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📢Notice: ReelShort Romance Shorts is an officially authorized publisher of ReelShort content.
I Flew Home Pregnant Only To See His Secret isn't just a revenge story. It's a love story between a woman and the identity she buried to make someone else comfortable.
Amelia flies home pregnant on her seventh anniversary. She finds her husband Trevor with another woman. And instead of falling apart, she walks away. She files for divorce using a prenup clause he wrote. And she reclaims the woman she used to be – Dr. Amelia Voss, co-founder of Longmoor Labs.
✨ What actually worked for me:
- Amelia's quiet strength – she doesn't scream, she acts
- The hidden identity – she was a legend long before Trevor met her
- The divorce clause – using his own weapon against him
- The custody battle – fighting for Adi with everything she has
- The payoff – 75% of assets, sole custody, and a new life
If you love stories where the overlooked wife turns out to be extraordinary, where the ex gets exactly what's coming, and where the heroine rebuilds from the ashes, this one's for you. Amelia doesn't get revenge. She gets her life back.
Have you ever had to start over? Tell me 👇
— RSR, your go-to for the good stuff ✨
🎬Click ReelShort site link to see FULL HD Episodes 🔖https://www.reelshort.com/full-episodes/i-flew-home-pregnant-only-to-see-his-secret-6aa0e4992d54042dab0172a6
📢Notice: ReelShort Romance Shorts is an officially authorized publisher of ReelShort content.
I Flew Home Pregnant Only To See His Secret isn't just a revenge story. It's a love story between a woman and the identity she buried to make someone else comfortable.
Amelia flies home pregnant on her seventh anniversary. She finds her husband Trevor with another woman. And instead of falling apart, she walks away. She files for divorce using a prenup clause he wrote. And she reclaims the woman she used to be – Dr. Amelia Voss, co-founder of Longmoor Labs.
✨ What actually worked for me:
- Amelia's quiet strength – she doesn't scream, she acts
- The hidden identity – she was a legend long before Trevor met her
- The divorce clause – using his own weapon against him
- The custody battle – fighting for Adi with everything she has
- The payoff – 75% of assets, sole custody, and a new life
If you love stories where the overlooked wife turns out to be extraordinary, where the ex gets exactly what's coming, and where the heroine rebuilds from the ashes, this one's for you. Amelia doesn't get revenge. She gets her life back.
Have you ever had to start over? Tell me 👇
— RSR, your go-to for the good stuff ✨
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:04she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:00:08to collect
00:00:09on beach at big sum last year my throat tightened sharply before i could speak she added happily
00:00:14dad also ordered other custom gifts for aunt cassidy tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at
00:00:18the necklace in her hands and remembered something this time last year it had been a night just like
00:00:22this the charity gala for children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of
00:00:27california rare birds field guide i had given him for our sixth anniversary one of only three
00:00:32out of print copies the one i had found among my late father's belongings the hammer price was four
00:00:37hundred twenty thousand dollars donated to set up a trust for the child cassidy had left me cold i sat
00:00:43in the third row at the time smiling and applauding i thought i could endure one more year ady mommy
00:00:51wants to ask you something she looked up do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little
00:00:59brows and thought very seriously for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as
00:01:06as if asking for help mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:01:14she lowered her head again and started counting the beads mom don't talk to me you're messing up
00:01:19the order i didn't speak again i let go of the arm i had around her
00:01:27i flew back to boston pregnant with twins just to confirm trevor wouldn't be helped today was my 31st
00:01:33birthday it was also our seventh wedding anniversary the doctor told me not to fly i flew anyway not
00:01:38because of love because after seven years i was still waiting for him to give me one reason not to
00:01:44leave i told the baby's in my belly this is the last time after this he stopped waiting for him
00:01:48he
00:01:48thought what he'd lost was a wife growing a tantrum tomorrow morning at nine he would find out what
00:01:53he'd lost was someone he had never deserved in his life by the time i landed at logan airport it
00:01:58was
00:01:58already past nine at night i thought that if only for the sake of these seven years he should come
00:02:03home tonight when i walked out of the airport my phone was full of birthday wishes from colleagues
00:02:07and old classmates there was nothing from trevor
00:02:13by the time i reached the old house on beacon hill it was almost 10 30. henry opened the door
00:02:18for me
00:02:18mrs hale you what brings you here where's trevor and audi mr hale hasn't returned yet mrs upstairs
00:02:26playing with that box of shells i nodded handed him my coat and went upstairs with one hand supporting
00:02:33my belly the hallway was very quiet adi's bedroom door was held open the warm air lamp glowing inside
00:02:39i pushed the door open and went she was wearing pink pajamas sitting cross-handed on the carpet focused on
00:02:46my foot steps for life she looked up her eyes left then she lowered my head again and went back
00:02:55to
00:02:55fitting with the boots i crouched down held my belly pulled her into my arms and kissed her
00:03:01come on don't bother me i'm busy i hadn't seen her in two months no number of kisses would have
00:03:06been
00:03:06enough but she had already ripped it out of her eyes is daddy making a shell necklace
00:03:12in one week it'll be aunt cassidy birthday this is the birthday present dad and i are making for
00:03:17aunt cassidy dad and i polished every one of these shells with tools aren't they pretty
00:03:25she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:03:29to collect on
00:03:30beach at big sum last year i threw it tight and sharply before i could speak she added happily dad
00:03:35also ordered other custom gifts for aunt cassidy tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at the necklace
00:03:40in her hands and remembered something this time last year it had been a night just like this
00:03:43the charity gala for children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california
00:03:49rare birds field guide i had given him for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of print
00:03:54copies the one i had found among my late father's belongings the hammer price was 420 000
00:04:00donated to set up a trust for the child cassidy had left from coal i sat in the third row
00:04:05at the time
00:04:05smiling and applauding i thought i could endure one more year lady mommy wants to ask you something
00:04:13she looked up do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little brows and thought very seriously
00:04:22for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:04:30mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:04:35she lowered her head again and started counting the beads mom don't talk to me you're messing up
00:04:40the order i didn't speak again i let go of the arm i had around her
00:04:49when i went downstairs henry was waiting in the living room mrs hale i called mr hale just now he
00:04:56said he
00:04:56has something to do tonight and asked you to rest first i see i answered softly after thinking for a
00:05:02moment i still called trevor the phone rang for a long time before he answered his voice was faint
00:05:08i'm busy tomorrow from the other end of the phone came another woman's voice soft natural as if she
00:05:16had been by his side all night who is it this late it was cassidy i tightened my grip on
00:05:20the phone
00:05:21trevor paused then said to me nothing before i could speak he hung up i sat on the sofa for
00:05:28a long
00:05:28time the two children in my belly moved i lowered my head and gently patted my stomach i said to
00:05:34them
00:05:34mommy understands now mommy thought seven years was long enough one year he would remember to come
00:05:43home tonight was the last time mommy won't wait for him anymore
00:05:51at 6 30 the next morning i went downstairs henry was making breakfast in the kitchen
00:05:57i didn't go in halfway there i heard adi's voice drifting over from the other side of the kitchen
00:06:02she was talking to henry her voice wasn't loud but she was still little she didn't understand
00:06:07what lower your voice meant henry i'm not happy that mom came miss why would you be unhappy dad and
00:06:13i already promised we'd take aunt cassidy to kid cod tomorrow if mom suddenly comes and insists on
00:06:18going with us aunt cassidy will feel so awkward miss madam is your mother you can't say things like
00:06:24that it will hurt her heart understand i know but there wasn't the slightest hesitation in her voice
00:06:29but dad and i both like aunt cassidy better can i let aunt cassidy be my mommy i stepped at
00:06:34the
00:06:34foot of the stairs unable to move even half a step my daughter wasn't any flesh and blood i had
