Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
But Eloise and I have been friends since forever, and her voice takes on a firm tone.
“You know what? I have plenty of time. The guy I’m meeting tonight is from Tinder, and he’s not that good-looking. Plus, he has a cat too, and I’m not a fan of cat guys, so I’d rather talk to you.”
Tears fill my eyes at my friend’s generosity.
“Thank you, Eloise,” I say as my voice cracks with sorrow. “It’s just that … well, Patrick’s getting married.”
There’s silence for a moment. Eloise is the only person in the world who knows that the CEO is the father of my child, and I hear her take a deep breath.
“You mean, your Patrick, right? Georgie’s dad?”
I let out a choked sob.
“He was never my Patrick. We just had a fling in a closet, remember? I’m nothing to him, obviously, because he’s starting a new family now.”
Eloise is silent again, but then she speaks slowly.
“How did you find out about this, Pen?” she asks. “Did you meet his fiancée somehow?”
I break down into full blown sobs and begin wailing into the phone.
“Yes, because she came into the salon today. She said her name is Marina Alpern. She’s getting married to Patrick, and Eloise, she’s so beautiful! She’s everything I’m not. She’s tall, rich, gorgeous, and skinny, and I’m none of those things.”
Eloise is silent for another moment.
“I’m so sorry, Pen. This is not the way you want to find out about your babydaddy’s impending nuptials. I’m sorry, honey.”
I begin blubbering again.
“I mean, I knew it could always happen. After all, it’s not like Patrick and I are dating, and he’s a very eligible man. I just never thought it would really happen, you know? But now it is, and I’m devastated, Ellie. What do I do?”
I can almost hear my friend shaking her head over the phone.
“He still doesn’t know about Georgie, right?”
I manage to speak through another choked sob.
“He doesn’t.”
“Then you have to tell him,” my friend says firmly. “It’s important that he knows before he ties the knot because then it’ll be too late.”
“Too late for what?” I ask, almost in hysterics now. “Too late to call off the wedding? Too late for him to take back his ring? Ellie, I saw the diamond and it was huge. It was sparkling and gorgeous, and he’s really getting marriiiiied!”
My friend tries to calm me down for a few moments.
“You’re going to be fine, Pen. You’re a strong woman, and you’ve faced worse than this. You were your mom’s lifeline when she was ill, and you’re a good daughter and mother now. You can survive this.”
I continue to wail even as Eloise speaks because I can’t withstand the hurt and pain pulsing through my veins right now. Patrick’s nuptials are going to kill me, and yet I know I have to survive this, no matter how much it stings. My son needs me, and Georgie has no one but me to depend on.
“You’re going to be fine,” my friend repeats again firmly. “This is a shock, I know, but you will move on, Penny. But it’s important that you tell Patrick now, before he gets married because he has a right to know before tying the knot with another woman. You never gave him a chance, Pen. Now is the time, trust me.”
I wail again.
“But what if he doesn’t care? What if he won’t acknowledge Georgie as his? What if he hates me for keeping his son from him?”
“He won’t hate you,” my friend says firmly. “In fact, he’ll be grateful because he’ll be able to establish a relationship with Georgie going forward. Men want to know when they’ve sired children, you know.”
I cry some more, unable to speak even Eloise continues.
“Go now,” she says firmly. “Before you can change your mind. His fiancée is already in town, and didn’t you say she was attending a wedding of some sort tonight?”
“I don’t know for sure,” I blubber. “She said her hairdresser was getting married, so he couldn’t do her hair as usual. But she didn’t say the wedding was tonight, or that she was even invited.”
“It doesn’t matter,” replies Eloise in a persuasive tone. “Chances are that the woman can’t stay home on Saturday nights, and is out partying with her cronies. Go to Patrick’s apartment now, and tell him your news. You have to Pen. Do it for Georgie, if not yourself.”
With that, I take a deep breath and try to steady myself. Eloise is right because I’ve been avoiding the awful truth for a long time now. I didn’t want to tell Patrick about Georgie because I was fearful of the rejection that I would face. I was afraid that if I told him about my pregnancy, that he would reject both me and even worse, my son, and in fact, that may still be true. But with this new development in our lives, suddenly I know I have to put my cards out into the open, for my son more than anyone else. After all, Georgie deserves to have a father. But will Patrick accept my baby boy as his own?