Page 96 of Surprise Baby for Mr. Fischer
“No, I need him to know I made a huge mistake letting him go and not believing in us enough.” Tears burned at the back of my throat. “Maybe someday he can forgive me.”
“That’s my girl.” Mom held out her arms.
I dove into them, squeezing her tight. “Thank you, Mom.”
An assistant came up to me with a big smile. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t seem to place her. “Hi, Harper. I’m Jenny. It’s good to see you again. Your segment will start in a few minutes. They’ll signal us when they’re ready for you to take the stage. I’ll be right over there if you need me.” She pointed to a spot about ten feet away.
“Thank you.” I laid my hand on Jenny’s arm to stop her from walking away. “I’m sorry, but how do we know each other?”
Jenny gave a nervous chuckle, and a faint red tinged her cheeks. “We only met a handful of times. I worked behind the scenes onThe Greatest Loser.”
I sucked in a breath.
“I’m sorry about the way the producers decided to portray you in that last episode, especially when they knew you were telling the truth.”
My mouth opened and closed. All this time, they could have put an end to my suffering and chose not to? “What do you mean they knew the truth?”
“Oh, geez. I thought you knew. A few days after they sent you home, they uncovered that Whitney wrote the note and framed you.”
“Whitney?” She’d cemented our loss of friendship when I found out she’d been the one to leak the baby’s paternity. I’d been pissed that she treasured fame over our friendship. The knowledge of what truly happened that day reinforced my decision to cut her out entirely.
“She was always so jealous of you. Half of her confessions in the booth were about how she hated that the audience favored you. We had to edit those out since the producers didn’t want the public to see the dissension in your team that early on.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me that Whitney had been behind it all, the wicked sea cow.
At Lincoln’s request, Clint had called me and verified Whitney had been the first to leak the story that I was at the hospital and having Lincoln’s baby. The other news outlets had jumped on the rumor the moment it became available in our local paper’s online entertainment section. Lincoln had told him that Whitney had been at the hospital the day I was admitted but had quickly forgotten in his haste to get to me. Clint learned she’d been at the ER to interview family members of the pregnant crash victims wheeled into the ER and must have overheard the nurse mentioning that Lincoln was my baby’s father.
I was glad to be rid of her.
Anger swept through me, starting at my stomach and working its way out through my chest. My body felt like it was on fire. Whitney’s deception, jealousy, and decisions she made had defined my life and how I lived it for so long. That one moment in front of the cameras as a teenager had left such a scar on my soul that it kept me away from the man I loved.
I was done giving Whitney the power to create the narrative of my life.
“Thank you for telling me, Jenny,” I said as my emotions settled with my new realization. I was done letting fear win, and today, this show would be a new beginning for me—hopefully, with Lincoln.
Mom gripped my hand. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Who would have thought she would turn out to be such a terrible person?”
“It’s okay.” And it was. Whitney’s actions reflected poorly on her, not on me. I didn’t need a toxic friend in my life.
Jenny’s gaze focused inward as she listened to the earpiece she had in. “Okay, Harper, you ready?”
“Yeah, I think so.” I turned to my mom. “Are they here yet?”
Mom flipped over her phone to check. She shook her head.
One of my sisters was supposed to text Mom when they got here. Since no word had come, I had to assume Lincoln refused to go with them. I took a deep breath and forced myself to walk on stage.
The bright lights blinded me from seeing into the audience. On wobbly legs, I made myself put one foot in front of the other until I reached the couch reserved for guests. I was to sit there with the two co-hosts, Megan and James, across from me.
I swallowed hard, forcing back the bile that threatened to escape. “Hi,” I said softly.
“Harper, we’re so happy you could join us today,” Megan said, giving me a welcoming smile.
“Thank you for having me.” My voice came out in a tight croak. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry. I’m a little nervous.”
“We completely understand.” Megan leaned forward to pat my hand.
“Megan’s right. After the backlash you received the first time you were on television all those years ago and the fallout from it, it’s a wonder you decided to join us.”
