Jesus, what did my mother not understand? I came here for advice, not an echo.
“Yes, she’s been working for him. Alex took the children in today and Eden told her why he broke up with me. It’s because I said in the future, I wanted a baby with him, and he had a vasectomy. He didn’t want me to choose. He didn’t ask me.” My chin is dripping with tears.
“I see. Let’s make a pot of tea.” My mother’s eyes grow steady, and I feel her take charge.
I sit outside, looking around the garden, my fingernails tapping away on my legs. I would chew at them if I hadn’t just had them done.
“How do you feel?” Mum asks, returning with a tray and placing it down.
“Angry, very angry,” I say. "I can't believe he did this." I want to hurl the cup across the garden, but this is Mum’s most expensive tea set.
“Okay. Why?”
“I love him, and he didn’t tell me the truth.” I watch as she pours the tea into the cup, followed by a sugar cube, but I don’t take sugar.
“For the shock,” she says, like she can read my mind. She hands it over, then pours her own drink and takes a sip. I wait for her to tell me what to do. “And if he did? Could you give up the chance to have your own baby, Gemma? Carrying a child, giving birth. Could you give all that up?”
I frown. “Yes, of course I could.” What kind of question was that?
“Are you sure? You say that now, but what about the future? What about in five years’ time? This is a big decision.”
I grimace at the taste of the sugary tea. “We could adopt, try reversing it. Sperm donor?”
“Does Alex even want any more children? He thought he was doing right by you. How much does having a baby meanto you? Does Alex mean more to you than a baby does?” She looks at me, waiting.
I've always known the answer to that question. It is simple. “I was a mum to two beautiful children. They are mine and I love them.”
My mother smiles. "You were a wonderful mum to those two children, but we have to consider the facts now, Gemma. It's over, and you're not their mum. Alex wants to give you a chance at being a mum yourself."
"I want to betheirmum," I say. "He's such an arsehole."
"Most men are, dear," she says as a matter of fact.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
ALEX
My office door opens.I know what she’s done without her even telling me.
“How was she?”
“She ran off.” Fern starts to return to her desk.
"Do you know where to find her?" I call after her.
She nods. "She would have gone to her parents' house. She doesn't start her new job until next week."
"She got a new job?" I ask, surprised.
"Yeah, at a nursery school."
“Watch the kids,” I shout as I rush out of the office, grabbing my car keys.
I wonder if I should get Gemma flowers or something, but I decide against it. First, I need her forgiveness before I start wooing her again. I need to make this right.
I drive to her parents’ house, ringing the bell when I arrive. I'm surprised when Brody answers.
