Chapter 5

Abigail

His voice held a hint of tension, and I felt a rush of apprehension.

“I—uh, I heard the phone ringing.”  I said, my mind racing to think of how to play this off. I couldn’t let him know I’d seen my surprise. “It was so loud, and I thought the call might be important.” 

His eyes narrowed slightly, and I could see the tension in his posture. He stepped into the room, a flicker of irritation crossing his face. “You shouldn’t have come in here, Abigail. You know how I feel about people being in this room without my permission.” He replied, his tone sharper than I expected.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be a problem,” I replied. “You weren’t around, and it sounded urgent. It was about Alexander. I took the call. They have some leads, and I gave my permission for them to proceed.”

The tension between us was thick as I stood there, waiting for Conrad’s response. His brow furrowed as if trying to choose the right words. But when he finally spoke, I felt my frustration boil over again.

“Abigail, you can’t just take matters into your own hands like this,” he scolded, his voice low but firm. “You shouldn’t have interfered with my brother’s rescue mission like that. You have no idea how sensitive this situation is.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he continued, cutting me off. 

“And Susanna is coming back here to recover. For her health, she’ll be staying in the master bedroom.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My breath caught in my throat as the heat of anger rose in my chest again. “What?! No! That’s our room, Conrad! You said the same thing last time!” 

“She needs it, Abigail. She’s been through a traumatic experience—”

“ You think it’s okay to just uproot everything because Susanna is feeling needy? What about me? I’m your wife!”

“Don’t turn this around on me,” he snapped, his frustration bubbling over. He ran a hand through his hair, his agitation mounting. “It’s not just about her being needy. She lost her husband! You’re not thinking clearly—”

“I’m thinking quite clearly, thank you very much!” I snapped right back.

"It’s just practical, Abigail. The master bedroom is larger, and the adjoining room could house a caregiver. That way, Susanna gets the 24-hour care she needs, and you’re not burdened."

This bedroom holds so many of our memories, and every design was carefully thought out and completed by me. Especially the small attached room—I had prepared it for our child. And now, he’s letting someone else move in so casually, just for a ridiculous reason. He must still think I did something to Susanna, that’s why he’s hurting me like this.

"That room wasn’t designed for a caregiver, Conrad. It was supposed to be for our child." My voice cracked slightly on the last word, but if he noticed, he didn’t show it.

Conrad sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Susanna’s pregnancy is delicate. And even though it’s not our child, the room was meant for a child. It might as well be hers. She needs space and support right now. You’ve seen how fragile she is."

He shook his head, exasperated. "You’re not the one who’s pregnant, Abigail. You don’t need—"

"I am pregnant!" The words burst out of me, sharp and raw like a crack of thunder. “And maybe if you paid attention to me for once, you’d know that!”

Conrad stared at me, blinking as though I’d just told him the sky was green. Then, to my utter disbelief, he laughed. "Don’t be ridiculous. You’d have told me by now if you were." He dismissed it so easily, so carelessly, that it felt like a slap. “Abigail, you can’t just throw that out there like a trump card. This isn’t a competition.”

My throat tightened, but I refused to let him see me cry. He turned away, muttering something about how I was being dramatic, leaving me standing there. I couldn’t believe I had blurted out my news only to have it dismissed. What had I expected? That he would be overjoyed and throw his arms around me? Instead, I felt more alone than ever.

As I made my way to the master bedroom, I gritted my teeth, filled with both anger and hurt. How could he prioritize Susanna over our own marriage? This was supposed to be our marital home, and now it felt like a battleground.

When I stepped inside, the first thing I noticed was the chaos that Susanna had already begun to create. She stood in the middle of the room, hands on her hips, looking around the space like it was her own. A smug smile played on her lips, and I could feel my blood boiling as she turned to me.

“Ah, Abigail,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “I hope you don’t mind my little invasion. After all, Conrad insists I need to be comfortable during this difficult time.” A smirk played on her lips. “How nice of you to come by. Are you here to help me move in?”

“What are you doing here?” I snapped, unable to contain my frustration. I hadn’t expected her to come in so soon. “This is my room.”

She stepped closer, her eyes sparkling with a malicious delight. “Oh, but you see, dear sister-in-law, that’s where you’re mistaken. This is my room now. Conrad wants me to recover properly, and I think he’s quite right. Don’t you?” 

My hands clenched into fists at my sides. “Is this the doctor's advice? Moving into someone else's wedding room would be beneficial for the baby? You have no right—”

“Do you really think you’d be in this family if it weren’t for me?” she interrupted, her voice low and mocking. The words hung in the air, heavy with a meaning I didn’t understand yet.

“What do you mean by that?” I demanded, confusion mingling with my anger. 

But before she could respond, Conrad appeared in the doorway, his expression full of happiness as he looked at Susanna. “Happy birthday, Susanna!” he exclaimed, stepping into the room and breaking the tension. 

I stood to the side, frozen. Shock flooded my system as I watched him pull out the painting from behind his back, revealing it in a flourish, followed by the bouquet of red roses. “I thought you’d like these. I know how much you love flowers.” 

It felt like I was watching a scene unfold from a play that I had no role in. Conrad knelt before Susanna, presenting her with the gifts. “I thought you might like these, too. You deserve to be celebrated today.”

I couldn’t hold back the shocked sound that escaped my lips. “What?” 

Finally, his gaze snapped to me, surprise flickering across his face as he realized I was in the room. “Abigail?” he asked, confusion in his features, as if he couldn’t understand what I was doing here, in the room. In his house. In his life.