Chapter 4
The night the results came back, I cooked a full dinner.
I made braised short ribs, roasted salmon, garlic broccoli, and tomato soup.
Every dish was one he liked.
I was going to tell him.
I was going to tell him that I was pregnant and that I knew all of it.
And then I was going to watch him.
I wanted to see whether he would admit it.
I wanted to see whether he would apologize.
I wanted to see whether he would ask me to forgive him.
I wanted to see whether he was worth one more chance.
Halfway through dinner, his phone rang.
He looked at the screen, got up, and went out onto the balcony.
The door shut behind him.
I sat at the table and watched him through the glass.
When he answered, his shoulders came down, and his voice went soft.
He had not used that voice on me in a long time.
"Good girl, I'll come see you tomorrow," Richard said, his voice gentle.
"What do you want to eat? I'll bring it for you.
"Yeah, I miss you too."
He hung up, came back in, sat down, and kept eating.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"Just something from work," he replied.
He picked up a rib without looking at me.
I set my fork down.
"Richard," I said.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"I'm pregnant," I said.
His fork stopped in the air.
Then he looked up at me.
There was no surprise on his face and no happiness.
There was something complicated in it instead.
He looked like a man with no idea what to do.
He looked like a man who had not planned on this.
He looked like a man watching a problem walk into the room.
"Really?" he asked.
"Really," I said.
"When did this happen?" he asked.
"Six weeks ago," I replied.
He was quiet for a long time.
Then he said something I would never forget.
"Are you sure you want to keep this baby now?"
I didn't answer.
Because I already knew the answer.
He didn't deserve it.
"And you?" I shot back. "Are you sure you want another woman's baby right now?"
He froze.
"What did you just say?" he asked.
"Grace," I said. "She's pregnant too, isn't she?"
Richard's face went pale.
"How do you know about Grace?" he asked.
"I know about more than just Grace," I said, locking eyes with him. "I know about Sophie, Lucy, Chloe, and Maggie too."
His fork slipped out of his hand, hit the table, and rolled onto the floor.
"When did you find out?" he stammered.
"Three months ago," I said. "Your phone lit up while you were in the shower."
"Then why did you—" he started.
"I was waiting," I said. "Waiting for you to come clean. Waiting for your conscience to kick in. Waiting for you to realize you'd wronged me.
"But you never did," I said, standing up. "You just kept getting worse. One woman, then two, then five. Richard, do you really think you're some kind of player, having all these women wrapped around your finger?"
"Emma, I—" he started.
"Save it," I cut him off. "I don't want to hear a word. I just have one thing to say."
"I want a divorce."
*****
The next day, I met with Diana.
"I want a divorce," I told her.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked.
"I'm sure," I said.
"Do you have all the evidence?" she pressed.
"Yeah, I've got everything," I replied.
I forwarded Frank's file to Diana.
She read through it and sat there without saying anything for a long time.
"Emma, this man is crazy," she finally said.
"I know," I said quietly.
"Five women at the same time. And while you were pregnant, so was someone else."
"Yeah, I know," I said.
"So, what's your plan? Are you going to file for divorce or settle privately?"
"I'd rather settle," I said. "I don't want to go to court or have everyone find out."
"Alright, I'll draft the agreement for you," she said.
That night, I put the agreement on the coffee table and waited for Richard.
He didn't get home until eleven, and he had been drinking.
He saw the papers and stopped.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Divorce agreement," I said.