Never.” Lily seemed to accept this, resting her head back against the pillow, the pain medicine the nurse had administered starting to make her sleepy. But Mason looked like he was about to collapse. The facade of the wealthy, put-together businessman was completely shattered. He looked small, pathetic, and entirely overcome with regret.

I stepped out of the room to order the x-rays and page the orthopedic resident on call. A few minutes later, Mason slipped out of the room and found me charting at the desk. He looked desperate. “Elise, we need to talk,” he pleaded, keeping his voice low.

“I made the biggest mistake of my life. Every single day since I left, I’ve regretted it. Seeing you now… seeing you pregnant with our child. Please, let me make this right. Let me be a father. I can help. I can…” I stopped typing and slowly turned to face him.

I looked at this man who had once been my entire world, the man who had broken my heart into pieces, and I realized something miraculous. I felt absolutely nothing for him. No lingering love, no desire for revenge, no longing for what could have been.

Just a profound pity. “You don’t get to walk out of the theater halfway through the movie and then ask how it ends, Mason,” I said smoothly. “You made your choice. You chose to abandon your child, and worse, you chose to lie to the daughter you already had.

My son is going to grow up knowing what a real, strong parent looks like. And he’s not going to learn it from you.” I closed the chart and handed it to the approaching orthopedic resident. “Dr. Miller will be taking over Lily’s care from here to set the cast,” I said professionally.

“You can pay your copay at the front desk on your way out.” I turned my back on him and walked toward the trauma bay to check on my next patient. As I walked away, I felt a strong, distinct flutter in my stomach. The baby kicked, harder than he had all week.

I smiled, placing my hand over the movement. For the first time in seven months, the ghost of my past was finally gone, and the future felt completely, entirely mine.