00:06:38spent 22 hours on a delivery to him alone trevor was in europe that day negotiating an acquisition
00:06:45cole is gone i have to go to cassidy by the way cole had died in a car accident
00:06:49the night
00:06:51cassidy wasn't pregnant
00:06:52after that night the two of them were never truly a part
00:06:57henry said nothing more i walked back to my room and closed the door i sat down at the bed
00:07:01i didn't cry i only lowered the hand rest of my heart i opened my phone i sent trevor a
00:07:08text
00:07:08trevor let's have lunch together today just the three of us eighty wants mistress lobster
00:07:13i'll fly back to san francisco this afternoon he replied about 20 minutes later
00:07:18got it you set the time looking at that got it and you laughed out loud
00:07:23seven years ago when he was pursuing me he wrote 15 love letters every one of them ended with yours
00:07:28trevor seven years later his reply to me had fewer words than yours plus trevor i wrote back
00:07:3612 30 mistral got it i washed up did my makeup and changed into a pale beige maternity dress
00:07:41i had picked it out myself last year trevor had never seen it once at 11 40 i drove to
00:07:45back bay
00:07:46halfway there my phone buzzed it was trevor something urgent came up at noon lunch is
00:07:50canceled next time i pulled over onto a small road beside starro drive and stared at that text for a
00:07:55long time
00:08:00if it had been before i would have immediately replied okay or when you're done should i wait for
00:08:04you i would have waited i would have sat alone at mistaro until two in the afternoon drink two glasses
00:08:09of lemon water then drive home dad is busy today it isn't easy for him but today i didn't reply
00:08:15i started the car again and drove toward back bay i wasn't acting out of spite i just suddenly
00:08:21wanted to take a look i wanted to see what his so-called urgent matter actually was i parked across
00:08:26the street from mistral i didn't go in right away i stood outside the glass window for about 10 seconds
00:08:32inside at the old table by the window the three of them were sitting there cassidy and adi sat close
00:08:37together on the same side adi tilted her head up telling her jokes her shoulders shaking with
00:08:41laughter cassidy fed her a piece of little cake taking a bite herself first before handing it over
00:08:45adi opened her mouth and ate it trevor sat across from them he was wearing the dark gray cashmere coat
00:08:51i had picked out for him last christmas he was smiling the kind of smile i hadn't seen in a
00:08:55very
00:08:55long time he placed a piece of fish on cassidy's plate then one for adi his eyes stayed on cassidy's
00:09:01face the whole time as if in the entire restaurant she was the only person left i stood outside the
00:09:05glass
00:09:05window carrying two unborn children in my belly his wife his childhood friend's widow his daughter
00:09:12three people at one table the seat that should have been across from him was empty i didn't go in
00:09:17i turned around and walked back to the car i started the engine the windshield wiper swept across the
00:09:22glass wiping away two drops of water it wasn't rain even i didn't know when they had fallen i smiled
00:09:29a
00:09:29little i said to myself amelia do you see it clearly now i see it clearly i drove away i
00:09:35didn't look back
00:09:35at mistral once when i returned to beacon hill it was 1 30 in the afternoon only henry was in
00:09:40the
00:09:40old house when he saw me he froze this is here aren't you at mistral mr hale had something come
00:09:44up henry opened in his mouth then said nothing i went upstairs and entered the study i opened the
00:09:50computer and connected to the home network on the desktop was a folder password locked and hidden for
00:09:55seven years folder amv only i opened it there were four things inside a pdf of the postnup from seven
00:10:02years ago the version i had personally scanned and archived a record of every major decision trevor
00:10:11had made over the past seven years i had attended every viridian labs board meeting remotely and he
00:10:16didn't know a copy of delivery room footage from the day adeline was born proof that trevor had been
00:10:21absent a full set of evidence i had obtained two years ago showing hail trusts forged documents for
00:10:28cassidy's identity as cole's widow from that folder i pulled up the divorce agreement
00:10:38temple it was the version zara had sent me half a year ago
00:10:43sis here in case you needed something
00:10:57two o'clock this afternoon i needed it i copied article eight of the postnip into the first page of
00:11:03the agreement word for word i attached the email dr masson had sent trevor about adeline's psychological
00:11:08evaluation to the second page i placed the photo of that table for three at mistral this morning on
00:11:14the third page i had taken the photo outside the glass window with my phone i looked at it for
00:11:21a long
00:11:22time i wasn't reluctant to let go i simply added one line of caption to that photo exhibit c
00:11:30defendant dined with a third party and daughter at mistral 47 minute during which defendant did not
00:11:35contact place this date was planta's birthday and seventh wedding anniversary print sign amelia m voss
00:11:45not hail voss i hadn't used that surname in seven years after signing i folded the agreement and placed
00:11:53it in a craft envelope on the front of the envelope i wrote three words to trevor hail i placed
00:12:01it on the
00:12:01mahogany table in the foyer that table was cassidy's housewarming gift three years ago i went downstairs
00:12:09henry was arranging a bouquet in the living room when he saw me carrying my suitcase he froze completely
00:12:17mrs hale henry i pointed to the envelope for him when mr hale comes back please hand this to him
00:12:23personally i'll be returning to san francisco shortly henry's lips moved but no sound came out
00:12:28he had been the hail family's butler for 20 years he had seen everything seven years every time i
00:12:36waited until late at night and trevor never came home he was the one who brought me soup every time
00:12:43cassidy unintentionally stabbed me in this house he silently pulled me away at last he spoke in a low
00:12:49voice you won't be coming back this time i didn't answer i took a white sheet of paper from my
00:12:56handbag
00:12:57wrote several lines and handed it to him henry at 2 40 this afternoon mr hale miss cassidy lambert and
00:13:06adeline hale had lunch together at mistral i was originally scheduled to attend
00:13:14plaintiff was not present please sign by hand later as a witness amelia embossed after henry finished
00:13:20reading it his hand trembled he looked up at me just sign your name if this matter goes to court
00:13:25your
00:13:25name will appear on exhibit c if you don't want to sign you can tear it up i won't force
00:13:29you henry
00:13:30was silent for five seconds then he signed his name at the very bottom of the paper he wrote slowly
00:13:35each stroke heavy henry coleman the 14th march i took the paper folded it and put it into my kelly
00:13:40bag henry mrs dr voss it was the first time he called me that thank you for these seven years
00:13:46he lowered his head by the time the car pulled out of beacon hill it was already three in the
00:13:51afternoon
00:13:51i didn't look back at that house again in the car i sent zara three messages that postnup can be
00:13:57used
00:13:57now i am on my way to the airport five o'clock flight to sfo charles will pick me up
00:14:01i'll go
00:14:02straight to bishop and cole after landing she replied instantly waiting for you sis the car
00:14:06entered the approach ramp to logan airport i rested my hand on my belly the two children moved i said
00:14:11to
00:14:11them mommy is taking you home to our real home before the plane took off the cabin announcement told us
00:14:16to
00:14:16turn off our phones before switching mine to airplane mode i opened my alarm list there were
00:14:2017 alarms in total the one at the top was set for six o'clock every morning the alarm title
00:14:25read
00:14:25call addy boston time seven years no six years since addy turned one every morning at six whether i was
00:14:32in california boston new york tokyo london at a prenatal checkup in a meeting or just finishing
00:14:37overtime in the middle of the night when the alarm rang i called her mommy she spent more and more
00:14:43time
00:14:43in boston with trouble she answered the phone less and less finish breakfast go to school bye mommy
00:14:49loves you starting this year she stopped letting him answer for her she simply stopped answering i had
00:14:54never deleted that call i told myself what if one day she remembered mommy what if one day she was
00:14:58willing to answer again i had to be online at six this morning i was on the first floor of
00:15:04the old
00:15:04baking hill house that alarm rang too
00:15:09at that moment i was standing beside the floor table placing the envelope there i stared at the
00:15:15phone's phone she was upstairs she didn't hear it before seven o'clock she and henry said all of that
00:15:22in the kitchen i stared at that alarm for a long time i deleted it the plane taxied down the
00:15:27runway the
00:15:28engine noise grew louder and louder i closed my eyes i said one thing to myself you've done everything you
00:15:34needed to do i opened my eyes and took article eight of the postnote from my handbag the clause
