My Fiancé, Her Baby Daddy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

"Honey, the mushroom soup was a little bland today, but I still finished the whole thing."Derrick Holmes' voice came through the phone as I sat in the back of a cab heading home, the thin sheet of paper confirming my pregnancy still clenched in my hand."Really?" I said quietly. "I guess I went a little easy on the salt.""That's probably for the best. The doctor wants me to eat pretty bland food for now, anyway." He paused, then sighed. "They're ridiculously strict at this recovery center. There's no TV, nothing to do. I spend half the day walking around and the other half bored out of my mind. Still, if putting up with this means we'll have healthy kids someday, I can deal with it."I looked down at the blue dot marking his location on my phone.It was still sitting directly over Luna Confinement Centre, barely ten minutes from where I was."How much longer are you supposed to stay there?" I asked."Seven more days," Derrick replied without hesitation. "Then I'm finally don

The OB-GYN department at Central Hospital was packed, as usual. The sharp smell of disinfectant hung in the hallway, mixed with the sound of a child crying somewhere nearby.I sat on a cold plastic chair with my appointment slip in hand and waited.Beside me, a young couple sat close together while the husband carefully peeled an orange for his wife."Slow down," he told her. "Is it too sour?"She shook her head, smiling at him.I looked away and focused on the electronic number board mounted on the wall.A moment later, my phone buzzed.Derrick had sent me another message, this time with a photo of a green lawn surrounded by several willow trees."The weather's great here today. The doctor says I'm recovering really well. Honey, I miss you."I enlarged the photo and studied it until I noticed half of a blue trash can near the edge of the lawn."Luna Confinement Centre" was printed across the side.Apparently, Derrick didn't think I was worth much effort to deceive anymore.

30 days could pass quickly or feel like forever.It was long enough for someone to start building a life in a new city, and it was more than enough time for a lie to finally run out of road.I sat at my desk on the 28th floor of an office building in Somerby with a cup of hot coffee in my hand. Outside the windows, the river stretched beneath a gray, overcast sky."Tiffany, that project proposal was incredible. The client approved it on the first pass."Laura Keegan, one of the interns, walked over carrying a stack of files and looking thoroughly impressed.I smiled. "It's thanks to the effort of everyone on the team."I'd been in Somerby for about two weeks.After leaving, I'd accepted an offer a recruiter had been trying to place me in for some time and joined a multinational company.I'd always been a core member of my previous project team, but for years, I'd turned down promotions and relocation opportunities because I wanted to take care of Derrick.Now, work kept me bus

After work, I had just stepped out of the office building when my work phone started ringing inside my bag.The number was local, but I didn't recognize it, so I answered with a simple, "Hello, who's this?"All I could hear was heavy breathing on the other end. It was obvious that whoever was calling was struggling to keep himself together.A long time passed before a hoarse voice finally came through."Tiffany… What happened to our baby?"It was Derrick.I had no idea how he'd managed to track down my new number, but his voice was laced with despair and shock. It was almost like his strength had been drained out of him."You were pregnant. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you go to the hospital alone? Do you have any idea what happened to me when I saw the consent form for the abortion? I almost lost my mind!"I stopped walking and watched the evening traffic streaming past on the road."What exactly was I supposed to tell you?" I asked, calmly enough that it sounded as though

Derrick's lips trembled, but he couldn't find an answer.After a long silence, he covered his face in despair. "I didn't know you were pregnant. If I'd known, I never would've—""What exactly would you have done?" I interrupted with a humorless laugh. "Run back and forth between the two of us? Lie to both of us? Or would you have brought Kiera home so she and I could recover from having babies together?"Derrick's head jerked up, horror flashing across his face."No! I would never do that!"He looked desperate to explain himself, but he couldn't find the words."While you were holding someone else's baby and playing the devoted father, I was lying on an operating table."I looked directly at him."After everything that's happened, don't you find it embarrassing to stand here telling me how much you supposedly loved me?"Derrick froze.The way he stared at me made it seem as though he were seeing me clearly for the first time.In his mind, I'd always been patient and accomm