Chapter 7 - The Man Who Abandoned Me|
I was folding clean towels in the upstairs linen room when Elena came looking for me.
Her expression was troubled.
“Rachel, there's someone at the front gate asking for you.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
She hesitated.
“He says he's your husband.”
My hands went numb.
For a moment, I couldn't understand what she'd said.
Then the room seemed to grow smaller.
“Daniel?”
Elena nodded.
I hadn't seen Daniel Bennett in nearly five months.
The last time we'd spoken face-to-face, he'd stood in our tiny apartment holding a suitcase.
I'd been fourteen weeks pregnant.
He'd just learned that our baby was a girl.
“I never wanted this,” he'd told me.
I remembered standing beside the kitchen counter, trying not to cry.
“You wanted a baby.”
“I wanted a son.”
I had stared at him.
“She's your daughter.”
Daniel shrugged.
“Then you can raise her.”
He walked out that afternoon.
He didn't call when I lost our apartment.
He didn't ask whether I had enough money for prenatal appointments.
And when I sent him a picture from my ultrasound, he never replied.
Now, suddenly, he was standing outside the gates of a millionaire's estate.
I knew there had to be a reason.
I found him beside a black sedan.
He was wearing a leather jacket I'd bought him for Christmas.
His hair was neatly styled, and he looked strangely pleased with himself.
“Rachel.”
I stopped several feet away.
“What are you doing here?”
He smiled.
“Is that how you greet your husband?”
“You haven't acted like my husband in months.”
He glanced toward the mansion.
“Nice place.”
“Why are you here, Daniel?”
He leaned against the car.
“I heard you've been getting friendly with the boss.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
He pulled out his phone.
On the screen was a photograph from the engagement party.
It showed me standing beside Walter.
Adrian was visible behind us.
But the picture had been cropped carefully.
Walter's face was barely visible.
And the caption suggested that a pregnant housemaid had caused a wealthy man's engagement to collapse.
I stared at the screen.
“Where did you get that?”
Daniel smiled.
“Someone sent it.”
“Who?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
He put the phone away.
“Look, Rachel, I'm willing to forget whatever you've been doing here.”
My mouth fell open.
“Forget?”
He nodded.
“I mean, you're still my wife.”
I felt a wave of anger rise through my chest.
“You left me.”
“I needed time.”
“You told me our daughter wasn't worth raising.”
Daniel looked annoyed.
“People say things when they're upset.”
I stepped backward.
“Go home.”
He grabbed my arm.
“Don't be dramatic.”
I pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
His smile disappeared.
“Listen carefully.”
He lowered his voice.
“Evelyn Price tells me you've been making trouble for her.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
Daniel hadn't come because he missed me.
He hadn't come because he wanted to meet his daughter.
He had come because someone had given him a reason to interfere in my life.
“What does Evelyn want?” I asked.
Daniel shrugged.
“Just a statement.”
“What statement?”
“That Walter Santoro is confused.”
I stared at him.
Daniel continued.
“That you encouraged him to dance because you wanted attention.”
“And that Adrian misunderstood what happened.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You want me to lie?”
“I'm asking you to be practical.”
He stepped closer.
“Evelyn can help us financially.”
“There is no us.”
His jaw tightened.
“You're still carrying my child.”
I placed both hands over my belly.
“Charlotte isn't something you get to use against me.”
Daniel laughed coldly.
“You don't get to decide everything.”
He looked toward the mansion.
“People might wonder whether that baby is even mine.”
The words struck harder than I expected.
Not because there was any truth to them.
But because I knew how easily a cruel lie could spread.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Sign Evelyn's statement, and everything becomes easier.”
I looked at the man I'd once promised to love forever.
I remembered the nights I had worked extra shifts while he complained that we never had enough money.
I remembered the morning he'd told me I wasn't attractive anymore because pregnancy had changed my body.
And I remembered the little heartbeat I'd heard alone at my first prenatal appointment after he left.
I straightened.
“No.”
Daniel blinked.
“What?”
“I won't lie about Walter.”
“Rachel, don't be stupid.”
“And I won't let you use my daughter to threaten me.”
He laughed.
“You think you can raise a baby alone?”
My eyes filled.
“I've been doing everything alone for months.”
He stared at me.
Then his expression turned ugly.
“You'll regret this.”
A voice came from behind us.
“Is there a problem?”
I turned.
Adrian stood near the gate with Niko.
Daniel immediately released the sleeve he had been gripping.
His confidence returned in a different form.
“Mr. Santoro.”
He offered his hand.
“Daniel Bennett.”
Adrian didn't take it.
“I heard you raising your voice.”
Daniel gave a nervous laugh.
“Just a family disagreement.”
I looked at Adrian.
“I've asked him to leave.”
Adrian nodded.
Then he turned toward Daniel.
“You heard her.”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“She's my wife.”
“That doesn't give you permission to remain where she doesn't want you.”
Daniel looked toward Niko.
Then back at me.
“This isn't over, Rachel.”
I watched him leave.
Only when the gates closed did my knees begin shaking.
Adrian looked concerned.
“Are you all right?”
I tried to answer.
Instead, tears spilled down my cheeks.
“I don't understand why he came.”
Adrian's expression softened.
“Perhaps because someone discovered you were no longer as easy to frighten.”
I gave a shaky laugh.
“I'm still frightened.”
He nodded.
“Courage doesn't mean you aren't.”
We stood in silence for a moment.
Then I looked at him.
“I don't want anyone deciding what happens to my daughter.”
“Then make sure you have good legal advice,” he replied.
“Lillian can recommend an independent family-law attorney if you'd like.”
I wiped my cheeks.
“I would.”
He nodded.
“And Rachel?”
“Yes?”
“You don't have to explain your past to me.”
I looked toward the gates.
For the first time in months, I believed that perhaps my future didn't have to be controlled by someone who had abandoned me.
But that evening, Daniel sent me a message.
It contained a photograph of Evelyn standing beside him outside a restaurant.
Beneath it were seven words.
She says you'll lose everything by Monday.
I stared at the screen.
May you like
Then I forwarded the message to the attorney Elena had helped me contact.
I was finished letting other people decide when I should be afraid.
