"You’re awake?"
Vernon sat by the hospital bed, his eyes bloodshot, his voice soft with something that could have been a worry.
"Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?"
His tone was thick with grievance, blame, regret, and maybe a flicker of concern. But I couldn’t trust it. How could he care?
If he truly cared, he wouldn’t have ignored everything Riley had done to me.
"I didn’t even know myself. How was I supposed to tell you?" I replied, my voice hollow, the fading hope in my eyes betraying me.
"Your period hasn’t come for months, and you didn’t think to take a test?"
“Hmph, you should ask Riley about that. How long has it been since she last let me leave the house?”
I turned my gaze away from Vernon.
“Since neither of you can stand me, let’s just get a divorce, Vernon.”
“I’ve had enough of Riley’s humiliations and your cold indifference these past months.”
“You can leave, but I’m not agreeing to a divorce.”
“Rest up. I’ll come check on you later.”
With that, Vernon stood and walked out.
At the door, he stopped and threw me one last line.
“Eloise, don’t be sad. We’ll have another child someday.”
I said nothing.
There would be no future for us.