“The savings are gone. Most of the nursery went on credit cards.”
Her face became pale.
“You lied to me for four months.”
“Yes.”
“Every day?”
Ryan nodded.
Melissa looked toward Hope.
Then back at him.
“And the hospital?”
Ryan’s breathing became uneven.
“When I saw Hope’s back, I panicked. Then the doctors started talking about surgeries and specialists, and all I could think about was money.”
Melissa’s eyes filled with tears.
“I thought if I walked away because of her condition, you’d
hate me for that.”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“But you wouldn’t know the real reason?”
Ryan lowered his head.
“I was ashamed.”
Melissa stood.
Her hands were shaking.
“You thought I’d rather lose my daughter than know you lost your job?”
“No.”
“You thought I cared about that house? The nursery? The furniture?”
Her voice cracked.
“Ryan, I would have sold every piece of furniture we owned.”
He began crying.
“I would have worked two jobs. We could have moved into a smaller house. We could have asked for help. We could have started over.”
She pressed a hand to her chest.
“But you didn’t give me a choice.”
Ryan said nothing.
“You didn’t trust me enough to fail beside me.”
Those words seemed to hit him harder than anything I could have said.
“I know,” he whispered.
Melissa shook her head.
“This was never about losing your
