“Yes, but I want a child now,” she replied. “I have never wanted something more for myself than this. In fact, I have always placed my own needs behind me, but this… I…”
Isadora’s mind was spinning. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself, but her dream had been so vivid. It was a sign thatthiswas the thing that she truly desired, the only step forward for both of then.
“Isadora…” Evan tried to calm the situation, but she would have none of it.
“You wish to remain without children?” she asked bluntly.
“I thought that I had been clear about this,” he sighed loudly. “You know this. I have never kept that a secret.”
“Yes, but things between us havechanged,” she tried to argue.
“Isadora,thisremains the same.” There was an air of finality in his words. “I have no interest in having an heir. We should not fret about such notions and waste our time. We have each other.”
Even though Evan said the words gently, it felt like a stabbing sensation to her heart. He had just rejected her in a way that no husband ought to.
“I…” She suddenly found herself short of words. What was there to say when he remained so adamant?
“It does not make me happy to disappoint you like this,” he frowned. “But in time, you will begin to see that this is the only way possible for us.”
“And that is a decision you have made entirely on your own?” Her voice shook as she spoke.
Do not cry, Isadora,she said to herself, but at the moment, it was appearing difficult not to.
“It is a decision that you knew when we married,” he reminded her, as though the last few weeks between them meant nothing.
Abruptly, Isadora pushed away the cutlery in front of her and stood up. Her cheeks were heating up, and she did not know what to make of anything that her husband was saying.
“I have lost my appetite,” she announced. “I shall take my leave now, as you have given me quite a lot to think about.”
“Isadora.” Evan stood up behind her, grabbing her gently by the wrist. “You do not need to be like this. Expectations of a child—that is only something that society has put upon you. There arewaysto be happy without a family.”
Her eyes began to pool with tears.
“For a man who champions practicality, I am stunned that you do not see the value in bringing a child to this world,” she argued, tears stinging her eyes. “So perhaps it is onlymewith whom you do not wish to have a child.”
“You are twisting what I said.” Evan ran a frustrated hand through his hair as she freed her wrist from his grasp. “And frankly, you are the one here who is not thinking straight.”
“So, your decision is final?” she said again. “You do not wish to have children of your own?”
Children with me.
“I am sorry, Isadora,” Evan looked away from her then, “but this is something about which I am not willing to compromise.”
Isadora practically heard the sound of her own heart breaking.
“Oh.”
What else was there left to say?
“Please, excuse me.” She turned away from him. “I should prefer not to be disturbed for the remainder of the day. I wish you well with your work.”
With that, she raced out of the room, for she felt as though she would collapse if she were to remain there a moment longer.
Her husband—the man whom she loved dearly with all her heart—had rejected her for the one thing that she wanted the most.
When Isadora returned to her room, she shut the door loudly behind her and closed the curtains. She wished to be alone, to sink into the bed and let the darkness of the room consume her whole.
What had started for her as a beautiful dream this morning had so quickly turned into a nightmare.
