had to meet under these circumstances. Take care of yourself.” She got up from her seat and walked out of the café.
I sat there as my body shook from head to toe and the tears streamed down my face. Shutting my laptop, I grabbed it along with my purse and ran out of the café. When I got home, I broke down like I had never broken down before. My body trembled and I felt sick. Running to the bathroom, I vomited. This wasn’t happening. Henry would never do this to me. Then my mind flashed back to the day on the yacht when he was on the phone and turned away so I couldn’t read his lips. And how his behavior changed after he ended the call.
Grabbing my phone from my purse, I saw I had a text message from him.
“Hey, beautiful. I just wanted you to know I miss you.”
“We need to talk,” I replied.
“I’ll come over after work. Is everything okay?”
“No. Things are not okay.”
“Are you home now?”
“Yes.”
“I’m on my way.”
“The door is unlocked. Just come in.”
I nervously sat on the couch, my heart racing a mile a minute as my belly was twisted in a knot. Before I knew it, he knelt in front of me and our eyes locked.
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
I looked away from him and trying to speak became difficult. My hands trembled and he grabbed hold of them.
“Ellie, what is it?” Even though I couldn’t hear his voice, I saw the pleading and the worry in his eyes.
“When were you going to tell me about Kirsten and the baby?” I finally managed to ask.
A shocked expression overtook his face as the color drained from it. I pushed him out of the way and got up. He grabbed my arm and spun me around.
“Don’t walk away from me. We need to talk about this. How did you find out?”
“Not from you. That’s for sure,” I shouted as I signed. “How could you do that to me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
He gripped my arms and then quickly let go.
“I wanted to tell you,” he signed. “I just found out she was pregnant on our last day on the boat. I needed to figure things out before I told you.”
“You were engaged to her when we met,” I shouted. “We went out and you were engaged!” The tears streamed down my face.
“I broke it off with her. Ellie, you must listen to me. I never loved her, and I was miserable until I met you.”
“If you didn’t love her, why were you going to marry her?!”
“Because of my parents! You don’t know them. If I were to gain control of the company, I needed to be married or at least be engaged by time I turned thirty. They introduced us because they thought she was perfect for me. I gave her a chance, but I never loved her. And then when I met you and instantly fell head over heels for you, I knew what I had to do.”
“But you never told me about her! You never said you were engaged. I asked you if you lived alone and you told me yes!” I signed and shouted at the same time.
“I did live alone. She had her place and I had mine. She wanted to move in, and I wouldn’t let her.”
“Why did you keep her a secret?”
“Because I was scared. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to see me anymore and I couldn’t risk that. I love you, Ellie. You are my entire life. You have to believe me. Who told you?”
“Your mom. She came to the café I was at earlier and introduced herself to me.”
“What?” His eye narrowed.
“She asked me if you had told me about your engagement and about the baby. She said I am to stay away from you because you’re going to marry Kirsten and the two of you are going to raise the baby together.”
He placed his hands on his head and paced around the room.
“I am not marrying that woman!” he signed in anger.
I stood there as the tears fell from my eyes and I physically felt my broken heart.
“You should have told me about her from the start. You lied to me, Henry. This whole relationship has been one big lie.”
“Don’t, Ellie. Don’t say that.”
“It’s true. I’m telling you the truth. Something you should have done from the beginning.”
“Would you have went out with me if I told you I was engaged?”
“No.”
“Exactly!” He pointed at