After Our Fall-out, I Dodged His Enticements

After seven years into marriage, everyone around us is on our case about having a baby.

"Tick-tock, if you don't get on it, your wife will be in the maternity ward with the seniors!"

Ryan squared his shoulders, his voice steady. "It's not that I dislike kids, it's just... I'm unable to have them, ever."

Later, spotting him on the beach in matching outfits with a toddler, building sandcastles—laughter shared, child aloft, his smile outshining the sun—it was a sight.

That day, I figured I shouldn't hog the title Mrs. Collins any longer, so I left him the divorce papers.

He wouldn't sign, brushed it off saying the child was unplanned.

Next thing, the kid's mom drove into me with her car.

*****

For the first time in our seven-year stretch, Ryan missed my birthday.

He was racked with guilt, had even prepped an extravagant gift, and made sure our friends could make it, to make up for his absence.

Sadly, he was the one who couldn't show.

I gazed at the bespoke mini landscape cake he'd ordered, a tiny, perfect replica of our beach wedding.

So vivid, it felt like stepping back in time.

"Man, Ryan's really laying on the romance! He's not here, but he's pulling out all the stops!"

"For real, Hannah, it's been seven years and you two are still acting like lovesick teens. Spill the beans, will you?"

"You've gotta ring Ryan up! With this setup, he's got to be part of blowing out the candles, even if it's just over the phone!"

They were all pushing for me to call him.

The phone just rang out, no answer.

They urged me to try again, but I smiled and said, "He's overseas on business. Busy, plus there's the time difference. Let's not bug him."

They kidded me about being too understanding about his busy schedule.

But that wasn't the real deal.

I knew he wouldn't answer.

Just before, I caught a video posted by Sherry Zimmer on social media, showing a happy family trio on a beach holiday.

Sherry had briefly interned at Ryan's firm.

Her post read: [Jeremy's dad insisted we all tag along on his business trip. Looks like I'm coming too!]

Though she framed it as a hassle, her joy was palpable.

In the clip, Ryan was fussing with a sandcastle. When the toddler threw a tantrum, he scooped him up, both faces beaming, smiles competing with the sun's glare.

Ryan was too tied up vacationing to take my call.

Many envied our relationship and claimed it was rare for a couple in an arranged marriage to remain this enamored.

Ryan supposedly adored me so much that he didn't want children.

But that was just the surface.

In truth, he didn't want children with me.

It didn't hold him back from having one with the other woman.