Page 11 of The Regrettable Mistake

“It’s fine.” I groaned because it was anything but fine. I was simply resigned to the fact that there was no changing history and eventually it was something that would settle in and change me. It already had. Every interaction that I’d ever had with another person had come into question. Was it genuine? Were they lying to me and I didn’t know? How could I be so stupid? Why was I so unlovable when a woman who abandoned her kid was worth all the heartache it would cost everyone involved? Would Denmark hate me for everything that was about to happen or would he forget me as quickly as his dad did the moment I wasn’t in his face?

“He can’t come back here, right?” I finally asked Hutch as he and my brother stood paralyzed, waiting for me to say or do something.

“No,” Hutch answered hesitantly. “He’s not supposed to anyway. If he does, you can call me immediately.” He paused a moment, seemingly unsure of himself, then decided to go for it. “Or I could stay just in case.”

“You wouldn’t do that for any other client.”

“You’re not any other client, Steph.”

“I’ll be here with her, Hutch.” Steve finally spoke up. “We should discuss one more thing before you go, though.”

“What’s that?”

“My sister is fourteen weeks pregnant.” I wasn’t sure if Steve informed Hutch of that to throw him off any interest in me – which was laughable to begin with – or if it was purely from a legal point of view.

“You’re keeping it?” Hutch questioned loudly, as if surprised that I would.

“It’s my baby, of course I am. Besides, I just found out about the pregnancy the same week my husband’s infidelity came to light. It’s not like I’ve had much time to process and make a decision, even if I wasn’t so far along already.”

“Sorry, your news shocked me is all.”

“Well, welcome to the club. This obviously wasn’t planned.” I rubbed my slightly pooched stomach. It was weird, in hindsight, that pregnancy had never occurred to me. I had gained weight, especially in my boobs, but also notably in my butt and what I thought was a bit of bloating in my midsection. Eating my feelings whenever my husband failed to call or come home had been the most likely culprit in my mind because Ollie hadn’t touched me in months.

“Okay. Well, from a legal standpoint, the pregnancy will have no bearing on your divorce proceedings. At most, it could delay things by six months if the child is born before the six months separation is up. At best, we get you through the divorce and sort out custody and visitation arrangements as well as child support after the baby is born.”

I nodded my head slowly to avoid my nausea turning into a vomit fest. I hated Ollie even more as my brother’s best friend, my lawyer, explained the process for establishing custody and visitation. Finding out I was pregnant and that we were expanding our little family was supposed to be a happy time in our lives. Instead, the joy I was supposed to feel was overshadowed by my heartache and my husband’s many betrayals.

“I need to lie down. Can we do this later?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Make sure those custody papers have a stipulation about not taking the baby out of the state or even more than one hundred miles away without written permission. Can you do that?”

“I will get it added into my notes.”

“Good. If you could also have something in there that his mistress can’t be around my child, that would be great.” Hutch frowned, but didn’t bother to tell me what I already knew. There was nothing he could do about that unless she proved to be a danger to my child.

Before either man could say another word, I walked into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. It sucked to be greeted by all the ghosts of my failing relationship but Ollie had barely been in our shared space lately. His scent had mostly drifted away days ago while he was away on his trip. It helped that I changed the linens, washed the comforter, and spring cleaned the rest of the room the day he left.

This was good practice for the months and years to come. When I woke up, I would clear anything of his out and make the space solely mine. My phone beeped from the nightstand and I stupidly checked it out of habit since Den was away with his grandparents.

Ollie: Please, don’t make any rash decisions yet. Let me explain. I wasn’t with her because I wanted to be. She blackmailed me.

Steph: With what?

Ollie: Something she used to force my hand.

Steph: Obviously. What was it?

Ollie: It’s not important.

Steph: Important enough to throw our marriage away. Keep your secrets, Ollie. It’s nothing new, since you always kept me in the dark anyway. We’re done.

Maybe it was petty of me, but I changed his name in my phone. The asshole couldn’t even come clean, despite the claim that he needed to talk to me. Truthfully, his name change wasn’t so much petty as it was a reminder, since I was such a sucker.

Lying, Cheating Bastard: Dammit, Steph. This needs to be discussed in person.

Steph: It really doesn’t. Say whatever you need to say to my lawyer.

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