Lucas lay there, holding Amy, as he waited for her breathing to even out, showing him she was finally asleep. She loved him, he thought in awe. He’d seen the signs of her attachment and felt she was falling in love but he was so afraid to open himself.
There’d been too many women who’d spoken those same words; not because they loved him, but because they loved his money, his power, and all he could give them.
He knew deep down, Amy wasn’t one of those women, but she already had him completely wrapped around her fingers. To give her his love too; seemed like he’d be giving up the last piece of himself. He wasn’t ready to do that yet. He had to have something left, he tried to reason.
After she told Lucas she loved him, he started coming home later each night. She was seeing him much less. She could feel him slipping away, before she’d ever really had him. She figured she was going to either give this her all, or let go. She couldn’t live in the marriage half-way anymore.
It was killing her a little bit more each day as she watched him pull further away from her. She didn’t say she loved him again, afraid if she did, he’d ask her to sleep in a separate room from him.
They were making love less often, too, partially because he was gone so much more, but a lot had to do with the fact she was getting so far along in her pregnancy, and she was tired all the time. She had a few months in the middle where she’d felt great, but the beginning had been hard, and the end was even worse.
The doctor was keeping an eye on her, as she was swelling too much, and he was worried her blood pressure was too high. He’d put her on bed rest for ninety percent of each day and she was getting very tired of it.
When she finally got her blood pressure under control, the doctor told her she could move around a bit more and some fresh air might do her good. She decided to get out of the house for a while.
She was going into the office to surprise Lucas with a romantic lunch, lovemaking, and a confession. She was going to tell him how much she loved him and wanted the marriage to be real.
If he didn’t return her feelings then she would let him go and get on with her life. She knew he’d want to be a part of her child’s life and that would have to work out, but she couldn’t live like roommates any longer.
She knew he still had the power to take her child away, but as she’d gotten to know him, she didn’t think he could ever remove a child from her mother. Besides, there was no way Joseph and Katherine would ever support it. They had too much love and respect for family.
Amy was feeling nervous on her drive into the office. She hadn’t been there in a while and she was scared he wouldn’t be happy with the interruption. She planned her visit when she knew he’d be alone and she could just slip in. She didn’t want to run into Tom. She hadn’t told him about what was going on – feeling as if it was a betrayal to Lucas to say anything negative about their marriage.
She was hoping he could love her. Please, she prayed, let him love me as much as he loves our unborn child.
She walked into her old office, which was empty, and pulled her coat a little tighter. It was long and covered her well, but she knew all she had on underneath was skimpy black lingerie. It had been hard to find something sexy, when her stomach was protruding out about a foot from the rest of her body, but unbelievably she’d hit the jackpot, and felt somewhat sexy for the first time in a very long while.
She wasn’t really self-conscious of her body, as her husband would spend a lot of time rubbing her belly and speaking to his unborn child. He seemed as excited as her to be having a baby. Some things unplanned turned out pretty great.
She cracked the connecting door quietly and then stopped where she stood, her heart shattering. Lucas wasn’t alone in his office. There was some skinny red-headed woman wrapped around him and they were locked in a passionate embrace.
Her hair was a mess as if they’d already been making love for hours. Her shirt was hanging open, with her skirt hiked up, showing her garter. She was stunning in a way Amy could never hope to be, she thought in agony.
This was the reason he wasn’t coming home to her much anymore. He was having an affair. She’d doubted he could love her, but there had been growth in their relationship, or so she’d thought. No matter what else, though, she didn’t figure he was the type of man to cheat.
They made love all the time. She thought he was satisfied, more than satisfied even, as their love making always seemed so frenzied, as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. He was always ready to sink deep inside her and that was something a man couldn’t fake.
She was horrified to think that maybe he was picturing his mistress as he made love to her. Maybe that was how he was always so ready. She knew she could never compete with someone like the stunning redhead and Amy’s heart was broken.