I pulled my hand away from his grip. “Understand what? That you’re playing dad to a child that isn’t even yours?”
My bluntness made Tyler frown. “It’s just a title. Why are you overreacting?”
“Just a title?” I laughed bitterly and asked, “Then what about our child? The one we lost?”
“What are you trying to say?”
Hearing footsteps nearby, Tyler lowered his voice and stared at me as he said, “You think I didn’t want it? Let’s be honest. Who’s really to blame?
“You’re in your mid-thirties now. Have some dignity. Why are you jealous of a girl in her twenties?”
I wanted to argue further, but just then, Mindy emerged from the ultrasound room. Swallowing my emotions, I reverted to a professional distance.
I watched silently as Tyler became doting. He gently placed a hand on her belly and spoke with a tenderness I hadn’t seen in years.
“Our little baby has to be born healthy, okay?”
It was a painful scene to witness.
I excused myself to the bathroom, needing a moment to process the ache in my chest.
Inside, I lifted my shirt, exposing the scarred skin of my abdomen.
I thought back to four years ago when Tyler was still an unknown actor. He spent months away chasing roles, leaving me to handle everything at home.
Then, I was four months pregnant, juggling prenatal checkups and caring for his mother, Rachel Green, who had just moved in from the countryside.
One day, I endured an excruciating medical procedure, an eight-centimeter needle piercing my lower back. The pain was nearly unbearable, but when I felt my baby’s gentle kicks, I reminded myself it was all worth it.
That night, despite my exhaustion, I returned home to cook dinner for Rachel.
I never complained, not once.
However, an accident changed everything, leading me to lose my child and creating a gap between me and Tyler.
That day, Rachel insisted on making soup for me, but unfamiliar with the gas stove, she caused a leak.
It led to an explosion that engulfed nearly the entire floor in flames.
