Chapter 3
Not long after, I found out I was pregnant.
The baby was a total surprise.
It broke the tension between me and David.
When David Turner rushed to the hospital, his face lit up with genuine happiness.
He was the one who apologized first.
"I handled things badly before," David said.
David explained that he and Julia had dated for a while the summer after high school and split up because they were not a good match.
It wasn't until he went abroad for a business trip that he ran into Julia by chance.
That was when he found out her son was sick.
At that time, Julia's son had just had surgery, and she was planning to move back to the country.
That was how she ended up at David's company.
I kept quiet and never brought up Julia again.
After that, David came along to my prenatal checkups.
He was trying to learn how to be a good dad.
Even the baby nurse said she'd never seen a dad who was always fussing over every little thing.
The projects I used to handle slowly started landing back on my desk.
Everyone in the department was totally stunned to find out I was actually married.
"We can bring our partners to the team dinner. Emily, you gotta bring your husband next time!" they teased.
I just brushed it off with a laugh.
"He's always tied up with work and business trips," I said.
I've always been the avoidant type.
Even though things between me and David had gotten better, things never really went back to how they used to be.
There was no going back to the way things were.
We stopped talking about where to go on weekends at home.
We didn't even discuss what to do for our anniversary anymore.
The second time David and I fought was when I was seven months pregnant.
I accidentally saw David's bank statement.
He had sent Julia Summers 300 thousand dollars.
I stood there, stunned.
At the same time, David walked into the study.
He noticed what I was holding.
My lips parted, my eyes stinging with tears.
"What is this?" Emily asked, her voice trembling.
David pressed his lips together.
"It's to pay for her son's treatment," he said.
I asked him why he never told me.
David lowered his eyes, sounding indifferent.
"You wouldn't be happy even if I told you," he said.
I took a deep breath. "How much have you sent her in total?"
David pressed his brows together, unable to hide his impatience.
"Her son has a rare form of leukemia. The treatment costs a fortune," he said.
Emily stared at him, pressing, "How much did you send her?"
David pulled a tight, cold smile, letting out a quiet, almost mocking laugh, his eyes icy.
"Emily, it's my money. I spend it however I want."
A cold shiver ran down my spine as I stammered, "David, we're married."
David raised an eyebrow.
"I've never put any limits on you using my money," he said coolly.
David and I went back to giving each other the silent treatment.
Not long after, word got around the department that Julia's son was sick.
Julia was proud, and she never talked about it in front of anyone.
David called me into his office.
Julia was sitting on the couch, her eyes red from crying.
David fixed me with a dark, intense stare.
"Did you spread the rumor?" he asked.
Something in me went cold. "No. It wasn't me," I said.
Julia bit her lip.
"I know the two of you are married. I shouldn't be leaning on David like this, but nobody else knew about my son except you," Julia said.
I laughed, and there was nothing warm in it.
"Then maybe you should ask whether somebody else couldn't keep quiet," I said.
I turned and walked out of the office.
That night, I started bleeding a bit.
David took me to the hospital.
I woke in the middle of the night, and the room held nobody but me and the nanny.
"Ma'am, Mr. Turner had to fly out for something urgent. I heard him on the phone, and it sounded like a child was very sick," the nanny said.
She gave me a sympathetic look.
I rubbed my belly and stared out the window.
After that, David didn't come home for three whole months.
Every now and then I would get an email from Julia with photos of David in it.
Some showed him taking care of Julia's son, and others showed him cooking or asleep.
There were nights when I could not sleep, and I would lie there counting everything good about David.
Then I would count everything bad, and the bad always came out ahead.
*****
After my maternity leave was over, I went back to work.
It had been a while since we had all seen each other, so my close colleagues in the department got together.
I met up with my work friends a few more times after that.
David kept trying to wait for me after work, but I always brushed him off.
I sent: [I have plans tonight. Let's go home together another day.]
I sent the message.
The chat showed he was typing.
After a while, he just sent back: [Okay.]
I let out a sigh of relief.
The party tonight was just an excuse.
I didn't want to go home with David.
My mind was still on my daughter.
I took a walk by the river, delaying my return by half an hour.
When I got home, David was feeding Dawn with a bottle like he'd done it a thousand times.
He looked conflicted when he saw me.
I gave him a casual smile, shrugging it off.
"The party got canceled at the last minute," I said.
David's Adam's apple bobbed.
"You're avoiding me," he said.
I opened my mouth and hesitated. "I'm not."
David looked at me, his eyes intense.
"Are you still upset that I didn't make it back in time?" he asked.
I let out a sigh.
"You've got it wrong. I'm not upset anymore. Not even a little," I said.
David went still, and something like panic showed up late in his eyes.
"Why aren't you mad at me? You used to get upset," he said, sounding confused.
I didn't answer.
I took Dawn from his arms and went upstairs.