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The maternity ward was two floors above oncology, and Connor stood patiently in front of the lift. He was in such a hurry to get to Dru, everything seemed to be in slow motion.

Finally, he stepped out of the lift on the maternity floor. Emma had told him that Dru was in the first room on the left and his nerves kicked in as he walked to the room.

It was a private room and although the door was closed, he could look in through the glass panel at the top. He stood there, and as he looked in, a surge of love filled his heart. He had missed Dru so much, and the thought that he had caused her so much worry sat heavily in him.

She was lying on her back, staring out the window. Connor pushed open the door, but she didn’t turn; she was probably used to people coming and going all day. He put his bag on the floor inside the door and walked slowly over to the bed.

And waited.

Finally, Dru became aware that someone was standing next to her and turned her head slowly.

Her eyes were wide and a soft gasp puffed out. Her hand lifted to cover her mouth. ‘What are you doing here?’ Her voice was cold.

‘I’ve come to see my wife. I need to talk to you, Dru. To explain my behaviour to you.’

Her bottom lip quivered as she turned away. Guilt rose in Connor knowing he was responsible. Dru rarely cried.

‘Is this the right place to talk?’ she said, still looking away from him.

Connor was taken aback at the hardness in his wife’s voice and he knew he had to handle this carefully. He sent a silent thank you to Emma for preparing him.

He sat on the chair beside the bed. ‘I know I’ve been aloof with you lately, Dru, and I’m sorry I had to be like that. I’ve made a wrong choice in how I’ve handled something.’

‘Why did you have to make a choice? How did we get to that?’ Her voice rose, and still, she wouldn’t look at him.

Connor didn’t answer her question. ‘I was so caught up in what was happening to me, I shut down, and I didn’t realise that you were hurting too. Today, when everything worked out, I realised what you must be feeling.’ He focused on not mentioning Emma. ‘I’m sorry, Dru. I never meant to hurt you, but I know I have. I knew you wanted to talk to me at dinner last week, and I was deliberately obtuse. I knew if we started talking, I’d tell you what was wrong and I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to worry. That’s why I snuck out of the apartment like a coward the next morning.’

‘I’m strong, Connor.’ Dru’s gaze was steely. ‘You know that. I survived my father’s murder, I survived Zayed’s treatment, and I survived being accused of stealing diamonds, not to mention being kidnapped and left in the outback. So, I can cope with whatever you throw at me. Yes, I can, but what are we going to do about the children? Ruby’s been missing you already. How is she going to deal with this? We’ll have to plan very carefully. I will not have my child—my children hurt.’

‘They don’t need to know, Dru. It’s over now.’

Her laugh was bitter. ‘And how do I know it won’t happen again?’

‘Life is uncertain. We just take what we’re given. How did you know what was wrong?’ Connor was disappointed. Emma must have rushed straight back to Dru. He could understand it though, they were sisters and he knew what the Porter sisters’ loyalty was like.

‘No, I figured it out myself.’

Connor frowned. ‘How?’

‘I went to your office I saw you with her.’

Connor shook his head. ‘No, you misunderstood.’

‘I didn’t imagine you getting into a car with another woman.’ Dru’s voice shook as she finally looked at him. Connor tried to take her hand but she took it away. ‘Don’t touch me, Connor.’

‘What do you mean about the children? What do we need to tell them?’ He needed to go into his explanation carefully; he knew exactly what she meant but Connor wasn’t going to break Emma’s confidence.

‘When you leave.’

‘Leave for where? I’m not going anywhere, Dru. And this experience has made me rethink my job. I’m going to hand a lot more over to Greg. I’m going to be at home a lot more. I’m going to be more of a hands-on dad this time.’

She stared at him, her mouth still straight, but he could see the emotion in Dru’s eyes. Knowing that he had hurt her so much twisted his gut.

‘What? You’re going to spend some time with us? Pretend to be a happy family? I don’t know if I could accept that.’

Connor put a perplexed look on his face. ‘Dru, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Will you listen to me without interrupting while I tell you what’s been happening? What you saw is not what you imagined. I do not have another woman. I’ve been in hospital and I made the choice not to tell you as soon as I knew I was unwell.’

‘Unwell? What do you mean?’ As she lifted her head to meet his eyes, Dru’s welled with tears. Her face was swollen and puffy and he knew she’d been crying. His heart broke again.