What do you mean? I mean, Austin has been telling everyone I’m a broken, bitter woman who couldn’t handle that he found happiness. So, I’m going to show up at his baby shower and prove him right. I’m confused. Austin expects me to arrive looking desperate and pathetic. He wants his family and friends to look at me and think, “Thank God Austin escaped from that mess, so that’s exactly what I’m going to give them.
” Amanda, that sounds like you’re planning to humiliate yourself. No, Maria, I’m planning to let Austin humiliate himself. For the first time in months, she was thinking clearly. Austin had built his entire narrative around the idea that she was unstable, bitter, and pathetic. He’d convinced everyone that leaving her was an act of self-preservation.
But narratives could be rewritten, and Austin had just given her the perfect stage to do it. She spent the next morning researching Austin’s baby shower like she was planning a military operation. The party was being held at his brother Daniel’s house, the same house where Austin had been pretending to live alone while actually playing house with Cynthia.
According to the social media event page Cynthia had created, 60 people were invited, including Austin’s entire family, his co-workers, and most of their former mutual friends. The guest list read like a catalog of everyone who now believed Austin’s version of their story. His mother, who thought she’d abandoned their marriage because she couldn’t handle fertility struggles.
His brother, who probably thought Austin was a saint for putting up with her obsession with getting pregnant. his co-workers who’d watched Austin find happiness with Cynthia after escaping his unstable ex-wife. She was studying the event photos Cynthia had posted. Decorations in soft pastels, elegant table settings, a dessert table that probably cost more than her monthly grocery budget.
When her phone rang, “Miss Adabio, this is Dr. Bellow from the fertility clinic. I wanted to follow up on your recent test results.” Her heart stopped. I’m sorry. What test results? The comprehensive fertility panel you had done 3 weeks ago. The results came back and I wanted to discuss some exciting findings with you. Dr.
Bellow, I haven’t been to your clinic in over 6 months. According to our records, you had blood work and ultrasound imaging done on March 28th. Let me check. Yes, here it is. The results show excellent ovarian reserve, perfect hormone levels, and no indicators of any fertility issues whatsoever. She felt the room start spinning. That’s impossible.
