Two days later, my husband received a telephone call while he was getting ready for work.
He answered in the hallway.
I was sitting on the bed, trying to put on my shoes.
His voice was low.
I couldn't hear the other person clearly.
Then he said something that made me stop.
"Not yet. She hasn't agreed to anything."
I looked toward the doorway.
He paused.
"After the birth, it will be easier."
My fingers tightened around the shoe.
I couldn't hear the rest.
Then he said goodbye and walked into the bedroom.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded.
"Who was that?"
He glanced at his phone.
"Someone from work."
I didn't question him.
He kissed my cheek and left.
I sat on the bed after the front door closed.
Not yet.
She hasn't agreed.
After the birth.
The words were becoming familiar.
And every time I heard them, I felt more certain that something important was being hidden from me.
That afternoon, I received a message from an unfamiliar number.
It was Graham.
He asked whether I was available for a brief conversation.
I stared at the message.
I wasn't sure whether I should answer.
Eventually, I replied that I could speak later.
He called about twenty minutes afterward.
"Hello?"
"Hi. I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No."
He sounded nervous.
That surprised me.
Graham had always seemed confident during our previous conversations.
He asked how the pregnancy was progressing.
I told him everything was going well.
Then he asked whether my husband had spoken to me about the arrangements after the birth.
I became still.
"What arrangements?"
There was a pause.
"I assumed he had explained."
My heart started beating faster.
"Explained what?"
Graham cleared his throat.
"I don't want to get involved in something that should have been discussed between you two."
I held the phone tightly.
"Graham, what are you talking about?"
He was silent.
Then he said he would prefer to speak with my husband first.
I felt anger rise inside me.
"You're asking me about a child I'm carrying, but you won't explain what you mean?"
He apologized.
He said he hadn't intended to upset me.
Then he ended the call.
I stood in the kitchen staring at my phone.
I couldn't believe it.
Even Graham was behaving as though I was the last person who needed to know what was happening.
That evening, I waited until my husband came home.
He put his keys beside the fruit bowl.
I was sitting at the kitchen table.
"Graham called me today."
He stopped.
"What did he want?"
"He asked whether you had explained the arrangements after the birth."
My husband looked uncomfortable.
"What arrangements?"
I stared at him.
"That's what I asked."
He pulled out a chair.
"He's probably talking about the practical arrangements."
"What practical arrangements?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Where the baby will live. When Graham will take the baby home. Things like that."
I nodded slowly.
"Then why did he sound nervous?"
My husband looked directly at me.
"I don't know."
I wanted to believe him.
But I was tired of believing explanations that never answered the actual question.
"Is there anything you need to tell me?"
He stood.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Turning everything into a problem."
I looked at him.
"I'm carrying a baby. I think I'm allowed to ask questions."
He stared at me.
Then he walked out of the kitchen.
That night, I barely slept.
The following morning, I attended another medical appointment.
My doctor asked how I was feeling.
I mentioned that I had been under emotional stress.
She encouraged me to explain my concerns and reminded me that my physical and emotional well-being mattered throughout the pregnancy.
I was grateful.
When I returned home, I noticed a printed document on the kitchen counter.
It was an advertisement for a house.
A modern property with three bedrooms, a large kitchen, and a garden.
I picked it up.
There was a handwritten note on the top.
Graham's name.
And underneath it, a possible moving date.
I read it twice.
Then I heard the front door.
My husband had returned.
He saw the paper in my hand.
His face changed.
"Why are you looking at that?"
I held it up.
"What is this?"
He took a breath.
"It's something Graham asked me to look at."
"Why?"
"He might be moving."
I looked at the three-bedroom house.
"Moving where?"
He reached for the paper.
I didn't release it immediately.
Then he pulled it gently from my fingers.
"It's just an idea."
I watched him fold it.
He placed it inside a drawer.
I wanted to ask why a possible move involving Graham had a date written on it.
But I already knew he wouldn't answer honestly.
That night, I wrote everything in my notebook.
The call.
The conversation.
The property advertisement.
The moving date.
Then I closed the notebook.
I had started this pregnancy believing I was helping another person become a parent.
Now I was beginning to suspect that my husband had been planning a completely different life while expecting me to carry the consequences.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: My Husband Told Me I Was Becoming Suspicious and Difficult, but One Message Finally Showed Me How Long He Had Been Lying
The Birthday Dinner When My Husband First Asked Me to Carry Another Woman’s Dream, I Never Imagined What It Would Cost Our Family
Part 10 of 20
