After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage novel Chapter 6

The saleswoman's cheerful expression froze, and an awkward silence fell over the maternity section.

Meanwhile, Alistair had finished his maternity clothes spree and moved on to the baby department. When he returned, he was pushing a cart overflowing with packages. He looked surprised to see Elaine standing empty-handed in the same spot.

"Didn't find anything you liked?" he asked, "You haven't bought a thing."

She stared at his cart , saying nothing.As he started to return the items, she stopped him.

"Keep it all," she said flatly.

Her indifference seemed to confuse him, but he quickly shrugged it off. He spent the next hour selecting clothes and jewelry for Elaine, only to discover all the shopping carts were already filled with baby items.

"Don't bother," she said, cutting through his awkward attempts to rearrange things. "I don't need."

When they arrived home with their haul, Vivian was waiting in the living room. Seeing all the packages were for her, she could barely contain her glee.

"Elaine, you went shopping with Alistair and got nothing for yourself?" she asked with exaggerated concern, her eyes sparkling with triumph.

Elaine didn't even respond. Vivian still didn't understand that Alistair's attention wasn't about her at all.

He loved nobody except Sophia. This baby was just his twisted attempt to recreate what he'd lost—in his mind, it would be his and Sophia's child, not his and Vivian's.

Unfortunately, Vivian didn't understand.

When her performance failed to get a reaction, Vivian fumed silently. After Elaine went to her room, Vivian stared at all her new things, a nasty gleam suddenly appearing in her eyes.

Within the hour, a scream shattered the peace of the house.

"What happened?" Alistair rushed in to find Vivian covered in angry red welts, frantically scratching and crying. Without hesitation, he scooped her up and raced to the hospital.

"Someone coated the new clothing with capsaicin, That's what caused the skin reaction."

Instantly, Vivian pointed the finger directly at Elaine. "How could you be so cruel?" she sobbed dramatically. "You know I'm pregnant!"

After a moment's deliberation, he stayed.

Elaine drove to her father's house. He needed to know about the divorce.

When she opened the door, her father looked past her, searching for someone else.

"Why are you alone? Where's Alistair?" he asked, sighing heavily.

She has no words. As soon as she sat down, her father continued, "You have been married for three years now. have you considered a baby?..."

Baby..

Sounds like Alistair's voice"I want a child who looks like Sophia."

From the beginning, it was always Sophia he wanted. Elaine was just a wife on paper. Why would he ever want a baby with her?