00:15:40trevor had personally added seven years ago if either spouse commits public humiliation deprivation
00:15:45of parental rights or economic coercion the other spouse shall have the right to sole custody of
00:15:50minor children and 75 of marital assets back then the hale family's chief attorney smiled at me
00:15:58mrs hale this clause is absolutely in your favor see how much trevor protects you i was only 24 then
00:16:06newly pregnant with adeline it was my first time stepping into a century-old family like the hails
00:16:12and i was so nervous my hand shook when i signed i signed trevor signed too he even wrote one
00:16:19sentence
00:16:19in his own hand to keep my wife safe from my own family to protect my wife from being hurt
00:16:24by my own
00:16:24family reading that sentence again today i nearly laughed out loud he had hardly protected me at all
00:16:31but he had indeed left me a gun seven years later he walked himself right into the barrel
00:16:37seven years ago he wrote that clause because he feared the hail family would hurt me
00:16:41seven years later the person who hurt me the deepest was himself the hails the cabin announcement
00:16:46told us we could unbuckle our seatbelts clouds spread out beyond the wing sunlight poured in harsh and
00:16:52blinding i closed the forwarder i told myself amelia you don't love him anymore
00:16:59it wasn't something that happened overnight i'm in a meeting again and again he said she needs me
00:17:05again and again he said your hormones are unstable again and again he said cassidy has it hard
00:17:11he wore away what little love i had bit by bit until it turned to ash when the wind blew
00:17:16nothing was
00:17:16left i closed my eyes one of the two children in my belly moved and the other moved with them
00:17:21i smiled
00:17:23i said to them your mother is not this tale your mother's name is amelia m voss starting today
00:17:38she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:17:42to collect
00:17:43on the beach a big sum last year tight and sharp before i could speak she added happily dad also
00:17:48ordered other messages tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at the necklace in her hands and remembered
00:17:54something this time last year it had been a night just like this the charity gala for children's
00:17:58hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california rare birds field guide i had given him
00:18:04for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of print copies the one i had found among my late
00:18:09father's belongings the hammer price was four hundred twenty thousand dollars donated to set up a trust for
00:18:15the child cassidy had left from cold i sat in the third row at the time smiling and applauding
00:18:22i thought i could endure one more year lady mommy wants to ask you something she looked up
00:18:30do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little brows and thought very seriously
00:18:35for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:18:43mom mom is your birthday the one in the summer she lowered her head again and started counting
00:18:50feeds mom don't talk to me i'm messing up the order i didn't see anything i let go of the
00:18:57arm i had
00:19:02i flew back to boston for nearly 20 weeks just to come out of trouble i didn't repeat today
00:19:06today was my 30th birthday it was also our 7th wedding anniversary the doctor told me not to cry
00:19:12not because of love because after seven years i was still waiting for him to give me one reason not
00:19:18to leave i told the ladies in my belly this is the last time after this we stopped waiting for
00:19:22him
00:19:22he thought what he'd lost was a wife throwing a tantrum tomorrow morning at nine he would find out
00:19:27what he'd lost was someone he had never deserved in his life by the time i landed at logan airport
00:19:32it was already past nine at night i thought that if only for the sake of these seven years
00:19:37he should come home tonight when i walked out of the airport my phone was full of birthday wishes
00:19:41from colleagues and classmates there was nothing from trevor
00:19:47by the time i reached the old house on beacon hill it was almost 10 30. henry opened the door
00:19:52for me
00:19:52mrs hale you what brings you here where's trevor and adi mr hale hasn't returned yet
00:19:59mrs upstairs playing with that box of shells
00:20:04i nodded handed him my coat and went upstairs with one hand supporting my belly the hallway was
00:20:09very quiet adi's bedroom door was half open a warm little lamp glowing inside i pushed the door open
00:20:15and went in she was wearing pink pajamas sitting cross-legged on the carpet focused on stringing a
00:20:21shell necklace my footsteps were light she looked up her eyes lighting then she lowered her head
00:20:28again and went back to fiddling with the beads i crouched down held my belly pulled her into my arms
00:20:34and
00:20:34kissed her mom don't bother me i'm busy i hadn't seen her in more than two months no number of
00:20:40kisses would
00:20:40have been enough but she had already wriggled out of my arms is adi making a shell necklace
00:20:46in one week it'll be aunt cassidy birthday this is the birthday present dad and i are making for
00:20:51aunt cassidy dad and i polished every one of these shells with tools aren't they pretty
00:21:00she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:21:03to collect
00:21:04on beach at big sun last year my throat tightened sharply before i could speak she added happily dad
00:21:09also ordered other custom gifts for aunt cassidy tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at the necklace
00:21:14in her hands and remembered something this time last year it had been a night just like this the
00:21:18charity gala for children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california rare birds
00:21:24field guide i had given him for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of print copies the one
00:21:29i had
00:21:29found among my late father's belongings the hammer price was four hundred twenty thousand dollars donated to
00:21:35set up a trust for the child cassidy had left me whole i sat in the third row at the
00:21:39time smiling and
00:21:40applauding i thought i could endure one more year adi she looked up do you remember mommy's birthday
00:21:53she furrowed her little brows and thought very seriously for five seconds mommy's birthday
00:22:00she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:22:04mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:22:09she lowered her head again and started counting the beads mom don't talk to me you're messing up the
00:22:15order i didn't speak again i let go of the arm i had around her
00:22:23when i went downstairs henry was waiting in the living room mrs hale i called mr hale just now he
00:22:30said he
00:22:31has something to do tonight and asked you to rest first i see i answered softly after thinking for
00:22:37a moment i still called trevor the phone rang for a long time before i answered his voice was
00:22:42faint i'm busy tomorrow
00:22:45from the other end of the front came another woman's voice soft natural as if she could have been by
00:22:50so far i can use it this light it was cassidy i tightened my grip on the phone trevor paused
00:22:56then said to me
00:22:57look before i could speak we hung up i sat on the sofa for a long time the two children
00:23:04in my belly moved
00:23:05i lowered my head and gently patted my stomach i said to him mommy understands now
00:23:11mommy that seven years was long enough
00:23:15one year he would remember to come home tonight was the last time mommy won't wait for him anymore
00:23:25at 6 30 the next morning i went downstairs henry was making breakfast in the kitchen
00:23:31i didn't go in halfway there i heard odie's voice drifting over from the other side of the kitchen
00:23:36she was talking to henry her voice wasn't loud but she was still little she didn't understand what
00:23:41lower your voice meant henry i'm not happy that mom came miss why would you be unhappy dad and i
00:23:47already
00:23:47promised we'd take aunt and cassidy to kid cod tomorrow if mom suddenly comes and insists on going
00:23:52with us that cassidy will feel so awkward miss madam is your mother you can't say things like that
00:23:58it will hurt her heart understand i know but there wasn't the slightest hesitation in her voice
00:24:03but dad and i both like aunt cassidy better can i let aunt cassidy be my mommy i stood at
00:24:08the foot
00:24:09of the stairs unable to move even half a step my daughter was my own flesh and blood i had
00:24:13spent 22
00:24:13hours in the delivery room alone trevor was in europe that day negotiating an acquisition
00:24:19cole is gone i have to go to cassidy right away cole had died in a car accident the night
00:24:24before
00:24:25cassidy wasn't pregnant yet at the time after that night the two of them were never truly apart
00:24:30again henry said nothing more i walked back to my room and closed the door i sat down by the
00:24:35bed
00:24:36i didn't cry i only lowered the hand resting on my belly i opened my phone i sent trevor a
00:24:42text
00:24:42trevor let's have lunch together today just the three of us 80 wants mistress lobster ravioli i'll fly
00:24:47back to san francisco this afternoon he replied about 20 minutes later got it you set the time looking at
