I Lost Our Child Chapter 03
Ava had returned to New York from London three months ago.
I was on the same flight, coming back from a work trip.
After we landed, I spotted Thatcher in the arrivals hall.
I thought he was there for me and quickened my pace.
But he never saw me.
Ava was walking just ahead of me.
That was the first time I saw her, and the first time I truly understood what she meant to Thatcher.
Thatcher walked toward her, holding a bouquet of peonies.
He took her luggage and handed her the flowers.
Ava smiled. “You have a conscience after all. You remembered I love peonies.”
Thatcher raised an eyebrow.
“We’ve known each other forever. Of course I remembered.”
They didn’t notice me, though I was only a few feet behind them.
They talked the whole way out of the airport.
One of their mutual friends was waiting to pick them up.
The four of them had grown up together.
Of the four, Ava was the only girl.
In their circle, she had always been the protected one.
In that moment, it hit me.
Thatcher and I had been married for three years, but we had always lived in different worlds.
His family was wealthy. I was just an ordinary girl from an ordinary family.
I had never really been able to break into his world.
Once, I ran into Aidan on a work matter.
Out of nowhere, he said to me, “Ava’s back.”
I froze.
He looked at me, a mocking smile on his lips.
When Thatcher and I got married, we didn’t have a wedding. Our parents just had a dinner together.
That was the first time I met Aidan and Leo.
Leo was Ava’s older brother.
The dinner was stiff, the atmosphere suffocating.
I could tell Aidan and Leo both disliked me.
After that, we never saw each other again.
This was the second time I’d met Aidan.
After we finished discussing our work, he suddenly said, “Ava’s back.”
“Did you know Thatcher and Ava used to date?”
“He pursued her first.”
He spoke slowly, deliberately.
“If Ava hadn’t gone to London, you never would have had a chance.”
“Thatcher wouldn’t have married you.”
I knew Aidan was telling me this just to get under my skin.
And he succeeded.
From then on, the thought of Thatcher and Ava was a wedge in our marriage.
That night, Ava got drunk at a bar, and someone used her phone to call Thatcher.
Thatcher got out of bed to go get her.
Watching his retreating back, I said, “Thatcher, you know you’re married, right?”
He stopped, flicked the light back on, and looked down at me.
“She’s just a friend. Don’t overthink it.”
Leo was her brother.
But it wasn’t Leo going to get her. It was Thatcher.
Why was it always him?
It was past three in the morning when Thatcher came back. I’d been awake the whole time.
He went straight to the guest room.
The next morning, he said he’d gotten in late and didn’t want to wake me.