Barely Associated

32

Danielle

He knew.

He had to have known.

Why else would he be pushing for this checkup so badly?

Who told him?

I could only have been that Doctor. He's the only other person that knew besides my Mom.

Where do I go from here?

I could tell him the truth, but where would that leave us? A divorce?

I could fake a miscarriage, but if he already knew the truth, what good would that do?

It didn't matter how I spun this, I could only see this ending with Tyler leaving me. I couldn't let that happen.

I had done so much to be with him.

I had gone to great lengths to make his Grandfather like me. Trust me.

I had done my best at keeping away from Amari.

I had maintained our relationship despite Tyler's neglectful behavior.

If he left me, it would've all been for nothing.

Nothing to show from this except a bunch of failed pregnancies.

I hadn't signed a prenup, either.

If we divorced, I would lose everything. Not just the love of my life.

"Mom, I don't know what to do anymore." I sniffled.

"I told you what to do." My Mother said pouring herself a drink. "There's only one way to maintain this type of lifestyle when it comes to men like that."

"I'm not sleeping with his Grandfather." I shook my head. "That's disgusting."

"But it's an easy job and legal." Mother rolled her eyes. "However, you do always have other options."

"Like?" I looked up at her.

"Like..." She walked over to the safe built into her wall. "Remember that Private Eye I had follow Tyler? Well, he bought me something that may be useful to you."

"What is it?" I asked standing up from the bed.

She held up a disk with the date "June 19, 2018" written across it in black marker.

"There's a reason why your father never kept cameras in his office." Mother said handing it to me. "You never know who'll get their hands on it."

I stared at it and couldn't help but wonder what could be on it and if it really was a big enough secret to keep Tyler where I wanted him.

"That disk should solve all of your problems." Mother said. "If you know what to do with it, that is."

Tyler

Danielle quietly closed the door behind her.

It was 3 in the morning and her hair was a mess. She smelled of alcohol and I knew she had been clubbing.