“Your mother came to see me while you were at work,” she said. “She offered me money to leave you, and when I refused, she promised I would lose my baby if I stayed.”
Chris froze.
“That’s not possible,” he whispered, but even as he said it, something inside him knew it was exactly possible.
Lily’s voice dropped lower, shaking with memory.
“She told me she had lawyers who would bury me,” Lily continued. “She said no judge would ever let someone like me raise a Hail child, and she said you would believe her when she claimed I was lying, or trapping you, or being greedy.”
Chris stared at her, sick with realization.
“You should have told me,” he said.
“I tried,” Lily replied, and the words landed like a final verdict. “Every time I brought up your mother, you defended her. Every time I told you I felt alone, you promised you’d ‘slow down’ after the next deal.”
She placed a hand over her belly and inhaled slowly, steadying herself.
“I left because I didn’t trust the world you were letting run our marriage,” she said. “And I didn’t trust you to choose me when it mattered.”
Chris’s throat tightened. “Where have you been living?”
Lily hesitated, shame flickering across her face.
“A tiny apartment,” she admitted. “One room. Sometimes no heat. I took whatever work I could find.”
“And the doctor?” Chris asked, voice turning urgent. “Have you had prenatal care?”
Lily looked away.
“I couldn’t afford it,” she said, and the softness in her voice broke him more than any accusation could have.
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