Sarah has always trusted Ethan, believing his promises and dreams for their future together. But as she uncovers his shocking lie about paternity leave, her world shatters. With her unborn child to consider, Sarah faces a heart-wrenching choice: confront Ethan and risk everything, or take control of her destiny to ensure their safety. What will she do now?
Ethan and I stood in the nursery, surrounded by pastel colors and baby toys. I could already picture our baby sleeping peacefully in the crib.
“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this,” I said, unable to contain my excitement. “Just imagine those first few weeks with our baby, both of us here, supporting each other.”
Ethan smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah, it’ll be amazing,” he said half-heartedly.
I frowned. “Is everything okay? Did you talk to your boss about paternity leave?” I asked.
He sighed and looked down at his hands. “I did. He wasn’t very supportive.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He wants me to go to another city for an important project. He hinted that if I refuse, I might lose my job.”
I felt like the air had been knocked out of me. “Lose your job? But we need your income, especially now.”
Ethan nodded. “I know. We can’t afford for me to get fired.”
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice steady. “So, what are we going to do?”
He shrugged. “I don’t see any other option. I’ll have to go.”
I wanted to cry. We had been so excited about this plan, and now it felt like everything was falling apart. But I couldn’t let Ethan see how much this hurt me. He had enough to worry about.
“Maybe,” I said, trying to sound hopeful, “we can figure out a way to make the most of the time we do have together.”
Ethan reached over and squeezed my hand. “We’ll make it work, Sarah. We always do.”
I forced a smile. “Yeah, we will.”
But deep down, I felt a pang of disappointment. This wasn’t how I imagined starting our new life as a family. I had pictured Ethan and me sharing every moment, every first with our baby.
Now, it felt like those precious moments would be overshadowed by worry and stress.
Still, I knew we had to push through. I had to be strong for Ethan and for our baby.
A few days after Ethan broke the news about his paternity leave, I found myself at the grocery store, trying to focus on picking up essentials. I couldn’t shake off the worry, though. My mind kept wandering back to our conversation.
“Sarah! Is that you?” A familiar voice called out.
I turned to see Amanda, Ethan’s boss’s wife, pushing a cart down the aisle. We had known each other since university, and she always had a bright, cheerful demeanor.
“Hi, Amanda,” I greeted her, managing a smile.
“How are you? And how’s the baby?” she asked.