00:24:54that got it i nearly laughed out loud seven years ago when he was pursuing me he wrote 15 love
00:25:00letters every one of them ended with yours trevor seven years later his reply to me had fewer words
00:25:06than yours plus trevor i wrote back 12 30 mistral got it i washed up did my makeup and changed
00:25:14into a
00:25:14pale beige maternity dress i had picked it out myself last year trevor had never seen it once at 11
00:25:1940 i
00:25:19drove to back bay halfway there my phone buzzed it was trevor something urgent came up at noon lunch
00:25:24is cancelled next time i pulled over onto a small road beside staro drive and stared at that text for
00:25:29a long time if it had been before i would have immediately replied okay but when you're done
00:25:37should i wait for you i would have waited i would have sat alone at mistaro until two in the
00:25:42afternoon
00:25:42drink two glasses of lemon water then drive home dad is busy today it isn't easy for him but today
00:25:48i started the car again and drove toward back bay i wasn't acting out of spite i just suddenly
00:25:55wanted to take a look i wanted to see what his so-called urgent matter actually was i parked across
00:26:00the street from mistral i didn't go in right away i stood outside the glass window for about 10 seconds
00:26:06inside at the old table by the window the three of them were sitting there cassidy and oddie sat close
00:26:11together on the same side oddie tilted her head up telling her jokes her shoulders shaking with
00:26:15laughter cassidy fed her a piece of little cake taking a bite herself first before handing it over
00:26:19oddie opened her mouth and ate it trevor sat across from them he was wearing the dark gray cashmere
00:26:24coat i had picked out for him last christmas he was smiling the kind of smile i hadn't seen in
00:26:29a
00:26:29very long time he placed a piece of fish on cassidy's plate then one for oddie his eyes stayed on
00:26:34cassie's face the whole time as if in the entire restaurant she was the only person i stood outside
00:26:39the glass window carrying two unborn children in my belly his wife his childhood friend's widow his
00:26:45daughter three people at one table the seat that should have been across from home was empty
00:26:49i didn't go in i turned around and walked back to a car i started the engine the windshield wiper
00:26:56swept
00:26:56across the glass wiping away two drops of water it wasn't raining even i didn't know when they had fallen
00:27:02i smiled a little i said to myself amelia do you see it clearly now i see it clearly i
00:27:08drove away
00:27:08i didn't look back at mistral once when i returned to beacon hill it was 1 30 in the afternoon
00:27:13only
00:27:13henry was in the old house when he saw me he froze mr hale aren't you at mistral mr hale
00:27:18had something
00:27:18come up henry opened in his mouth and said nothing i went upstairs and entered the study i opened the
00:27:24computer and connected to the home network on the desktop was a folder password locked and hidden for
00:27:29seven years folder amv only i opened it there were four things inside a pdf of the postnup from
00:27:36seven years ago the version i had personally scanned and archived a record of every major decision trevor
00:27:45had made over the past seven years i had attended every viridian labs board meeting remotely and he
00:27:50didn't know a copy of delivery room footage from the day adeline was born proof that trevor had been
00:27:56absent a full set of evidence i had obtained two years ago showing hale trusts forged documents for
00:28:03cassidy's identity as cole's widow
00:28:10from that folder i pulled up the divorce agreement template it was the version zara had sent me half a
00:28:15year ago sis here in case you need it someday i won't need it she wrote back sis stop lying
00:28:24to yourself
00:28:31two o'clock this afternoon i needed it i copied article eight of the postnip into the first page of
00:28:37the
00:28:37agreement word for word i attached the email dr masson had sent trevor about adeline's psychological
00:28:42evaluation to the second page i placed the photo of that table for three at mistraw this morning on
00:28:49the third page i had taken the photo outside the glass window with my phone i looked at it for
00:28:56a long
00:28:56time i wasn't reluctant to let go i simply added one line of caption to that photo exhibit c
00:29:04defendant dined with a third party and daughter at mistraw 47 minute during which defendant did not
00:29:09contact place this date was planta's birthday and seventh wedding anniversary print
00:29:17sign amelia m voss not hale voss i hadn't used that surname in seven years
00:29:24after signing i folded the agreement and placed it in a craft envelope on the front of the envelope
00:29:30i wrote three words to trevor hail i placed it on the mahogany table in the foyer that table was
00:29:38cassidy's housewarming gift three years ago i went downstairs henry was arranging a bouquet in the living room
00:29:46when he saw me carrying my suitcase he froze completely
00:29:51mrs hale henry i pointed to the envelope for him when mr hale comes back please hand this to him
00:29:57personally i'll be returning to san francisco shortly henry's lips moved but no sound came out
00:30:02he had been the hail family's butler for 20 years he had seen everything seven years every time i waited
00:30:11until late at night and trevor never came home he was the one who brought me soup every time cassidy
00:30:17unintentionally stabbed me in this house he silently pulled me away at last he spoke in a low voice
00:30:24you won't be coming back this time i didn't answer i took a white sheet of paper from my handbag
00:30:31wrote several lines and handed it to him henry at 2 40 this afternoon mr hale miss cassidy lambert and
00:30:40adeline hale had lunch together at mistraw i was originally scheduled to attend
00:31:01i took the paper folded it and put it in the back of my hand
00:31:04and he was silent for five seconds then he signed his name at the very bottom of the paper
00:31:08he wrote slowly each stroke heavy henry coleman 14 he march i took the paper folded it and put it
00:31:14in the
00:31:14into my kelly bag henry this is dr voss it was the first time he called me that thank you
00:31:19for these
00:31:19seven years he lowered his head by the time the car pulled out of beacon hill it was already three
00:31:25in
00:31:25the afternoon i didn't look back at that house again in the car i sent zara three messages that
00:31:30postnup can be used now i am on my way to the airport five o'clock flight to sfo charles
00:31:35will pick
00:31:35me up i'll go straight to bishop and cole after landing she replied instantly waiting for you sis
00:31:40the car entered the approach ramp to logan airport i rested my hand on my belly the two children
00:31:44moved i said to them mommy is taking you home to our real home before the plane took off the
00:31:49cabin announcement told us to turn off our phones before switching mine to airplane mode i opened my
00:31:53alarm list there were 17 alarms in total the one at the top was set for six o'clock every
00:31:58morning
00:31:58the alarm title read call addy boston time seven years no six years since addy turned one every morning
00:32:04at six whether i was in california boston new york tokyo london at a prenatal
00:32:09checkup in a meeting or just finishing overtime in the middle of the night when the alarm rang i
00:32:14called her mommy she spent more and more time in boston with trevor she answered the phone less and
00:32:20less finish breakfast go to school bye mommy loves you starting this year she stopped letting henry
00:32:25answer for her she simply stopped answering i had never deleted that alarm i told myself what if one
00:32:31day she remembered mommy what if one day she was willing to answer again i had to be online at
00:32:35that
00:32:35moment at six this morning i was on the first floor of the old beacon hill house that alarm rang
00:32:40too
00:32:43at that moment i was standing beside the foyer table placing the envelope there i stared at the
00:32:49phone screen she was upstairs she didn't hear it before seven o'clock she and henry said all of that
00:32:56in the kitchen i stared at that alarm for a long time i deleted it the plane taxied down the
00:33:01runway the
00:33:02engine noise grew louder and louder i closed my eyes i said one thing to myself you've done
00:33:08everything you needed to do i opened my eyes and took article eight of the postnote from my handbag
00:33:14the clause trevor had personally added seven years ago if either spouse commits public humiliation
00:33:19deprivation of parental rights or economic coercion the other spouse shall have the right to sole
00:33:23custody of minor children and 75 percent of marital assets
00:33:29back then the hail family's chief attorney smiled at me mrs hale this clause is absolutely in your
00:33:35favor see how much trevor protects you i was only 24 then newly pregnant with adlin it was my first
00:33:43time stepping into a century old family like the hails and i was so nervous my hand shook when i
00:33:48signed
00:33:49i signed trevor signed too he even wrote one sentence in his own hand to keep my wife safe
00:33:55from my own family to protect my wife from being hurt by my own family reading that sentence again
