“No.”Download Reference Apps
Months later, Lauren agreed to meet Sophie.
Not for Mark.
Not for Tania.
For herself.
She didn’t want to build her future around hating a child who had done nothing except be born.
The meeting was brief.
Sophie was shy.
She carried a stuffed dog everywhere.
At one point, she looked at Lauren’s pregnant stomach.
“Is there a baby?”
Lauren smiled.
“Yes.”
“Boy or girl?”
I held my breath.
Lauren laughed.
“A boy.”
Sophie nodded solemnly.
“Boys are loud.”
Lauren laughed harder.
It was the first truly carefree laugh I had heard from her in months.
Whatever happened between Lauren and Mark afterward was slower and far more complicated than one dramatic confrontation.
There were lawyers.
Counseling.
Hard conversations.
Boundaries.
There were days Lauren wanted to try again.
Days she couldn’t imagine trusting him.
She refused to make decisions because relatives told her marriage had to be saved.
