“Claire is going to lose her mind when she sees you,” I whispered.
And I was right.
Just not for the reason I thought.
PART 2
A few minutes later, the hospital room door opened.
Claire rushed in first, with Evan right behind her.
For months, I had imagined this moment. I had pictured Claire crying with joy, reaching for the baby she had wanted so badly.
I smiled down at the little girl in my arms.
“Say hello to your daughter,” I whispered.
Claire stopped walking.
Evan’s face went pale.
“Did you say daughter?” he asked.
The smile disappeared from Claire’s face so fast it frightened me.
Evan shook his head.
“No. No, this is wrong.”
I held the baby closer.
“What’s wrong?”
Claire stared at the newborn like she was looking at a stranger.
“This isn’t the child we wanted.”
The room went still.
One of the nurses quietly slipped out.
I looked from my sister to her husband.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Claire’s voice sharpened.
“We were promised something else. We don’t want this child.”
Evan nodded.
“There has been a serious mistake, Marianne.”
I could not believe what I was hearing.
“Someone needs to explain what is going on.”
Claire ran a hand through her hair, frustrated and panicked.
“We were promised a boy.”
Evan’s jaw tightened.
“We needed a boy.”
I did not know it yet, but their obsession with having a son had nothing to do with love, dreams, or family.
It was about money.
Claire began pacing the room.
“We’ll sue the clinic. They assured us it would be a boy. That baby is their mistake.”
That was when my shock turned into anger.
“Mistake?” I said. “I don’t know what is going on, but you are done talking about this baby like that.”
“You don’t understand,” Evan snapped.
“No,” I said. “What I understand is that you asked me to carry this child for you, and now you’re acting like you received the wrong order at a restaurant.”
The baby stirred and began to cry.
I adjusted her carefully against my chest and patted her tiny back.
And in that moment, I made my decision.
“I’m not letting you take her.”
Claire and Evan looked at each other.
For one strange second, I thought I saw relief on their faces.
“Fine,” Evan said coldly. “We don’t want her anyway.”
Claire sobbed, but there was no love in it.
“I never want to see her again. She ruined everything.”
Evan took her by the elbow and led her toward the door.