00:34:01today i nearly laughed out loud he had hardly protected me at all but he had indeed left me a
00:34:07gun seven years later he walked himself right into the barrel seven years ago he wrote that clause
00:34:13because he feared the hail family would hurt me seven years later the person who hurt me the deepest
00:34:18was himself the hails the cabin announcement told us we could unbuckle our seatbelts clouds spread out
00:34:23beyond the wing sunlight poured in harsh and blinding i closed the forder i told myself amelia you don't
00:34:31love him anymore it wasn't something that happened overnight i'm in a meeting again and again he said
00:34:38she needs me again and again he said the hormones are unstable again and again he said cassidy has it
00:34:45hard i wore away what little love i had bit by bit until it turned to ash when the wind
00:34:49blew nothing was
00:34:50left i closed my eyes one of the two children in my belly moved and the other moved with them
00:34:55i smiled i said to them your mother is not mrs hale your mother's name is amelia m box starting
00:35:03today
00:35:13she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:35:16to collect
00:35:17on the beach a big sun last year i felt tight and sharp before i could speak she added happily
00:35:22dad also
00:35:23ordered other custom gifts for aunt cassidy tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at the necklace in her
00:35:27hands and remembered something this time last year it had been a night just like this
00:35:31the charity gala for children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california
00:35:36rare birds field guide i had given him for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of print
00:35:41copies the one i had found among my late father's belongings the hammer price was four hundred twenty
00:35:46thousand dollars donated to set up a trust for the child cassidy had left them cold i sat in the
00:35:51third
00:35:52row at the time smiling and applauding i thought i could endure one more year lady mommy wants to ask
00:36:00you
00:36:00something she looked up do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little brows and thought
00:36:08very seriously for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:36:17mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:36:22she lowered her head again and started counting the beads
00:36:25mom don't talk to me you're messing up the order
00:36:28i didn't speak again i let go of the arm i had around her
00:36:36i flew back to boston pregnant with twins just to confirm trevor wouldn't be home tonight
00:36:40today was my 31st birthday it was also our seventh wedding anniversary the doctor told me not to fly
00:36:45i flew anyway not because of love because after seven years i was still waiting for him to give me
00:36:51one
00:36:51reason not to leave i told the babies in my belly this is the last time after this we stopped
00:36:56waiting
00:36:56for him he thought what he'd lost was a wife throwing a tantrum tomorrow morning at nine he would
00:37:01find out what he'd lost was someone he had never deserved in his life by the time i landed at
00:37:05logan
00:37:06airport it was already past nine at night i thought that if only for the sake of these seven years
00:37:11he
00:37:11should come home tonight when i walked out of the airport my phone was full of birthday wishes from
00:37:15colleagues and old classmates there was nothing from trevor by the time i reached the old house
00:37:23on weekend hill it was almost 10 3. henry opened the door for me mrs hale you what brings you
00:37:29here
00:37:30where's trevor mr hale hasn't returned yet this is upstairs playing with that box of shells
00:37:38i nodded handed him my coat and went upstairs with one hand supporting my belly
00:37:42the hallway was very quiet adi's bedroom door was half hidden a warm little lamp blowing inside
00:37:48i pushed the door she was wearing pink pajamas sitting cross-legged on the carpet focused on
00:37:54stringing a shell necklace my footsteps were light she looked up her eyes lighting up then she lowered
00:38:02her head again and went back to fiddling with the beads i crouched down held my belly pulled her into
00:38:07my arms and kissed her mom don't bother me i'm busy i hadn't seen her in more than two months
00:38:13no number
00:38:14of kisses would have been enough but she had already wriggled out of my arms is adi making a shell
00:38:18necklace in one week it'll be aunt cassidy birthday this is the birthday present dad and i are making for
00:38:25aunt cassidy dad and i polished every one of these shells with tools aren't they pretty
00:38:34she held the necklace up in front of her that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:38:38to collect
00:38:38on the beach a big sunrise too tight and sharp before i could speak she added happy dad also
00:38:44ordered other customers straight to pass it tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at the necklace in my
00:38:48hands and the numbers this time last year it had been a night just like this the charity gala for
00:38:53children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california rare birds field
00:38:58god i had given them for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of three copies the one i
00:39:03had
00:39:03found about my late father's belongings the hammer price was 425 000 dollars donated to set up a trust
00:39:10for the child i sat in the third row at the time smiling and applauding
00:39:17i thought i could endure one more year mommy wants to ask her something she looked up
00:39:25mommy's birthday do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little brows and thought very
00:39:29seriously for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:39:38mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:39:43she lowered her head again and started counting the beads mom don't talk to me you're messing up the order
00:39:49i didn't speak again i let go of the arm i had around her
00:39:57when i went downstairs henry was waiting in the living room mrs hale i called mr hale just now he
00:40:04said
00:40:05he has something to do tonight and asked you to rest first i see i answered softly after thinking for
00:40:11a moment i still called trevor the phone rang for a long time before he answered his voice was faint
00:40:17i'm
00:40:17busy tomorrow from the other end of the phone came another woman's voice soft natural as if she had
00:40:24been by his side all night who is it this late it was cassidy i tightened my grip on the
00:40:29phone trevor
00:40:30paused then said to me nothing before i could speak he hung up i sat on the sofa for a
00:40:36long time the two
00:40:38children in my belly moved i lowered my head and gently patted my stomach i said to them mommy understands
00:40:44now
00:40:45mommy thought seven years was long enough that one year he would remember to come home
00:40:52tonight was the last time mommy won't wait for him anymore
00:41:00at 6 30 the next morning i went downstairs henry was making breakfast in the kitchen
00:41:05i didn't go in halfway there i heard odie's voice drifting over from the other side of the kitchen
00:41:10she was talking to henry her voice wasn't loud but she was still little she didn't understand what
00:41:15lower your voice meant henry i'm not happy that mom came miss why would you be unhappy dad and i
00:41:21already promised we'd take aunt's capacity to kick hot tomorrow if mom suddenly comes and insists on
00:41:26going with us that cassidy will feel so awkward miss madam is your mother you can't say things like
00:41:32that it will hurt her heart understand i know but there wasn't the slightest hesitation in her voice
00:41:38but dad and i both like aunt cassidy better can i let aunt cassidy be my mommy
00:41:42i stood at the foot of the stairs unable to move even half a step
00:41:45my daughter was my own flesh and blood i had spent 22 hours on the delivery
00:41:49trevor was in europe that day negotiating an acquisition
00:41:53cole is gone i have to go to cassidy right away cole had died in a car accident the night
00:41:58before
00:41:59cassidy wasn't pregnant yet at the time after that night the two of them were never truly apart
00:42:04again henry said nothing more i walked back to my room and closed the door i sat down by the
00:42:10bed
00:42:10i didn't cry i only lowered the hand resting on my belly i opened my phone i sent trevor a
00:42:16text
00:42:16trevor let's have lunch together today just the three of us ad wants mistral's lobster ravioli
00:42:21i'll fly back to san francisco this afternoon he replied about 20 minutes later
00:42:26got it you set the time looking at that got it i nearly laughed out loud
00:42:31seven years ago when he was pursuing me he wrote 15 love letters every one of them ended with yours
00:42:37trevor seven years later he's replied to me with fewer words than yours plus trevor i wrote back
00:42:4412 30 mistraled got it i washed up did my makeup and changed into a pale beige macronity dress
00:42:50i had picked it out myself last year trevor had never seen it once at 11 40 i drove to
00:42:54bath
00:42:54bay halfway there my phone buzzed it was trevor something urgent came up at noon lunch is canceled
00:42:59next time i pulled it through onto a small road beside starro drive and stared at that text
00:43:08if it had been before i would have immediately replied okay but when you're done should i wait for
