Joanna’s lips parted, but no words came.
Robert took one step closer, then stopped, as if afraid she might tell him to leave. “I didn’t know,” he said. “I swear to you, I did not know about the pregnancy.”
Something inside Joanna, something buried deep beneath months of hunger, rent notices, back pain, fear, and loneliness, lifted its head.
“You didn’t know,” she repeated.
“No.”
“He left me,” she said.
Robert looked as though she had struck him.
“He left when I told him. Seven months ago. He said he needed air. He packed a bag. He told me it was complicated. He said he would call.” Her voice broke, but she refused to let the tears take over. “He never did.”
Robert’s jaw tightened. His eyes lowered to the floor.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
The apology was soft, sincere, and useless.
Joanna gave a bitter laugh. “You’re sorry?”
He accepted it. He did not defend Logan. Did not ask if she had misunderstood. Did not search for excuses. That, somehow, made her angrier.
“Where is he?” she demanded. “Since you know him. Since he’s your son. Where is Logan?”
Robert’s face drained again, but this time not from shock.
He looked toward the baby.
Then back at Joanna.
“I don’t know.”
The answer landed between them with a strange, hollow sound.
Joanna stared. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I haven’t seen him in seven months.”
The room seemed to shrink.
The nurse finally placed the baby into Joanna’s arms. Instinct overpowered everything else. Joanna pulled him close, inhaling the warm, milky scent of his skin. Her son quieted almost immediately, pressing his tiny mouth against the blanket, his eyelids fluttering.
Recent Articles
How to Recognize True Character: The Two Signs That Reveal Everything
5 Stroke Signs Every Woman Should Know — Especially After Dr. Pimple Popper’s Scary On-Camera Incident
A Father’s Doubt Shattered His Family and the Regret Still Haunts Him
