My Dear Ex-Husband, You No Longer Have the Right to Love Me!

Later,when I was back in the master bedroom,my phone buzzed.I got a string of voice messages from Delaney.

I opened them one by one and hearing Beckett’s doting tone in the recordings,I realized all their past affection was just practice for Beckett.

He was practicing on me and our baby,all for the sake of Delaney’s child.

Every nourishing soup I drank,every gift I received for the baby,every parenting tip Beckett shared with me—it was all just practice for Delaney’s baby.

Even the nursery itself was prepared by Beckett for the child in Delaney’s womb.

I and the baby were just tools for Beckett’s rehearsal.He didn’t want Delaney to suffer through his learning curve,so I became the sacrifice.

I listened to the messages over and over,the pain swelling inside me until I laughed.Not because it was funny—because it hurt so much it pushed me over the edge.Everything I had been so proud of since the moment I got pregnant had been nothing but a lie.

Beckett’s tenderness toward my child?It didn’t even come close to what he showed Delaney and hers.

I clenched my phone so tightly my hand shook.It hurt to breathe.All I could do was whisper over and over to myself that it was okay.