Brad smiled, that indulgent smile of his, and wrapped both hands around mine.
"Silly girl. Am I not good to you now?"
"From the moment you got pregnant, I swore to myself I'd lay down my life to keep you and our child safe."
His eyes reddened as he spoke, his voice thick with sincerity. "Babe, I know I shouldn't be leaving you right now."
"But she's my mother. She raised me all on her own. I can't bear the thought of her going through surgery overseas by herself."
"You've always been so understanding. You get it, don't you?"
I looked into those anxious, hopeful eyes and nodded.
"Of course."
"Her condition is serious. I'd never stand in the way of you taking care of her."
Brad let out a breath of relief.
"Marrying a woman as kind and reasonable as you is the greatest blessing of my life."
He gazed at me, his face full of tenderness, his eyes brimming with the same devotion I'd seen a thousand times before.
But I wasn't moved by it anymore.
I couldn't help wondering. All that love I'd been so proud of—how much of it had been real, and how much had been a lie?
When had it started between him and that woman?
While I was lost in those thoughts, my mother-in-law walked in.