The Fake Wife

Happy with the News

Jake

When I got back to Riverside, Alison was pacing downstairs. As soon as she saw me, she ran to me and held me too tight. "Where did you go?" She scanned my face, sobbing again. "Did you go looking for a lawyer? For your father? Are you divorcing me?"

She looked behind me and back at me. "Where are the kids? Are you taking them from me????" Her tone was desperate. Alison's lips quivered while she spoke, and her voice was husky.

It was a Déjà vu from the hospital all over again when she woke up from the coma. I rubbed my hand on her back, calming her. I had nothing to put her down like they did at the hospital, and even if I had; she was pregnant now.

Alison knelt on the cold floor and grasped my hands to her chest. She craned her neck, staring at me, and her desperate eyes pleaded for me not to get her away from us. "Please forgive me for getting pregnant. I swear. I didn't mean to go against your wishes." She sounded frantic.

I squatted down to her level and whispered. "Shhh! Calm down. I only went to take the trash out of our lives. Nothing else. Just stay calm, ok. The children are at the Manor. I told my mother they would sleep there tonight."

I lifted her in my arms and carried Alison to the sofa. Her body was shivering like a scared rabbit, and I pulled her closer to my chest. "Shhh, everything is fine, darling. Just relax. No one is going anywhere. The children will be back in the morning."

I cradled Alison in my lap and rubbed her back several times to make her body stop shaking and her asking for forgiveness. I murmured into her hair. "Everything is ok, sweetheart. Please stay calm."

The way she acted scared me. She cries and is impulsive, but I have never seen her behaviour like she did at the hospital since that day.

If I still had any hopes to send her away, would I be able to after this breakdown? The logical answer was no, but would I still want to?

I took a deep breath to help with the overwhelming intensity of fear coming from her.

No, was too the answer to my question. I no longer wanted to send Alison away. And I had not wanted her away from us since before Stormy showed up.

***

With Alison sleeping in my arms. I took a deep breath, enjoying her bare skin on mine. It comforted me knowing Stormy was behind us now and I would do everything to make her understand he was a terrible person and she did not need him.

Alison had us, and that was enough.

It was late morning, and the boys were still at the Manor. I would take her to them as soon as she was awake. I did not want Alison to think everything I said yesterday was a lie, and she needed to feel threatened.

Watching her sleep with her lips parted and her eyes puffy from crying, I finally petted her hair to wake her. She had not slept well last night, and I thought I needed to let her rest longer.

"Hey. It's late. You should eat." I whispered and rubbed her belly. I could not tell she was pregnant yet.

Alison sat up, and I laid the breakfast tray I had asked Amanda to prepare in front of her. She fixed the sheets to cover her naked breasts. I had made sweet love to her when we came to bed. I needed her to feel wanted and that I would not send her away like she thought.

That was the best way to reassure her, as only my words were not doing the trick this time.

Alison tried to smile with little success, but nodded and started eating the scrambled eggs with toast.