She Was Five Months Pregnant, I Was Three, He Was Hers Chapter 01

She Was Five Months Pregnant, I Was Three, He Was Hers Chapter 01

I went to my prenatal appointment alone and ran into my husband—the husband who was supposed to be overseas on a business trip.

He was speaking softly to another woman, one hand shielding her from the crowd around them.

Her belly was already beginning to show, and when she noticed me staring, she looked over without a hint of awkwardness.

“Hi. Do you know my husband?”

The message Thayer had sent me that morning flashed through my mind.

[My schedule’s packed with meetings over here, and the reception’s terrible. Take care of yourself and the baby.]

I looked at him without saying a word.

Thayer’s eyes widened, and his hand froze in midair. He recovered quickly and forced himself to sound calm.

“Odessa, this is Maren Winslow. We went to high school together.”

He said it so casually, as if we had never been married at all. As if I really were nothing more than an old classmate he hadn’t seen in years.

Odessa studied me curiously. Her gaze dropped to the wedding ring on my finger.

“You’re married too? How come your husband didn’t come with you to your prenatal appointment?”

I looked down at the ring I hadn’t taken off once in three years.

Thayer had bought it for me with the first real money he made after starting his company.

A bitter smile touched my lips as I slipped it off.

“I’m not here for a prenatal appointment.”

“I’m here to get an abortion.”

Odessa went slightly pale, but she couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Wait, you’re pregnant… and you’re getting an abortion?”

I looked at the gentle curve of her belly, then at Thayer standing beside her.

“It’s fine. Even if my baby were born, they wouldn’t be happy.”

I paused and looked straight at Thayer.

“Not like yours. Your husband treats you so well.”

Thayer’s eyes widened again.

Odessa, however, completely missed what I meant. Her cheeks flushed as she glanced down and touched her belly, her voice full of barely contained happiness.

“I told him he didn’t have to come. It’s just a prenatal appointment. It’s not a big deal.”

She gave Thayer a mildly exasperated look.

“But Thayer insisted. He said he was worried about me and the baby.”

I drew in a slow breath.

“How far along are you?”

Odessa’s eyes curved with a smile.

“Five months.”

My fingertips slowly went cold.

My baby was only three months along.

I looked at Odessa again, my smile deepening.

“So when did you two get married? Funny. My old classmate never mentioned it.”

“We haven’t had the wedding yet.”

Odessa didn’t seem guarded at all. She spoke as casually as if she were chatting with a friend.

“But our families have already met. Thayer said planning a wedding while I’m pregnant would be exhausting, and he wants me to actually enjoy it instead of feeling miserable the whole time. So we’re waiting until after the baby is born to have the wedding.”

Another chill settled in my chest.

Their families had already met.

Did that mean Thayer’s parents knew too?

I looked at him. His face had gone almost completely white.

He reached for Odessa.

“Come on. Let’s get your checkup done.”

Odessa gave him an annoyed look, with the easy petulance of someone used to being indulged.

“There are still a ton of people ahead of us. What’s the rush? I’m having a nice conversation.”

She turned back to me, curiosity in her eyes.

“So you and Thayer really went to high school together? How come he’s never mentioned you?”

“Maybe we just weren’t that close,” I said evenly.

Odessa still didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong.

“I love hearing stories about Thayer in high school, but he hardly ever tells me anything.”

“How did you two meet?” I asked.

Her expression softened immediately.

“I interned at his company two years ago. I didn’t know what I was doing back then, and my supervisor was always getting on me about my work.”

“Thayer was really nice. Once he found out, he started teaching me himself.”

“There were so many nights when he stayed late at the office helping me fix proposals, then drove me home afterward.”

“At first, I only saw him as my boss. Then there was this concert I really wanted to go to, but I couldn’t get a ticket. I was upset about it for days.”

“But somehow Thayer got tickets. He even went with me.”

“That was when I realized I’d fallen for him.”

She spoke with a soft sweetness, like she was telling me about the beginning of some perfect romance.

I stared at Thayer.

“Was it September 15?”

Odessa looked at me in surprise.

“You like that singer too?”

I smiled.

“Yeah. I couldn’t get tickets either.”

Then I continued.

“That day, I was home with a fever of 104. I called my husband more than ten times, and he rejected every call.”

Odessa froze.

“Were you okay?”

“I was.”

I smiled as I said it.

“Someone took me to the hospital.”

Odessa visibly relaxed, as though she were genuinely relieved for me.

“Thank God. I’m glad someone was there to help.”

I kept my eyes on Thayer.

There was panic in his expression, along with regret and the humiliation of being exposed right in front of me.

I spoke slowly.

“Do you know who it was?”