00:43:12you i would have waited i would have sat alone at mistaro until two in the afternoon drink two glasses
00:43:18of
00:43:18lemon water then drive home dad is busy today it isn't easy for him but today i didn't reply
00:43:24i started the car again and drove toward back bay i wasn't acting out of spite i just suddenly wanted
00:43:29to take a look i wanted to see what his so-called urgent matter actually was i parked across the
00:43:34street
00:43:34from mistral i didn't go in right away i stood outside the glass window for about 10 seconds inside at
00:43:41the old table by the window the three of them were sitting there cassidy and adi sat close together on
00:43:46the
00:43:46same side adi tilted her head up telling her jokes her shoulders shaking with laughter cassidy fed her
00:43:50a piece of little cake taking a bite herself first before handing it over adi opened her mouth and ate
00:43:55it trevor sat across from them he was wearing the dark gray cashmere coat i had picked out for him
00:44:00last
00:44:00christmas he was smiling the kind of smile i hadn't seen in a very long time he placed a piece
00:44:04of fish on
00:44:05cassidy's plate then one for adi his eyes stayed on cassidy's face the whole time as if in the entire
00:44:11restaurant she was the only person left i stood outside the glass window carrying two unborn
00:44:15children in my belly his wife his childhood friend's widow his daughter three people at one
00:44:21table the seat that should have been across from him was empty i didn't go in i turned around and
00:44:26walked back to the car i started the engine the windshield wiper swept across the glass wiping away
00:44:32two drops of water it wasn't rain even i didn't know when they had fallen i smiled a little i
00:44:38said to
00:44:38myself amelia do you see it clearly now i see it clearly i drove away i didn't look back at
00:44:44mistral
00:44:44once when i returned to beacon hill it was 1 30 in the afternoon only henry was in the old
00:44:48house when
00:44:49he saw me he froze mr hale aren't you at mistral mr hale had something come up henry opened in
00:44:54his
00:44:54mouth then said nothing i went upstairs and entered the study i opened the computer and connected to the
00:44:59home network on the desktop was a folder password locked and hidden for seven years folder amv only i opened
00:45:06it there were four things inside a pdf of the postnup from seven years ago the version i had
00:45:11personally scanned and archived a record of every major decision trevor had made over the past seven
00:45:21years i had attended every viridian labs board meeting remotely and he didn't know a copy of
00:45:26delivery room footage from the day adeline was born proof that trevor had been absent a full set of
00:45:31evidence i had obtained two years ago showing hail trusts forged documents for cassidy's identity as cole's
00:45:39widow
00:45:44from that folder i pulled up the divorce agreement template it was the version zara had sent me half a
00:45:49year ago sis here in case you need it someday i won't need it she wrote back sis stop lying
00:45:58to yourself
00:46:06two o'clock this afternoon i needed it i copied article eight of the post snip into the first page
00:46:11of
00:46:11the agreement word for word i attached the email dr masson had sent trevor about adeline's psychological
00:46:16evaluation to the second page i placed the photo of that table for three at mistral this morning on the
00:46:23third page i had taken the photo outside the glass window with my phone i looked at it for a
00:46:30long
00:46:30time i wasn't reluctant to let go i simply added one line of caption to that photo exhibit c
00:46:38defendant dined with a third party and daughter at mistral 47 minutes during which defendant did not
00:46:44contact placement this date was planta's birthday and seventh wedding anniversary print sign amelia m voss
00:46:53not hail voss i hadn't used that surname in seven years after signing i folded the agreement and placed
00:47:02it in a craft envelope on the front of the envelope i wrote three words to trevor hail i placed
00:47:09it on the
00:47:10mahogany table in the foyer that table was cassidy's housewarming gift three years ago i went downstairs
00:47:17henry was arranging a bouquet in the living room when he saw me carrying my suitcase he froze completely
00:47:26mrs hale henry i pointed to the envelope for him when mr hale comes back please hand this to him
00:47:32personally
00:47:32i'll be returning to san francisco shortly henry's lips moved but no sound came out
00:47:36he had been the hail family's butler for 20 years he had seen everything seven years every time i
00:47:45waited until late at night and trevor never came home he was the one who brought me soup every time
00:47:51cassidy unintentionally stabbed me in this house he silently pulled me away at last he spoke in a low
00:47:57voice you won't be coming back this time i didn't answer i took a white sheet of paper from my
00:48:04handbag
00:48:05wrote several lines and handed it to him henry at 2 40 this afternoon mr hale miss cassidy lambert and
00:48:14adeline hale had lunch together at mistral i was originally scheduled to attend
00:48:23plaintiff was not present please sign by hand later as a witness amelia and boss after henry finished
00:48:28reading it his hand trembled he looked up at me just sign your name if this matter goes to court
00:48:33your name
00:48:34will appear on exhibit c if you don't want to sign you can tear it up i won't force you
00:48:38henry was
00:48:39silent for five seconds then he signed his name at the very bottom of the paper he wrote slowly each
00:48:44stroke heavy henry coleman the 14th march i took the paper folded it and put it into my kelly bag
00:48:49henry
00:48:49this is dr voss it was the first time he called me that thank you for these seven years he
00:48:55lowered his
00:48:55head by the time the car pulled out of beacon hill it was already three in the afternoon
00:49:00i didn't look back at that house again in the car i sent zara three messages that postnup can be
00:49:05used
00:49:05now i am on my way to the airport five o'clock flight to sfo charles will pick me up
00:49:10i'll go
00:49:10straight to bishop and cole after landing she replied instantly waiting for you sis the car
00:49:14entered the approach ramp to logan airport i rested my hand on my belly the two children moved
00:49:19i said to them mommy is taking you home to our real home before the plane took off the cabin
00:49:23announcement told us to turn off our phones before switching mine to airplane mode i opened my alarm list
00:49:28there were 17 alarms in total the one at the top was set for six o'clock every morning the
00:49:33alarm
00:49:33title read call addy boston time seven years no six years since addy turned one every morning at six
00:49:39whether i was in california boston new york tokyo london at a prenatal checkup in a meeting or just
00:49:45finishing overtime in the middle of the night when the alarm rang i called her mommy she spent more and
00:49:51more time in boston with trevor she answered the phone less and less finish breakfast go to school
00:49:56bye mommy loves you starting this year she stopped letting henry answer for her
00:50:00she simply stopped answering i had never deleted that alarm i told myself what if one day she
00:50:05remembered mommy what if one day she was willing to answer again i had to be online at that moment
00:50:09at six this morning i was on the first floor of the old beacon hill house that alarm rang too
00:50:17at that moment i was standing beside the foyer table placing the envelope there
00:50:22i stared at the phone screen she was upstairs she didn't hear it before seven o'clock she and henry
00:50:30said all of that in the kitchen i stared at that alarm for a long time i deleted it the
00:50:34plane taxied
00:50:35down the runway the engine noise grew louder and louder i closed my eyes i said one thing to myself
00:50:41you've done everything you needed to do
00:50:45i opened my eyes and took article eight of the postbook from my handbag the clause trevor had
00:50:49personally added seven years ago if either spouse commits public humiliation deprivation of frontal
00:50:54rights or economic coercion the other spouse shall have the right to sole custody of my children and 75
00:50:59back then the hale family's chief attorney smiled at me mrs hale this clause is absolutely in your favor
00:51:10see how much trevor protects you i was only 24 then nearly pregnant badly it was my first time
00:51:17stepping into a century old family like the hales and i was so nervous my hand shook when i signed
00:51:23i signed trevor signed too he even wrote one sentence in his own hand to keep my wife safe from
00:51:30my own
00:51:30family to protect my wife from being hurt by my own family reading that sentence again today i nearly
00:51:36laughed out loud he had hardly protected me at all but he had indeed left me a gun seven years
00:51:42later
00:51:43he walked himself right into the barrel seven years ago he wrote that clause because he feared the hale
00:51:48family would hurt me seven years later the person who hurt me the deepest was himself the hails the
00:51:54cabin announcement told us we could unbuckle our seat belts clouds spread out beyond the wing sunlight poured
00:51:59in harsh and blinding i closed the forwarder i told myself amelia you don't love him anymore
