Byron looked toward Thomas, expecting help.
Thomas pointed into the hallway.
“Go. Leave.”
Mary left first. Byron followed, muttering under his breath.
“Go. Leave.”
Thomas went after them.
The door stayed partly open.
“You planned to renew your vows next month while your mistress was pregnant?” Thomas demanded.
“We can still hold the ceremony,” Byron replied. “Canceling it will start gossip.”
“You walked into Shay’s hospital room holding your mistress’s hand.”
“Shay hates people knowing our business.”
“Canceling it will start gossip.”
“You made it everyone’s business, and you made me pay for a ceremony you knew was a lie.”
The door closed.
***
My hands started shaking.
Nurse Patricia pulled a chair beside me.
“I waited five years for today,” I whispered. “Now this is what I’ll remember.”
My hands started shaking.
She adjusted Duncan’s blanket.
“What Byron did was unforgivable,” Nurse Patricia said. “But it doesn’t own this day. All Duncan knows is that you’re his home.”
She checked my line, then gave me space.
***
Thomas returned a minute later with his phone in his hand.
“You’re his home.”
“The vow renewal was my idea,” he said. “I paid most of the deposits, but I won’t decide this for you.”
“What are you asking?”
“Permission to call the person conducting it. He should hear the truth from us.”
The ceremony was six weeks away, with Duncan’s christening the next morning. Invitations had already gone out.
Byron was still arguing in the hallway.
“He should hear the truth from us.”
“Call,” I said. “Tell him there’ll be no vow renewal.”
Thomas nodded and stepped outside.
***
Five minutes later, Thomas opened the door and looked at me.
“He wants to speak to Byron.”
I nodded.
Thomas stepped back into the hallway and held out the phone.
Thomas nodded.
“Take it.”
Byron glanced at the screen. “Who is this?”
His expression changed the moment he heard the voice.
“I can explain.”
Thomas stayed between him and my door.
Byron listened, then lowered his voice.
“Who is this?”
“The ceremony is between me and my wife.”
The reply carried through the partly open doorway.
“A vow isn’t decoration, Byron. You don’t repeat one after breaking it.”
Byron looked into my room.
I held his gaze until Nurse Patricia closed the door.
“A vow isn’t decoration, Byron.”
***
Later that evening, after Byron and Mary had left, I opened the Notes app on my phone and typed three lines.
Protect Duncan.Protect my recovery.Stop protecting Byron.
***
The next morning, Nurse Patricia came in after checking the hallway.
“Mary’s asking to see you,” she said. “I can send her away.”
I adjusted Duncan against my chest.
“Give her five minutes.”
“I can send her away.”
***
Mary entered alone and stopped near the door.
“Byron told me your marriage was over.”
“You knew he was married.”
“Yes.”
“Then it wasn’t over, Mary.”
She looked down.
“Then it wasn’t over, Mary.”
“I believed what made staying easier.”
For once, someone had answered me honestly.
“He also promised we’d move into a larger house after Duncan was born,” Mary said.
“What did Byron tell you about the next few weeks?”
“He said he needed time to separate properly. He mentioned Duncan’s christening, but nothing else.”
“He didn’t mention our vow renewal the day before?”
“He mentioned Duncan’s christening.”
Mary’s face emptied.
“What vow renewal?”
“We were supposed to repeat our vows on Saturday. Duncan’s christening was Sunday.”
“He told me the weekend was only about the baby.”
“He planned to stand beside me and repeat his vows while you were carrying his child, Mary. That’s… who Byron has become.”
Her hand moved to her stomach.
“What vow renewal?”
“Did you know I was still undergoing treatment when your relationship began?”
“No. He told me it had ended the year before.”
“You believed what kept you from asking harder questions.”
Mary nodded slowly. “I did.”
Her apology couldn’t repair my marriage, but her messages could stop Byron from rewriting it.
“Send me everything he said about me, the house, and Duncan.”
“I did.”
She did before leaving.
***
Over the next six weeks, I recovered, cared for Duncan, saved every message, and sought legal advice.
“I want Byron involved,” I told the attorney. “But Duncan needs a routine, and my home needs boundaries.”
Byron would have scheduled parenting time.
***
