Three Years in Europe for Everyone—Except His Pregnant Wife Chapter 05

Three Years in Europe for Everyone—Except His Pregnant Wife Chapter 05

Once Ethan had settled into his place overseas, he pulled out his phone to send Yvonne a quick Vanded safely” text.

Rae snatched his phone away with a grin.

“Ethan, can I borrow your phone? Mine’s glitching out.”

Rae was used to grabbing his phone whenever she wanted, so Ethan didn’t think twice about it. He

turned around to unpack his luggage.

Rae sank casually down onto the sofa with his phone. When the screen lit up, she spotted Yvonne‘ message from the day before.

Yvonne: [I slipped your abortion–procedure paperwork and divorce petition inside the lining of

your suitcase.]

Yvonne: [You left me off the family list for this overseas posting. From this day on, there is no spot

left for you in my life.]

A jolt of panic shot through Rae. On impulse, she deleted the text right away.

Beneath it, she also spotted a court–served summons notification. Without a second thought, she

erased that one too.

Glancing nervously toward the bedroom where Ethan was sorting through his suitcase, she hurried over. She put on a calm act and cut him off the second he went to open his suitcase.

“Ethan, let me handle unpacking. Aren’t you supposed to get back to your work emails?”

“Go take care of your business. Don’t waste your time on this trivial stuff.”

Rae nudged Ethan out of the bedroom.

Once he was gone, she shut the door and flipped open the suitcase.

She dug into the inner lining and found the documents: the abortion–procedure paperwork and the

divorce petition.

She tore them into tiny shreds and tossed the pieces in the trash. Then she took the garbage out,

making sure those papers were gone for good.

By the time Ethan finished his work, it was ten o’clock at night.

He lay in bed, about to call Yvonne, before the time difference crossed his mind.

Back home, Yvonne would probably still be asleep.

He held off on dialing and typed out a text instead.

Ethan: (Babe, we landed safe in Paris.]

The message went through, but no “Delivered” label ever appeared underneath it. That was when it

hit him–he’d been blocked.

Ethan immediately tried calling. All he got was a “call cannot be completed” message

Three calls in a row went nowhere. It hit him–his phone number was blocked too.

Anger flared inside Ethan, but he still convinced himself Yvonne was just throwing a petty fit. They’d had small fights before, and Yvonne would block him every time. Once he smoothed things

over, she’d unblock him again.

He assumed this time would be no different.

Ethan locked his phone, set it on the nightstand, and went to sleep.

Between heavy workloads and the time–zone gap, he didn’t reach out to Yvonne the next day.

When he got off work that evening, he grabbed his mom’s phone to send Yvonne a message. Ethan’s

mom: [Babe, it’s Ethan. Unblock me. I made it safely to Paris.]

Again, no “Delivered” label appeared.

Ethan hadn’t expected Yvonne to block his mother as well.

He tried his dad’s phone and then Rae’s phone. Every single one was blocked.

Frustration burned through him. He paced back and forth across the living room floor.

Rae stepped in, playing the understanding comforter.

“Women get little mood swings, that’s all.”

“Especially since Yvonne’s pregnant. Her temper’s bound to be worse.”

“Give her time to cool off. She’ll reach out when she’s sorted her feelings out.”

Ethan’s mom chimed in with her two cents.

“Some women soften when you coddle them. Others only grow more unreasonable the more you give in.”

“Don’t go running to soothe her this time. Let her come to you when she’s ready!” “If she keeps

throwing tantrums non–stop, how are you supposed to focus on your work over here?”

Ethan’s dad nodded in agreement.

We need to knock her down a peg. Otherwise her attitude will get completely out of hand later.on.”

Ethan planted his hands on his hips, genuine worry in his tone.

“She’s pregnant right now. That’s what I’m mostly concerned about.”

Rae offered deliberate reassurance to ease his mind.

“That’s exactly why you ought to relax.”

“She’s carrying your kid. She’s not going anywhere. Just focus on your work out here.”

Ethan’s unease settled.

He bought into everything his parents and Rae had told him, and poured all his energy into his job.

He would wait out the three–year posting, then go back stateside to reunite with Yvonne.