00:52:08it wasn't something that happened overnight i'm in a meeting again and again he said she needs me
00:52:13again and again he said your hormones are unstable again and again he said cassidy has it hard i wore
00:52:20away what little love i had bit by bit until it turned to ash when the wind blew nothing was
00:52:25left i closed my
00:52:26eyes one of the two children in my belly moved and the other moved with them i smiled i said
00:52:31to them
00:52:32your mother is not mrs hale your mother's name is amelia m voss starting today
00:52:47she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:52:51to collect on
00:52:51beach at big sun last year my throat tightened sharply before i could speak she added happily
00:52:56dad also ordered other custom gifts for aunt cassidy tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at
00:53:01the necklace in her hands and remembered something this time last year it had been a night just like
00:53:04this the charity gala for children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california
00:53:10rare birds field guide i had given him for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of print
00:53:15copies the one i had found among my late father's belongings the hammer price was four hundred twenty
00:53:20thousand dollars donated to set up a trust for the child cassidy had left from cold i sat in the
00:53:26third
00:53:26row at the time smiling and applauding i thought i could endure one more year lady mommy wants to ask
00:53:34you
00:53:34something she looked up do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little brows and thought very
00:53:42seriously for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:53:51mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:53:56she lowered her head again and started counting the beads mom don't talk to me you're messing up the order
00:54:02i didn't speak again i let go of the arm i had around her
00:54:10i flew back to boston pregnant with twins just to confirm trevor wouldn't be home tonight today was
00:54:15my 31st birthday it was also our seventh wedding anniversary the doctor told me not to fly i flew
00:54:20anyway not because of love because after seven years i was still waiting for him to give me one reason
00:54:26not
00:54:26to leave i told the babies in my belly this is the last time after this we stopped waiting for
00:54:30him he
00:54:31thought what he'd lost was a wife throwing a tantrum tomorrow morning at nine he would find out what
00:54:36he'd lost was someone he had never deserved
00:54:37his life and by the time i landed at the airport it was all rainbow hospital
00:54:42i thought that if only for the same for seven years he should come home tonight
00:54:46when i walked out of the airport my phone was full of birthday wishes for the comments
00:54:50and all the classmates there was nothing from trevor
00:54:56by the time i reached the old house i didn't know it was almost ten
00:54:59and we opened the door for me
00:55:01mrs hale what brings you here where's trevor
00:55:06mr hale hasn't returned here who's upstairs cleaning her possessions
00:55:12i nodded handed him my coat and went upstairs with one hand support my brother
00:55:16the hallway was very quiet adi's bedroom door was half open a warm little lamp glowing inside
00:55:22i pushed the door open and went in she was wearing pink pajamas sitting cross-legged on the carpet
00:55:28focused on stringing a shell necklace my footsteps were light
00:55:32she looked up her eyes lighted then she lowered her head again and went back to fiddling with the
00:55:38beads i crouched down held my belly pulled her into my arms and kissed her mom don't bother me
00:55:45i'm busy i hadn't seen her in more than two months no number of kisses would have been enough but
00:55:51she
00:55:52making a shell necklace in one week it'll be aunt cassidy birthday this is the birthday present dad
00:55:58and i are making for aunt cassidy dad and i polished every one of these shells with tools aren't they
00:56:03pretty
00:56:08she held the necklace up in front of me that box of shells was the one i had taken her
00:56:12to collect
00:56:12on beach at big sum last year my throat tightened sharply before i could speak she added happily dad
00:56:18also ordered other custom gifts for aunt cassidy tomorrow she didn't finish i looked at the necklace
00:56:22in her hands and remembered something this time last year it had been a night just like this
00:56:26the charity gala for children's hospital trevor personally auctioned off the copy of california
00:56:32rare birds field guide i had given him for our sixth anniversary one of only three out of print
00:56:36copies the one i had found among my late father's belongings the hammer price was 420 000 dollars
00:56:42donated to set up a trust for the child cassidy had left for the cold i sat in the third
00:56:47row at the
00:56:47time smiling and applauding i thought i could endure one more year 80 mommy wants to ask you something
00:56:56she looked up
00:56:59do you remember mommy's birthday she furrowed her little brows and thought very seriously
00:57:05for five seconds mommy's birthday she looked up at me and blinked as if asking for help
00:57:13mom is your birthday the one in summer
00:57:17she lowered her head again and started counting the beads
00:57:20mom don't talk to me you're messing up the order i didn't speak again i let go of the arm
00:57:27i had around her
00:57:31when i went downstairs henry was waiting in the living room mrs hale i called mr hale just now he
00:57:39said
00:57:39he has something to do tonight and asked you to rest first i see i answered softly after thinking for
00:57:45a moment i still called trevor the phone rang for a long time his voice was faint i'm busy tomorrow
00:57:54from the other end of the phone came another woman's voice soft natural as if she had been
00:57:58by his side all night who is it this late it was cassidy i tightened my grip on the phone
00:58:03trevor paused
00:58:04then said to me nothing before i could speak he hung up i sat on the sofa for a long
00:58:11time
00:58:11the two children in my belly moved i lowered my head and gently patted my stomach i said to them
00:58:17mommy
00:58:18understands now mommy thought seven years was long enough that one year he would remember to come
00:58:25home tonight was the last time mommy won't wait for him anymore
00:58:34at 6 30 the next morning i went downstairs henry was making breakfast in the kitchen
00:58:39i didn't go in halfway there i heard annie's voice drifting over from heather's side of the kitchen
00:58:45she was talking to henry her voice wasn't loud but she was still little she didn't understand what
00:58:49your voice meant henry i'm not happy that mom came because why would you be unhappy dad and i
00:58:55already promised we'd take aunt's capacity to pick hot tomorrow if mom suddenly comes and insists on
00:59:01going with us and cassidy will feel so awkward miss madam is your mother you can't say things like
00:59:06that it will hurt her heart understand i know but there wasn't the slightest hesitation in her voice
00:59:11but dad and i both like aunt cassidy better can i let aunt cassidy be my mommy i stood at
00:59:17the foot of
00:59:17the stairs unable to move even half a step my daughter was my own flesh and blood i had spent
00:59:2122
00:59:22hours in the delivery room alone trevor was in europe that day negotiating an acquisition
00:59:28cole is gone i have to go to cassidy right away cole had died in a car accident the night
00:59:32before
00:59:34cassidy wasn't pregnant yet at the time after that night the two of them were never truly apart again
00:59:40henry said nothing more i walked back to my room and closed the door i sat down by the bed
00:59:44i didn't cry
00:59:46i only lowered the hand resting on my belly i opened my phone i sent trevor a text trevor
00:59:51let's have lunch together today just the three of us ad wants mistress lobster ravioli i'll fly back
00:59:56to san francisco this afternoon he replied about 20 minutes later got it you set the time looking at
01:00:02that got it i nearly laughed out loud seven years ago when he was pursuing me he wrote 15 love
01:00:09letters
01:00:09every one of them ended with yours trevor seven years later his reply to me had fewer words than yours
01:00:15plus trevor i wrote back 12 30 mistral got it i washed up did my makeup and changed into a
01:00:23pale
01:00:23beige maternity dress i had picked it out myself last year trevor had never seen it once at 11 40
01:00:27i drove to back bay halfway there my phone buzzed it was trevor something urgent came up at noon lunch
01:00:33is cancelled next time i pulled over onto a small road beside staro drive and stared at that text for
01:00:37a long
01:00:41kind
01:00:42if it had been before i would have immediately replied okay or when you're done should i wait
01:00:46for you i would have waited i would have sat alone at mistaro until two in the afternoon drink two
01:00:51glasses of lemon water then drive home dad is busy today it isn't easy for him but today i didn't
01:00:57reply
01:00:58i started the car again and drove toward back bay i wasn't acting out of spite i just suddenly
01:01:03wanted to take a look i wanted to see what his so-called urgent matter actually was i parked across
01:01:08the street from mistral i didn't go in right away i stood outside the glass window for about 10 seconds
