.”
If there’s one thing that my daughter will never lack, it’s the love of an extended family. She’s surrounded by people who love and dot on her. Janice and I sit quietly admiring Emma. Then Janice raises her head and looks at me.
