That night, four weeks ago, when he’d explained the accident, his emotional upheaval, and his implosion with Rinna, he’d spoken about his joy at finally being a father, of having the children he wanted. But there was no mention of her in that joy.
Was she supposed to hand the babies over when they were born? Would she be a visitor in her own children’s lives?
Fuck that! Even if she had to fight tooth and nail, she would keep her babies. Though…how she would do that without a job, she didn’t know.
After much grumbling on both sides, Diana finally agreed to drop the job in the laundry room and use the money David had set aside for her. She still hated feeling like a leech, but David had been persuasive, citing that her being exhausted all the time wasn’t good for her or the babies, and that she needed that time before the babies came to prepare.
Not that she didn’t have an army of assistants to help her prepare for the babies. The morning after she and David came to a tenuous agreement, two sharply dressed women appeared at her door. One was a professional life coordinator (yes, those existed) and the other was her personal assistant, Susan, her job to do whatever Diana needed done. Which wasn’t much, honestly.
The life coordinator, Elise, was in charge of coordinating the preparations for the twins; nursery furniture, decorations, clothing, diapers, transportation, nanny services, lactation services, and even enrollment in preschool—they weren’t even born yet!
All the furniture was to be delivered to David’s penthouse, as were the clothes and other baby accessories like shoes, toys, play mats, swings, bouncy seats, and the list goes on. She was only fifteen weeks along but it felt like Elise and David were gearing up for an impending baby explosion.
She knew she should feel some excitement—the baby clothes shopping, choosing the themes and decorations, staring at the tiny diapers that she’d bought in bulk and imagining a tiny human wearing them. But…she couldn’t dredge up the happiness she should be feeling.
Because you know the moment they are here, everything else will disappear.
Placing the bookmark in the book she’d been trying to read but couldn’t, Diana stood and stretched. She’d taken to reading in the chair in the master suite. It had an incredible view of the city; bustling streets, historical buildings, the Brooklyn Bridge. It certainly wasn’t the sight she’d see out of her window in Edison.
Her cell rang and she walked to the bed to grab it. It was Margie.
“Hey lady,” Diana greeted, her gladness forced. “What’s up?”
“I’m taking an early lunch and wanted to know if I could stop by. We can order room service on David’s dime and chat. It’s been weeks, Di. I miss you,” Margie’s voice sounded tired, worn.
Tears pricked Diana’s eyes. “I miss you, too, Margie. Sounds good. Come on over, we can order all the fried foods on the menu and wash it down with mocktails.”
Margie snorted. “Only the real deal for me, sweetheart.”
They hung up, Margie promising to be there in an hour, and Diana hurrying to change out of the sweats that she constantly wore. Certainly, she changed before David got there, she didn’t want to look like a total slob when the man she loved arrived. But…she basically lived in sweatpants. With her expanding middle, the constricting waistbands of her jeans were becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She could buy herself some larger clothes, but then she’d have to use David’s money for something she’d only wear for the next few months. Then…she’d be left with a closet full of painful memories once their time together was done.
Nope. She’d check out the racks at the Salvation Army and see if she couldn’t find some deals on half-off Wednesday. All the clothes were already majorly discounted from their originally prices, so when the half-off days arrived, it was like a buying bonanza for the budgeting single momma. Go in with $20, leaving with $200 worth of discount clothes. She should know, her mother shopped the Salvation Army religiously, and Diana and Deirdre had been the recipients of scores of discount clothes.
Pulling on a pair of her larger-sized jeans and a wool sweater, Diana checked her reflection in the bedroom mirror. Her cheeks were fuller, as were her breasts, and if she stood sideways, she could just make out the beginnings of a baby bump. With two babies squeezed in there, she knew she’d be huge in a matter of weeks.
Like you aren’t already, that sneering voice ground out in her head, raising another wave of self-deprecating thoughts.
David doesn’t want me in his future because he is ashamed of me. I’m not the trophy woman he can present on his arm.
David is keeping me in the Incantata to hide me so people won’t see that he’s gone slumming.
David fucked me, regretted it, but now I have what he wants most. So, he’s gritting his teeth and playing nice until he can take my babies away.
Those same hideous doubts and thoughts came at least twice per day, and they were suffocating her soul. Certainly, she could ask him about it, beg him to tell her what he really felt, what he really wanted from her, but she was terrified of what he might say. The rejection. The humiliation of laying her heart on her sleeve only to have him rip it away and stomp on it.
A ping of an incoming text caught her attention and she sucked in a breath at what she saw,
DINNER WITH ME TONIGHT. 8PM. WEAR WHAT SUSAN DROPS OFF. LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. – DAVID
Diana glared down at the text. Not only was he demanding she go to dinner with him,
