Page 257 of The Grand Duel

“Let me go check my emails, Ed. It should be on there.”

“Thank you, darling. Let me know.”

I walk to my office and grab my laptop, carrying it to Charlie’s office, wanting to check his paper diary first in the hope he’s still as anal as he once was with it.

I smile at the word as I flick through the pages, my conversation with the girls at the forefront of my mind.

My phone chimes as I land on today’s date.

At The Montwell. Everything okay?

My smile dies on my lips as my eyes follow his handwriting on the page.

St Mary’s Maternity Unit.

I look up and around his office, my heart feeling as if it’s fallen to the base of my gut.

He’s just lied to me.

I close the diary and quickly leave his office, taking my laptop back to my own office. When I open it again, the shared calendar pops up, Charlie’s day filling the screen.

Or a different version of it.

I could cry. Which is silly because this all boils down to an unborn child.

What right do I have?

I swallow, closing the window, my hand shaking slightly on my mouse.

Things have been good between the two of us. He seems a little more relaxed than he was a couple of weeks ago. So whywould he feel the need to keep it from me and then lie about hospital appointments?

My phone starts ringing, and I realise I’ve not replied to his message, his name now flashing on the screen. I want to ignore it. I want to tell him what an asshole he is and how much he’s just hurt me.

But I can’t ignore it.

“Hello.”

“Lis,” he says, sighing. “Everything okay? You messaged.”

I pause, not wanting to lie but not wanting to have this conversation over the phone. “I’m not feeling very good. I’m going to go home for the day.”

“You’re ill? I’ll come back now. I can drive you home.” I hear him pull the phone away from his ear, noise filling the silence. “I’ve got to go. Email this or call me later.”

“Sure. Everything okay?” I hear Mason say.

I fist my hand at my mouth, my eyes filling with tears.Shit.

“Lis isn’t feeling well. I’ll see you later.” Seconds pass and then, “Baby?”

“Yeah,” I tell him, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m here still.”

“I’ll be half an hour, tops. Wait for me, okay?”

“Okay,” I manage before hanging up.

I sit back in my chair with my hands covering my face, feeling like a complete idiot. Feeling like the emotion that’s been bubbling up inside of me for the past few weeks, that I’ve tried so hard to push back down, is threatening to drown me.

I’ve got to be stronger than this. I can’t get hurt over an appointment. Maybe there’s a reason he never told me. He definitely didn’t lie to me, though. He really is with Mason. And now he’s leaving his meeting, finishing over an hour earlier than normal because he thinks I’m not okay.