“Will one of you please speak plainly and explain what is going on right now?” I demanded, feeling a surge of protective fury rising up within my chest.
“We were unequivocally promised a male child,” Samantha snapped, pacing back and forth across the linoleum floor. “We needed a boy, Alison.”
The newborn stirred against my shoulder, letting out a soft, innocent whimpering sound that made my heart ache for her. She had done absolutely nothing wrong to deserve this reaction; she was a vibrant, healthy, and completely innocent newborn child, yet the very people who had begged me for two whole years to carry her were acting as if they had received a broken package from an online retailer.
“We simply do not want this child,” Samantha announced flatly, her voice entirely devoid of any natural maternal warmth.
“Are you out of your mind?” I yelled, unable to comprehend the sheer cruelty of her words. “You are standing there rejecting your own flesh and blood!”
