Page 242 of Champagne Nights

“May I sit down?”

“Of course.” I gestured to the seat across from me.

“I’m Lillian Walker, Henry’s mother,” she signed.

“Wow. It’s so nice to meet you. How did?—”

“I wish I could say the same, but I can’t. I’m here because I want you to stay away from my son,” she signed.

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

“Did my son tell you he’s going to be a father?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as a sickness formed inside me.

“Excuse me?”

“I figured he didn’t. Did he tell you he was engaged to another woman when the two of you met?”

“No.” My body began to shake.

“Well, he was. He was engaged to a lovely woman named Kirsten, and he broke off the engagement out of nowhere. I suspect that had something to do with you. Now that Kirsten is pregnant, Henry plans on doing the right thing.”

“The right thing?” I signed.

“Yes, darling. He is going to marry her, and they will raise their child together. I don’t want to hurt you. You seem like a very sweet girl. But it’s better you found out from me since Henry has been keeping secrets from you.”

The air around me felt constricted as tears sprung to my eyes.

“I know it’s hard, but you deserve someone better. Someone who won’t lie to you and always tell you the truth. Unfortunately, my son lacks that. I’m sorry we 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 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?”

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