Chapter 2: The Wife He Forgot
Alex sat beside my hospital bed.
The same man who once held my hand during thunderstorms.
The same man who promised me forever.
But somehow he looked like a stranger.
"Lucy, listen to me."
I stared at the window.
"I had seconds to make a decision."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You had seconds to reveal who you were."
His jaw tightened.
"That's not fair."
Fair.
That word almost made me smile.
Fair was not leaving your pregnant wife behind.
Fair was not skipping your daughter's ultrasound because another woman called.
Fair was not carrying your ex through a rescue while your wife was trapped ten feet away.
"You know what hurts the most?"
Alex stayed quiet.
"It isn't Valerie."
His eyes lifted.
"It's you."
I touched my stomach.
"Because I spent months defending you."
I looked at him.
"Everyone noticed."
"Noticed what?"
"That Valerie always came first."
His face changed.
"That's ridiculous."
"Is it?"
I counted on my fingers.
"The night she needed a ride from the airport."
"Lucy..."
"The ultrasound appointment."
"That was one time."
"The sink."
He looked away.
"The dinner you left."
Silence.
"You always had a reason."
Alex rubbed his face.
"She was going through a hard time."
I nodded slowly.
"And what about me?"
His expression softened.
"You were strong."
There it was.
The sentence that destroyed me.
Because strong people were always the ones people forgot.
I had been strong when I worked twelve-hour hospital shifts while pregnant.
I had been strong when he missed appointments.
I had been strong when I sat alone during scans.
I had been strong when everyone told me Valerie was probably nothing.
But strength had become the excuse people used to abandon me.
"I didn't need you because I was weak, Alex."
My voice broke.
"I needed you because I loved you."
He looked down.
"I made a mistake."
"No."
I shook my head.
"A mistake is forgetting milk at the store."
"A mistake is missing a phone call."
"What you did was a choice."
The monitor beside me beeped faster.
My daughter reacted to my stress.
The nurse entered.
"Mrs. Davis, you need to rest."
Alex stood.
"I'll come back."
I didn't answer.
He walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
For a second, I thought he might say something meaningful.
Something that could fix this.
Instead, he asked:
"Where's my ring?"
I stared at him.
"The one I gave you?"
He nodded.
I looked at my empty finger.
"I gave it to Mark."
His face changed.
"Why?"
I looked directly at him.
May you like
"Because he was the firefighter who actually came for me."
Alex froze.