01:01:14inside at the old table by the window the three of them were sitting there cassidy and adi sat close
01:01:19together on the same side adi tilted her head up telling her jokes her shoulders shaking with laughter
01:01:24cassidy fed her a piece of little cake taking a bite herself first before handing it over
01:01:27adi opened her mouth and ate it trevor sat across from them he was wearing the dark gray cashmere coat
01:01:33i had picked out for him last christmas he was smiling the kind of smile i hadn't seen in a
01:01:37very
01:01:37long time he placed a piece of fish on cassidy's plate then one for adi his eyes stayed on cassidy's
01:01:43face the whole time as if in the entire restaurant she was the only person i stood outside the glass
01:01:48window carrying two unborn children in my belly his wife his childhood friend's widow his daughter
01:01:54three people at one table the seat that should have been across from him was empty
01:01:58i didn't go in i turned around and walked back to the car i started the engine the windshield wiper
01:02:04swept across the glass wiping away two drops of water it wasn't rain even i didn't know when they had
01:02:09fallen i smiled a little i said to myself amelia do you see it clearly now i see it clearly
01:02:15i drove away
01:02:17i didn't look back at mistral once when i returned to beacon hill it was 1 30 in the afternoon
01:02:21only henry was in the old house when he saw me he froze mrs hale aren't you at mistral mr
01:02:26hale
01:02:26had something come up henry opened in his mouth then said nothing i went upstairs and entered the
01:02:31study i opened the computer and connected to the home network on the desktop is a folder
01:02:35password locked and hidden for seven years folder amv only i opened it there were four things inside
01:02:42a pdf of the post map from seven years ago the version i had personally scanned and archived
01:02:51the record of every major decision trevor had made over the past seven years i had attended every
01:02:57viridian website meeting and he didn't know a copy of delivering room footage from the day
01:03:02album was born approved that trevor had an accident a full set of evidence i had obtained two years ago
01:03:08showing hail trusts forged documents for cassidy's identity as cole's widow
01:03:18from that folder i pulled up the divorce agreement template it was the version zara had sent me half a
01:03:23year ago sis here in case you need it someday she wrote back sis stop lying to yourself
01:03:40two o'clock this afternoon i needed it i copied article 8 of the postnip into the first page of
01:03:45the agreement word for word i attached the email dr masson had sent trevor about adeline's psychological
01:03:51evaluation to the second page i placed the photo of that table for three at mistral this morning on the
01:03:57third page i had taken the photo outside the glass window with my phone i looked at it for a
01:04:04long time
01:04:05i wasn't reluctant to let go i simply added one line of caption to that photo exhibit c
01:04:12defendant dined with a third party and daughter at mistral 47 minute during which defendant did not
01:04:18contact place nif this date was planta's birthday and seventh wedding anniversary print
01:04:25sign amelia m voss not hail voss i hadn't used that surname in seven years
01:04:32after signing i folded the agreement and placed it in a craft envelope on the front of the envelope
01:04:38i wrote three words to trevor hail i placed it on the mahogany table in the foyer that table was
01:04:46cassidy's housewarming gift three years ago i went downstairs henry was arranging a bouquet in the
01:04:53living room when he saw me carrying my suitcase he froze completely this is hail henry i pointed
01:05:02to the envelope for him when mr hale comes back please hand this to him personally i'll be returning
01:05:07to san francisco shortly henry's lips moved but no sound came out he had been the hail family's butler
01:05:12for 20 years he had seen everything seven years every time i waited until late at night and trevor never
01:05:21came home he was the one who brought me soup every time cassidy unintentionally stabbed me in this house
01:05:28he silently pulled me away at last he spoke in a low voice you won't be coming back this time
01:05:34i didn't answer
01:05:36i took a white sheet of paper from my handbag wrote several lines and handed it to him henry at
01:05:452 40 this
01:05:45afternoon mr hale miss cassidy lambert and adeline hale had lunch together at mistral i was originally
01:05:51scheduled to attend
01:05:57plaintiff was not present please sign by hand later as a witness amelia m vos after henry finished reading
01:06:02it his hand trembled he looked up at me just sign your name if this matter goes to court your
01:06:08name
01:06:08will appear on exhibit c if you don't want to sign you can tear it up i won't force you
01:06:12henry was
01:06:13silent for five seconds then he signed his name at the very bottom of the paper he wrote slowly each
01:06:18stroke heavy henry coleman the 14th of march i took the paper folded it and put it into my kelly
01:06:23bag henry
01:06:24mrs dr voss it was the first time he called me that thank you for these seven years he lowered
01:06:29his
01:06:29head i failed you by the time the car pulled out of beacon hill it was already three in the
01:06:33afternoon
01:06:34i didn't look back at that house again in the car i sent zara three messages that postman can
01:06:39you lose now i am on my way to the airport five o'clock flight to sfo charles will pick
01:06:43me up
01:06:44i'll go straight to bishop and cole after landing she replied instantly waiting for you sis the car
01:06:49entered the approach ramp to loading airport i rested my hand on my breath the two children
01:06:53me i said to them mommy is taking me home to our real life before the plane took off the
01:06:57cabin
01:06:57announcement told us to turn off our phones before switching mine to air from the road i opened my
01:07:02alarm list there were 17 alarms in two of them the one at the top was set for six o
01:07:06'clock every morning
01:07:06the alarm tickled me call adi boston time seven years no six years since adi turned one every morning at
01:07:13six whether i was in california boston new york tokyo london at a prenatal checkup in a meeting or just
01:07:19finishing overtime in the middle of the night when the alarm rang i called her mommy she spent more
01:07:25and more time in boston with trevor she answered the phone less and less finish breakfast go to
01:07:30school bye mommy loves you starting this year she stopped letting henry answer for her she simply
01:07:35stopped answering i had never deleted that alarm i told myself what if one day she remembered mommy
01:07:40what if one day she was willing to answer again i had to be online at that moment at six
01:07:44this morning
01:07:45i was on the first floor of the old beacon hill house that alarm rang too
01:07:51at that moment i was standing beside the foyer table placing the envelope there i stared at the
01:07:57phone screen she was upstairs she didn't hear it before seven o'clock she and henry said all of that
01:08:04in the kitchen i stared at that alarm for a long time i deleted it the plane taxied down the
01:08:09runway
01:08:09the engine noise grew louder and louder i closed my eyes i said one thing to myself you've done
01:08:16everything you needed to do i opened my eyes and took article eight of the postnote from my handbag
01:08:22the clause trevor had personally added seven years ago if either spouse commits public humiliation
01:08:27deprivation of parental rights or economic coercion the other spouse shall have the right to sole
01:08:32custody of minor children and 75 percent of marital assets back then the hail family's chief attorney
01:08:40smiled at me mrs hale this clause is absolutely in your favor see how much trevor protects you
01:08:47i was only 24 then newly pregnant with adeline it was my first time stepping into a century-old family
01:08:52like the hails and i was so nervous my hand shook when i signed i signed trevor signed too he
01:09:01even wrote
01:09:01one sentence in his own hand to keep my wife safe from my own family to protect my wife from
01:09:06being
01:09:06hurt by my own family reading that sentence again today i nearly laughed out loud he had hardly
01:09:12protected me at all but he had indeed left me a gun seven years later he walked himself right into
01:09:18the
01:09:18barrel seven years ago he wrote that clause because he feared the hail family would hurt me
01:09:24seven years later the person who hurt me the deepest was himself the hails the cabin announcement
01:09:28told us we could unbuckle our seatbelts clouds spread out beyond the wing sunlight poured in harsh and
01:09:35blinding i closed the forwarder i told myself amelia we don't love him anymore
01:09:42it wasn't something that happened overnight i'm in a meeting again and again he said she needs me again
01:09:48and again he said your hormones are unstable again and again he said cassidy has it hard he wore away
01:09:54what
01:09:54little love i had bit by bit until it turned to ash when the wind blew nothing was left i
01:09:59closed my eyes
01:10:00one of the two children in my belly moved and the other moved with them i smiled i said to
01:10:06them
01:10:06your mother is not mrs hale your mother's name is amelia m voss starting today
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