P.O.V Paige:
After talking to Mason, I pack my things and head to Ethan and Sarah's house. I had already spoken to them, well, at least with Sarah, about staying here tonight. I don't want to spend this night at home; I don't feel comfortable there. I only feel pain from sharing the house with him.
I write him a letter in which I express my feelings and my justification for leaving right now instead of tomorrow, as I had previously told him.
I can't sleep all night; I spend it caressing my baby. Although I didn't tell Sarah that the next day.
Right now, I'm having breakfast with my friend.
“Our last breakfast together," she says, wiping away her tears.
“Don't be silly. You can come and visit me whenever you want. You're the only one who will know where I am with Riley. You can both come and have a girls' vacation," I say, trying to cheer her up.
“It won't be the same. Here, I can see you every day," she says, crying.
"Why are you so sensitive? That's not like you," I say, squinting at her.
“I don't know, I just don't want you to leave because of that idiot Peyton. I hate her; she's a damn bitch who gets herself pregnant right when you two were happy," she says, starting to cry even harder.
“You're acting really strange, friend. How's it going with being a mother? Could that be why you're so sensitive?" I say, taking a sip of juice.
Upon hearing my question, she spits out the juice she's drinking.
“I had forgotten about that," she says, shocked.
“What are you waiting for? Let's go see what one of the tests in your bathroom says," I say, taking her hand and pulling her up from her seat.
We head straight to the bathroom where she has several pregnancy tests. I take a few of them, and we enter the bathroom together. She looks nervous, and I try to calm her down.
“It's okay if it's negative. You'll keep trying, and we'll just find out before I leave. I deserve to know if I'm going to be an aunt before I go. Do it for me," I ask her.
“Just one test. Depending on the result, we'll decide if we do another one," she says, taking a test.
I wait for her while she does her thing. When she's done, she hands it to me, and we sit on the bathroom floor, waiting for the result.
She rests her head on my shoulder, and we gaze into nothingness. I hold her hand and caress it. I'm going to miss my friends so much; I think as the minutes pass.
It's been a while, and it's time to check the test. My friend doesn't want to look, so it's up to me. I look at it and maintain a serious expression. Sarah, seeing that I'm not saying or doing anything, looks down at the floor. I can't hold it in any longer, and I say:
“I'm going to be an aunt!" Sarah, upon hearing my voice, lifts her gaze and starts crying like a little girl.
“Is it true? Am I pregnant?" she asks, nervous and disbelieving.
“Yes, you're going to be a mother," I say, hugging her.
She cries, and I cry with her. We embrace each other and stop jumping when someone knocks on the bathroom door from the outside.
“Are you both okay?" Ethan asks, reminding us that he was in the study.
“We're fine," I say, as my friend remains speechless. When we hear him leave, I look at Sarah and say,
“You have to tell him in a special way, and I have an idea." We leave the bathroom and go straight to the room I stayed in last night.
From my suitcase, I take out a baby gift I had saved for Sarah, before knowing she was pregnant, as I was thrilled about her starting her own family. I put away the pregnancy test and hand it all to her together.
We go to the living room where Ethan is, and upon arriving, I freeze upon seeing Mason petting Simba. Sarah takes my hand, and we move forward. For my friend's sake, I set aside my own troubles and smile.
"Love, I have a gift for you," my friend tells him, handing him the little bag.
We both sit in front of him, eagerly waiting for him to see the gift. When he does, he sits back abruptly, taken aback. He looks at Sarah, then the test, then at me and the test, then at Mason and the test, and finally, he looks back at his wife and the test.
"Is it what I think it is?" he asks Sarah.
"Yes, love, we're going to be parents," Sarah says excitedly.
Ethan jumps over the coffee table and scoops up his wife, starting to spin around. They had been trying to expand their family for a long time. They deserve this and more.
After they remember they're not the only ones in the room, my friend looks at me and hugs me again. Then I hug Ethan, who is excited and smiling like a fool.
"I'm sure you'll be perfect parents," I tell them both.
"I agree with you," Mason says beside me.
I stop smiling and check the time. It's time for me to leave. It hurts to do it right now, but I have my flight ready to depart. I have just enough time to make it to the airport.
"Friend, I have to go," I tell Sarah.
"Of course, love, we need to take her," she says to Ethan.
"I'll get your things," Ethan says.
"I'll grab my bag," my friend says, leaving us alone with Mason.
When we're alone, my baby stays seated on the couch. I have everything ready for our trip. Mason approaches me, but I step back.
"I just want to say goodbye to my wife," he says sadly.
"I don't think it's a good idea," I say, fearful.
“Just one hug, there's nothing wrong with hugging. We spent three years together, don't you think we deserve a hug as a farewell?" he asks me, and he's right.
I approach and open my arms. He embraces me around the waist and rests his nose on my neck. I feel him take a deep breath, and I close my eyes. He kisses my neck, and I feel my body tremble from just that touch. I pull away to leave, but Mason has different plans. He takes my face in his hands and kisses me, a desperate kiss that I respond to out of need. When I realize what I'm doing, I pull away and look at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Goodbye, we'll see each other for the divorce," I say, it's the last thing I say before leaving my friend's house to go to the car.
I see him coming out to say something, but I just close the door and tell Ethan that we can go. My friend looks at me with pain in his eyes, but he nods.
And that's the last encounter with my husband...