"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez! I'm so sorry, I've been swamped since getting back. Haven't had a chance to come visit you yet."
"Ferdinand had a little too much to drink, but don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
Doris and Keith huddled together over the phone, their faces breaking into wide, delighted smiles.
"As long as he's with you, we've got nothing to worry about."
"Next time you're free, have Ferdinand bring you over. I'll make your favorite pecan-crusted salmon, dear."
I was Ferdinand's wife. Not her.
Yet here were my in-laws, right in front of me, playing matchmaker between my husband and another woman.
Nausea clawed up my throat. I walked into the bedroom and slammed the door hard enough to rattle the frame.
Before I fell asleep, the internet exploded.
#Golden Voice anchor Ferdinand Sanchez and Vera Summers leave together — rekindled romance?#
The photos showed two silhouettes behind a curtain, locked in a tight embrace.
Tears soaked my pillowcase.
I rested my hand on my stomach, tracing slow circles.
Baby, what is Mommy supposed to do?
Whatever love I'd had for Ferdinand was dead. The only thing keeping me awake was the child growing inside me.
But before I could think it through, they made the decision for me.
Early the next morning, a hammering on the bedroom door shook the walls.
"Jade Winfield, get out here!"
I pulled the door open. The only thing I saw was the prenatal exam report in Doris's hand.
"You're pregnant?"
Most grandmothers-to-be would have been overjoyed. Doris looked like she'd found a cockroach in her kitchen.
"This baby has to go."
Keith sat on the sofa, saying nothing. His silence was its own verdict.
"This is my child. You don't get to decide whether it lives or dies."
I loved children. Three years of marriage and nothing had happened, so I'd dragged Ferdinand to a fertility clinic. The doctor diagnosed him with oligospermia. For years I'd been quietly adjusting his diet, slipping supplements into his meals. And now, finally, I was pregnant.
Doris's expression didn't waver.
"You couldn't even get into a four-year college. With an IQ that low, what if the baby takes after you?"
"The Sanchez family has always been a family of scholars. We will not accept mediocre offspring."
"If anyone is going to carry a Sanchez heir, it should be someone like Vera. An elite. Not you."
Keith lifted his head and looked at me, his face blank.