Page 33 of The Space He Left
And then I found it. The very first message she’d sent from the hospital. A clinical address and the name I’d barely registered at the time: The Cadogan Clinic - Center for Advanced Wellness & Rejuvenation.
My fingers, clumsy with dread, tapped the name into the search bar. The results loaded in an instant, a digital confirmation of my own stupidity. The clinic’s website was a pristine landscape of white and gold, advertising services like ‘Surgical Aesthetics,’ ‘Dermatological Arts,’ and ‘Post-Operative Rejuvenation.’ There were testimonials about breast augmentations, articles on the latest laser treatments, and price lists for liposuction.
There was no mention of an oncology department. Not a single word about cancer.
Everything Sam had said was true. Madison had been lying to me. The cancer diagnosis, the treatments, the desperatephone calls, the surgery – all of it had been an elaborate fiction designed to manipulate me back into her life.
I thought about the night we'd spent together on the hotel sofa, watching movies and sharing Chinese food. While I'd been here, Harper had been alone, timing contractions and unable to reach her husband. While I'd been promising Madison I wouldn't leave her, my wife had been facing labor without me.
I'd missed the birth of my daughter.
The rage hit me like a tsunami, followed immediately by a crushing sense of betrayal and guilt. Madison had played on my emotions, my history with her, my inability to abandon someone I thought was dying. And I'd let her do it.
The drive back to Willowbrook was a nightmare. Every red light, every slow-moving truck, every minute that passed felt like another nail in the coffin of my marriage. I tried calling Harper repeatedly, but her phone went straight to voicemail.
I left message after message, all saying the same thing:Harper, I'm so sorry. I'm coming home now. Please call me back. I love you. I'm so sorry.
But the messages felt hollow, inadequate. No apology could undo missing Emma's birth. No explanation could justify choosing Madison's lies over Harper's truth.
The highway stretched endlessly ahead of me, each mile marker a reminder of all the times I'd made this journey for Madison while Harper faced pregnancy alone. All the appointments I'd missed, all the moments I'd abandoned, all the choices that had led me here.
My phone rang. Mom.
"Jack, your father and I have just arrived at the hospital. Sam has been keeping us updated while nobody could reach you." Her voice was cold, disappointed in a way I'd never heard before.
"Mom, I just found out about the baby. I'm driving back now—"
"We know exactly where you've been and why you weren't here for your daughter's birth."
"Madison was having surgery. I thought she was having—"
"Madison was manipulating you, just like I tried to tell you two weeks ago when I called. But you wouldn't listen then. Apparently, you haven't been listening to anyone."
The disappointment in her voice was crushing. "Mom, I thought she was dying."
"No, Jack. You thought you could be her hero again, just like in high school. And while you were playing that role, your wife gave birth to your daughter without you." Her voice cracked slightly.
"I'm coming home now. I'll fix this."
"Jack, while you are my son and I love you dearly, I don't like your actions, and I am very disappointed in you. Your father is, too. We raised you better than this."
The words hit harder than Sam's anger had. My parents had always been proud of me, had always supported my choices. Hearing Mom's disappointment felt like losing their respect forever.
"Your father and I will be staying to support Harper for as long as she needs us. Emma is beautiful, by the way. She looks just like you did as a baby. It's a shame you weren't here to see it."
"Mom, please—"
"The best thing you can do right now is focus on repairing the damage you've done to Henderson Construction. Pete called us this morning. Your father's life's work is falling apart because you've been unreliable and couldn't see past Madison's manipulation."
The words were like physical blows. Not only had I destroyed my marriage and missed my daughter's birth, but I'd also risked the business my father had spent his life building.
"I didn't know—"
"I don't want to hear your excuses. Now get yourself together and figure out how to be the man Harper and Emma deserve. If it's not too late."
She was right. Madison had lied, but I'd chosen to believe the lies. I'd chosen to ignore the evidence in front of me, to dismiss the concerns of people who loved me.
The responsibility was mine.
