He Saved Her Child And Left Me In The Fire

The day I caught my husband coming out of his secretary Sophie Blake's room, the shock cost me our baby. When I woke up, he was on his knees beside me, sobbing. "It'll never happen again. I swear. No one but you, for the rest of my life." I couldn't throw away all those years together. So I gave him another chance. He deleted Sophie's contact info and started coming home on time every night. I could check his phone whenever I wanted. I thought we were going to be okay. Then he sent me a riding instructor's contact info. "Every Sunday, you complain that I won't go anywhere with you. Why don't you find something to do on your own?" I texted the instructor, and he sent me a video about his lessons, including photos of his students. As I watched, one photo stopped me cold. There was my husband, riding double with Sophie, his arm wrapped around her waist. I sent the instructor a voice message right away. "Do you teach the couple in this photo, too?" He laughed in his reply. "No, their daughter's my student. She's 5. They come every Saturday. Lovely couple. I offered them a free trial lesson last week, and they insisted on riding the same horse." I set down my phone without a tear. I didn't call Adrian Mercer. I just took off my wedding ring. I was done. ***** When I asked my lawyer to draw up divorce papers, she went quiet. "Ms. Ellis, your husband dotes on you. Are you sure this is what you want?" My grip tightened on my phone. After 7 years of marriage, Adrian still seemed like the perfect husband. Fresh flowers every week, always my favorites. If I mentioned craving chestnut cake, he'd drive 2 hours out of his way to bring me some. He'd even filled the notes under my contact with everything I liked. Everyone thought Adrian Mercer adored me. If I hadn't seen that photo, I'd still believe it, too. But I couldn't get it out of my head. Every Saturday, he told me he had clients to entertain. He'd been going to his other family. At 10 p.m., I heard the door unlock. Adrian came in with a box of chestnut cake, his suit still cold from the night air. "Baby? You still up?" He set the box on the table and came over to hug me. "The company's anniversary gala is next week. Come with me?" I stepped out of his reach. "What's wrong?" His hand stopped in midair, and he frowned. My stomach lurched. Clapping a hand over my mouth, I hurried into the bathroom and threw up until there was nothing left. Adrian followed me in and rubbed my back. "Are you okay? Was it something you ate?" His voice shook. I rinsed my mouth and met his eyes in the mirror. "I'm fine. I don't want the cake. Just go to bed." "No." He turned me toward him and pressed a palm to my forehead. "You're too pale. We're going to the hospital." There was no arguing with him. He bundled me into a thick coat and carried me to the car. At the hospital, he hurried up and down the corridor, his tall frame impossible to miss. When the nurse came to draw blood, I turned away from the needle, and he clasped my hand in both of his. "Don't be scared. I'm right here." He always had been. Tears filled my eyes. He hadn't stopped caring about me. He just cared about her, too. I was waiting in the corridor for my results when he stepped away to take a call. He kept his voice low, but I could still hear the woman on the other end, close to tears. "Adrian, Lucy's fever is 103.6. I'm scared..." His face changed at once. Ending the call, he crouched in front of me and held my shoulders. "Baby, there's an emergency at work. I have to go. Ben's on his way. He can stay with you, okay?" I looked at him, then nodded. "Go. Don't keep them waiting." Relief crossed his face. He kissed my forehead and strode away. Before I knew it, I was following him. He went to the third floor. Pediatrics. Through the glass, I watched him break into a run toward the treatment area. Sophie was there, holding a little girl with an IV in her arm. Tears filled her eyes when she saw him. "Adrian, thank God you're here." "How's Lucy? Has her fever come down?" He took the child, settling her against him with practiced ease. "Shh. It's okay. Daddy's here." It hurt more than I was ready for. We'd been married for 7 years without a child. When the doctors told me I would struggle to conceive, I'd cried through the night. Adrian had held me. "It doesn't matter. I just want you. We don't need a baby." Of course he didn't need one. He already had one. My phone vibrated. The nurse upstairs was calling. "Ms. Ellis? Your results are ready. Could you come back up?" I drew a deep breath and walked to the elevator. My hands shook as I took the report. There it was in black and white. 8 weeks pregnant. I sat on a bench in the corridor. Tears splashed onto the paper. I'd waited 7 years for this baby. But I no longer wanted my husband. I gripped the report and looked up at the doctor. "Please don't tell my husband about the pregnancy." I turned and froze. Adrian's assistant, Ben, was standing right behind me, white-faced.