Chapter 7: The Message From My Sister
“My sister?””
The words left my mouth before I could stop them.
Scott nodded.
“Yes.””
The baby monitor crackled again, but neither of us moved.
My daughter’s soft cries filled the silence between us.
Normally, I would have already been walking toward the nursery.
Normally, nothing would have stopped me.
But my mind was stuck on one sentence.
Your sister contacted me.
I stared at Scott.
“Why would my sister contact you?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“I don’t know.””
“That’s not true.””
My voice sharpened.
“You know something.””
Scott looked down.
For once, he didn’t try to argue.
“She said she knew what was happening between us.””
My stomach tightened.
My sister, Emily.
The person who had been there the day my triplets were born.
The person who stayed at the hospital longer than anyone else.
The person who held my hand when I cried.
The person who told me I was stronger than I realized.
“What did she say?””
Scott reached for his phone.
“She sent me a message.””
He unlocked the screen.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then he handed it to me.
I read the words.
Scott, I know you’re thinking about leaving. Before you make a decision that changes everyone’s lives, you need to tell her the truth about what happened after the delivery.
I looked up.
“That’s it?””
Scott shook his head.
“No.””
He scrolled.
There was another message.
You keep telling yourself you’re the only one who suffered. You’re not. But she deserves to know why you started treating her differently.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What does she know?””
Scott took a deep breath.
“I don’t know.””
That answer bothered me.
“You don’t know?””
He shook his head.
“She refused to explain.””
I stared at him.
“Why would she message you instead of me?””
Scott looked away.
“Because she thought I needed to hear it first.””
That sounded exactly like Emily.
She had always been the person who tried to understand everyone before choosing a side.
Even when someone hurt her.
Even when someone hurt me.
I handed the phone back.
“I’m calling her.””
Scott didn’t stop me.
That scared me more than if he had.
I walked into the kitchen and grabbed my phone.
Emily answered after one ring.
“Hey.””
Her voice was cautious.
Like she already knew why I was calling.
“Why did you message Scott?””
Silence.
A long silence.
Then she sighed.
“Because I was afraid you would never ask.””
My heart sank.
“Ask what?””
Emily didn’t answer immediately.
“Where are you?””
“At home.””
“With him?””
“Yes.””
Another pause.
“Is he there?””
I looked toward the living room.
Scott was standing by the table.
Watching me.
“Yes.””
Emily exhaled.
“Put me on speaker.””
I hesitated.
Then I did.
Scott looked up.
“Emily?””
Her voice changed when she heard him.
“Scott.””
There was no warmth.
Only disappointment.
“I don’t understand why you’re surprised I contacted you.””
Scott crossed his arms.
“I don’t understand why you think you have the right.””
Emily laughed quietly.
“The right?””
Her voice became sharper.
“I was in that hospital room when your wife almost collapsed.””
Scott looked down.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
The words were quiet.
But powerful.
“You know the medical facts. You know the doctors’ names. You know what happened on paper.””
A pause.
“But you don’t know what it felt like.””
I swallowed.
Because I knew exactly what she meant.
Emily continued.
“She was terrified.””
Scott closed his eyes.
“She thought she had failed.””
The sentence hit me.
Because I never told anyone that.
Not even Emily.
But maybe she knew.
Maybe sisters always knew.
“She kept apologizing,” Emily said.
I felt tears forming.
“Apologizing for what?””
Scott whispered.
“I don’t know.””
Emily answered.
“For not being the same.””
The room became completely silent.
I remembered those days.
The days after we came home.
The days when I looked at my body and felt like it belonged to someone else.
The days when I avoided mirrors.
Emily continued.
“And do you know what she said to me?””
Nobody answered.
“She said, ‘What if Scott doesn’t love me anymore because I’m broken?’”
My breath caught.
Scott looked at me.
Really looked at me.
For the first time.
Not as a wife.
Not as a problem.
As the person who had been silently drowning.
Emily’s voice softened.
“That’s what you did, Scott.””
He looked away.
“You made her afraid of losing you when she needed you the most.””
Scott sat down.
The anger was gone.
Completely gone.
Emily continued.
“I saw the messages.””
My eyes widened.
“What?””
Emily paused.
“I saw them months ago.””
Scott looked up.
“What messages?””
“The ones you sent your friends.””
His face changed.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
Emily’s answer came immediately.
“Because I wanted to believe you were better than that.””
That hurt him.
I could see it.
Because coming from Emily, disappointment meant more than anger.
She had always believed the best in people.
Until they proved her wrong.
“Why tell him now?”” I asked.
Emily went quiet.
“Because he called me yesterday.””
I looked at Scott.
“What?””
Scott froze.
Emily continued.
“He called me asking if I thought you would be okay if he left.””
My chest tightened.
“He called you?””
“Yes.””
I looked at Scott.
He looked away.
Emily’s voice became softer.
“And I realized he was still making the same mistake.””
“What mistake?””
“He was talking about leaving before he ever talked about changing.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Emily said something that stayed with me.
“Scott, you don’t get to abandon someone because you feel guilty for hurting them.””
Scott wiped his face.
“I know.””
“No.””
Emily’s voice was firm.
“You know now.””
A few minutes later, she hung up.
The house became quiet again.
But this silence felt different.
Not empty.
Heavy.
Scott sat at the table.
I stood across from him.
Neither of us knew what came next.
Finally, he spoke.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
Not because I didn’t believe he meant it.
But because I had heard apologies before.
Words were easy.
Change was harder.
“I don’t know if I can forgive you.””
He nodded.
“I understand.””
That surprised me.
No argument.
No guilt trip.
No anger.
Just acceptance.
Then he said:
“But there’s something else Emily didn’t tell you.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“The reason she knew about the messages…”
A pause.
“Is because she found something else.””
“What?””
Scott swallowed.
“Something I did after the birth.””
I felt my hands go cold.
“What did you do?””
He looked toward the hallway.
Toward the nursery.
May you like
Then back at me.
“I made a decision about our family.””
