CHAPTER 9

       The intense light of the morning sun forced Isabelle to open her eyes. She had managed to doze off on the couch, but she was feeling more tired than before. The pregnancy she had just discovered was already showing off the first symptoms. This and the stress of the last days were making her feel so sluggish, so worn-out.

          A lot of emotions and mixed feelings took over her mind and without trying too much, she remembered what happened the night before. The thought of Shawn filled her heart with so much pain and Isabelle couldn’t do anything to stop it. How was it possible to keep being in love with him? Shawn didn’t care about her and their marriage, and she had the ultimate proof the moment he walked away from the house. And since Shawn didn’t care about her, why did he go on with this idea of getting married?  

“No more,” Isabelle said in a tired tone, shaking her head sorrowfully, “all this must end now… I can’t keep allowing him to hurt me.”  

          Yes, Shawn will always be her greatest love, but enough is enough. Starting now on, her main concern will be the child she was expecting. This wasn’t the right time for this pregnancy, but from this point on, the only way was going to be up.  

“Here I am, all alone. I have nothing else to do but trying to sort things out all by myself. Shawn decided not to be a part of my future anymore?! All right, I won’t force him to do what he doesn’t want to.”

          Isabelle got up from the couch and started pacing back and forth in the room. In a protective gesture, she put her hands on her belly.

“Ok, it’s time to be absolutely sure about this pregnancy. I can’t rely on sings or suppositions. A pregnancy test should be ok for now. Once I’ll get the result, I will start looking for a doctor. And I will let people know about it, Shawn included. Even if we aren’t together, I can’t hide this from him. I am not as cruel as he is.”

          In the distance, she heard the sound of the ocean’s waves. Last night she had arrived late and hadn’t had the opportunity to take a look around. Isabelle went to the window and looked at the wonderful view that was unraveling right in front of her. It was all so beautiful, so peaceful... Maybe the sunlight would do her good, so she went out onto the terrace.

          She sat down on a folding chair, trying to understand what she had to do on that day. After she will do the pregnancy test, she would call Peter and ask him to help her find a good gynecologist who could follow her case. Once all this would be solved, everything else should fall back into place.

          Isabelle entered the house and looked at her image in the mirror. She lifted her t-shirt and looked at her flat belly. There was no bump yet, but she had the strongest feeling that a little creature was growing inside her.  

          Life was so ironic... She received the gift of love, then it was taken away in a second, only to receive something much more important, and precious. A baby... Isabelle took a deep breath and caressed her belly.

“What a challenge...” she whispered and quickly wiped away the tears that were running down her cheeks.

          She was so tired of crying… All she wanted was to solve her problems and start living a more peaceful life.

“I know I’ll have to tell Shawn, too, and I will… But not now. Since he ‘rediscovered’ his passion for his beloved ex, I don’t want to spoil his dreamy moment. After the divorce will be final, he will know all about the baby.”

          Ok, time to get in touch with the world around. She turned her cellphone on and found a couple of messages and a couple of missed calls. One was from Marie, wanting to know how things were going. She also wanted to warn her that later she and Chris would come to see her.

          The other was from Shawn and what she heard took her breath away.

‘Don’t lose faith in me… in us. Don’t leave me all alone in this world without you.’

          There was a missed call too. Isabelle put the cellphone on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Why did Shawn continue to torment her? Why wasn’t he with his lover?

“I had faith in you until you decided to step all over me again. You chose someone else, Shawn! What more do you want from me?” she said softly. “You say that you will come back to me. I bet you are sure that you will find the stupid girl you married. Let’s see what excuses you’ll invent this time trying to turn the table again.”

          She heard the doorbell but stood still. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Marie and Chris were the only ones who knew she was there and they had the key to enter. But maybe they didn’t want to scare her, maybe they thought she was still sleeping.

          Before opening the door, Isabelle looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair escaped the hard grip of the ponytail and it was just resting on her shoulders. She combed it with her fingers and tried to fix the disaster, but there was little to be done.

“Marie, I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon...”

          The words blocked in her throat when she opened the door and saw who was standing in front of her. It couldn’t be… She couldn’t believe that he had the courage to come here. That he could be so evil to come all the way here to hurt her even more.  

“Hello, wifey! I could say ‘Honey, I’m home!’ but this is not our home,” Shawn stated, trying to keep his composure. “I missed you like crazy, babe? What about you?”