Chapter 96
All of a sudden, Miguel remembered–there was a moment during their short two–year manage when Enrica had come to him, begging for help. He’d said the exact same words back then..
It was about a year after they got married pilliana had started pushing hard for a baby, but Enrica wasn’t getting pregnant. jilliana had gone out of her way to find a traditional medicine remedy, had prescriptions made, and insisted Entica make those nasty black soups every day.
For weeks, she carried the faint smell of medicine on her body.
Enrica had tried more than once to tell him she didn’t want to drink that stoff anymore. But he never took it seriously.
- y. In his mind, what woman didn’t want to have
achild? Hilliana was getting older wanting a grandchild wasn’t some outrageous demand.
When the herbs didn’t work, Jilliana started digging upsall sorts of weird folk remedies. One after another. And Enrica had to stomach them all. She finally asked him to po per checked at the hospital, just in case it wasn’t her body that was the issue.
That night, he lost it and blew up at her. He accused her of being ungrateful, of not understanding how much his mother had done for them. He told her she just didn’t want to take responsibility. That was their first big fight as a mamed couple.
In the end, she gave in. Quietly went back to drinking the bitter stuff every day. But something stuck with him. Every time a remedy failed, he’d hear her voice in the back of his mind, saving maybe he was the reason she couldn’t get pregnant.
That thought started to bother him, so he decided to speed things up. If natural conception wasn’t working, they’d go for IVF, which would solve the problem.
The cost wasn’t even a concem–he could pay for the best clinic in the world. It’d be safe and low–risk, and they’d finally get the baby his family wanted. But Enrica refused. She begged him not to go through with it. She told him she was scared and that it would hurt.
He thought she was being dramatic.
He told her, “Enrica, if you’re the one asking for a favor, try acting like it. You can’t get pregnant on your own, so IVF is perfectly reasonable, or hey, get pregnant naturally and show me how it’s done.”
And she just went quiet.
But eventually, she still did it. She went through with the IVF, but something went wrong, though. It still didn’t work
After that, Sheila came back from abroad, and his attention drifted. With Sheila around, kids were the last thing on his mind.
And now, after all this time, he heard those same exact words again from her.
He looked at Enrica, eyes beavy. “I know all this time, you’ve blamed me for how things ended.”
But before he could finish, she cut him off. Her voice was soft, as always, but her eyes were sharp and clear. “You’re wrong, Miguel. I’ve never blamed you. And at this point, I don’t feel anything. We’re equal now.“”
y mistake he made during their marriage, she let it go. She gave him
Right, they were equal now. Back when she had a hard time, he did lend her a hand. So, for every mistake his freedom. But she didn’t owe him a damn thing anymore.
Miguel looked at the woman standing in front of him socalm, so distant–and for some reason, his chest tightened. Like something inside him was slipping away, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
He closed his eyes and shoved the ridiculous feeling down, then looked at beragain. “I’m only asking you to introduce me to Lawrence. That’s it. You really have to push me away like this
She gave a faint smile. “Mr. Zucker, like I said, I’ll pass along your message. If he’s willing to meet, I’ll let you know. You’re the one dragging this into something It’s not.”
That lump in his chest wo
wouldn’t go away. He stood there, frustrated and bitter. He’d never realized his ex–wife could be this sharp with her words
He opened his mouth to say something else, but lus phone rang. It was Shella. He answered, and her sweet, playful voice came through. “Miguel, I have some good news! Where are you? Can you come home?”
He suddenly felt annoyed for no reason. Holding back his irritation, he said, “I’m at the office. Tell me when I get back tonight.
