PART 17 – Ryan Finally Understood Why I Had Smiled, and the Man Who Had Been Laughing at My Pain Suddenly Had Nothing to Say

Ryan turned toward his right.

I watched his face carefully.

The woman beside him followed his gaze.

Whatever confidence they had carried a few moments earlier was gone.

Ryan looked back at me.

"Claire, what have you done?"

I didn't raise my voice.

"Nothing you haven't given me a reason to do."

He looked toward the right again.

Then he looked at the girls.

I adjusted the blanket around one of them.

For months, I had imagined this moment differently.

I had imagined his arms around our daughters.

I had imagined him thanking me for bringing them.

I had imagined going home together.

But I wasn't that woman anymore.

Not after what I had witnessed.

Ryan took a step toward me.

"Please. We need to talk."

I looked at him.

"We already did."

He shook his head.

"Not like this."

I almost smiled.

He had been perfectly comfortable explaining his behavior when he thought I had no choice but to accept it.

Now he wanted a different conversation.

I looked down at my daughters.

They were still innocent of everything happening around them.

I wasn't going to let an argument become the first memory I created of their father meeting them.

I took a breath.

"Ryan, I came here because I wanted you to meet your daughters. I didn't come here to beg you to be a husband."

He looked down.

For once, he didn't have an immediate answer.

The woman beside him moved her suitcase.

I heard the wheels scrape against the floor.

Ryan glanced toward her.

Then he looked at me again.

"Claire, please don't make this worse."

I answered quietly.

"You made it worse before I ever arrived."

He rubbed his forehead.

I could see that he wanted to explain himself again.

But I had stopped waiting for explanations.

I had two babies to care for.

And I had a life that couldn't be put on hold because Ryan was finally uncomfortable with the consequences of his choices.

I turned away.

This time, I didn't look back.

Click here to continue reading: PART 18: I Returned to the Life I Had Built With Two Babies in My Arms and Realized That His Absence Had Taught Me More Than I Expected