The pregnant bride went stiff as a board when she spotted the groom’s dad. She never saw that coming…

No, don’t. Michael’s coming back tomorrow. And I think he’ll be here in a couple days and I’ll probably be discharged by then.

So he’ll be back in time to pick me up from the hospital. Good, then yes, tomorrow we’ll bring everything you asked for. Camille nodded and left the room.

At that moment, the nurse Evelyn approached her. But as you can imagine, with my grandson with great pleasure, I wouldn’t leave like this. Looking at him makes me want to cry.

It always does. I don’t have grandchildren yet, but I totally understand. Children are our future.

And their future will depend on how we bring them up and what we put into them. Wise words. And I would even say golden.

Camille praised her. And if it’s not too difficult for you, then you should reconsider my daughter. She’s a quiet girl, but she can get angry sometimes.

So I’m worried about her having a nervous breakdown. Okay, I hear you. And she’ll be monitored until she’s discharged.

Thank you in advance. You’re a very kind and supportive person. But there are other reasons for her temper.

Careful, asked the nurse. And at that frowned his eyebrows. Well, how can I tell you? For example, the pupils didn’t come.

Husband shrugged Camille, although they had discussed this point, but she still hoped that Michael would show up. Not every man can withstand such a spectacle. My spouse didn’t attend the birth either.

He said, if you want me to fall right on top of you, you can take your chances. And I did not do it because I presented the picture of falling two meter man. And I became scared.

But not for myself, but for the rest of the staff. Yeah, I hear you. But I still wanted to see him here today.

I don’t blame my son-in-law in any way. He’s a really busy man and he works a lot. And sometimes he doesn’t even have time for himself.

Not to mention everything else. On the other hand, to make it less fussy, he tidied up the baby’s room right away. You see, the nurse raised her index finger.

He was worried and prepared in advance. Some people only start shopping after the baby is born and buy the most necessary things in a hurry, without considering the unnecessary expenses. What do you want to say with this? To the sea in the forehead, Camille asked.

Well, you can buy cheaper if you know where to go. I mean that if everything is done at the last minute, it’s a clear sign of disorganization. And then it affects everything on the relationship, on the child’s upbringing and just on everyday life.

I get it. I was thinking about the wrong thing. Thanks again for your support and goodbye.

Have a good day. You don’t have to worry about your daughter. She’s in good hands.

Camille took the same route back down to the first floor. The guard met her again and asked her with a smile on his face. So daughter and grandson.

Everything went well, more than I am very satisfied. Just as cheerfully, she replied. To him, it feels like me again.

Well, well, let’s not talk about age. The guard interrupted her. We were all young once, as you so rightly point out.

And most importantly, you spoke of youth. I still remember it. And I can’t believe that time flew by so quickly.

It takes a long time in the beginning. And then it slips away at full speed. Thank you for your kind words.

After saying goodbye to the guard, she went outside and immediately dialed the number of a cab. By a strange coincidence, the same driver arrived five minutes later. He smiled broadly and said humorously.

We are like two lonely hearts once met. And again, we are magnetically attracted to each other. What a joke.

You want to laugh and cry. Camille wagged his finger at him. And just like last time, she got in the back seat.

I apologize if I’ve offended you. He apologized. The driver started the car and then asked quietly.

Are we going to the same address? No, I’m going home now. I need to clean up and get a good night’s sleep. So my daughter had a baby.

Yeah, a boy, almost four pounds. Wow. Wow.

He’s going to grow up to be a real big boy. And he’s going to take on all the boys in the yard. You’re wrong.

My daughter will raise him with nothing but good and positive qualities. I don’t disagree. But it seems to me that almost all sons follow in the footsteps of their fathers.

The driver shrugged his shoulders and at the same time made an assumption about the boy’s future. We’ll see. It’s too early to make predictions now.

Camille nodded affirmatively. And then she stopped talking. The driver realized that the conversation was over.

And then they drove in complete silence. Even the music did not play in the speaker, although he always turned on a soothing melody and only for her he made an exception. Because after today’s events, she needed complete peace.

She hadn’t told him that directly, of course. But the look on her face was enough to read her thoughts. All the way there, he kept glancing in the rearview mirror, worried the passenger wouldn’t get sick.

She talked to him sluggishly and generally looked tired. But that’s understandable. All day she sat in the corridor waiting for her daughter to give birth, did not gather herself and did not leave with honor, withstood this ordeal.

And it’s a good thing the guard was so talkative. With his not-so-funny anecdotes, he distracted her a little from sad thoughts and at the same time did not let her fall asleep. Otherwise, she’d lie right where she was sitting.

All in all, it had been a busy day, especially for the nervous system. It was only towards the end when the nurse told her the good news. After that, it seemed, one could not only dance, but also start one’s life with a clean slate.

However, if Camille had been offered something like that, she would definitely have refused. And first of all, because there would be no Emily in her new life. And she wanted a daughter so much.

And she resembled her in every way. And nature responded with a long-awaited gift. That’s why she wouldn’t have started from scratch.

Besides, she wouldn’t have all the events and moments she’d been through. 20 minutes later, they pulled up to the right house. And the driver loudly announced the final stop.

Yes, thank you in a sleepy voice. She answered him and took the money out of her purse. Apparently, she fell asleep and didn’t realize she’d slept through the whole route.

Keep the change as always. Thank you and have a good day. You too.

I waved him off. Camille entered the entrance and went up to the third floor. Something clicked in the keyhole.

And in a few seconds, she was in the hallway. No other sounds were even close to being heard. The silence and emptiness echoed from everywhere.

As if she had fallen under the ground. Though in fact, that was exactly how she felt now. In the soul from side to side through despair and awe, because there was no dedication in the form of concrete cases.

There was no doubt that helping her daughter was going to count for something. However, she needed something more. And now with the birth of her grandson, there was a faint hope that she would no longer sit in these four walls like a bird in a cage.

Camille had recently experienced the full extent of loneliness. And this despite the presence of her daughter, who loved her with all her heart. As it was easy to guess, the whole problem was up for grabs.

Michael had a way of pushing people away from him, and yet doing absolutely nothing about it. In other words, a person did not immediately notice that he was alienated, but only after some time, when it was too late to change anything. And Camille was seriously afraid that she would lose the point.

Or rather, the opportunity to see her would be taken away from her, and she would be put in front of an uncomfortable fact, forced to accept it as a new reality. Soon, however, the opposite happened, and a series of severe trials began afterward. They fell entirely on Camille and her daughter.

Michael, on the other hand, remained on the sidelines and did not take any part in it. He became as if a stranger next to the people close to him. And this circumstance forced them to act in an emergency mode.

They had to part with something, but they gained something. The truth, what happened next proved with extreme precision who and what they were. And one of them had to accept an unenviable fate, as punishment for the unforgivable mistake he had made.

After shedding her outer garments, Camille went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. I mean, I didn’t feel like it, but to sip the aroma of another drink her soul demanded. There was such a fire inside that she could hardly breathe in her chest, as if with the discs of an ox, but not from fatigue.

This state had nothing to do with today’s busy day. On the contrary, after her daughter gave birth, she felt relieved, and she didn’t leave her until she got home. And already here a completely different set of emotions arose.

They kind of signaled something important. It made you think and compare. And against this background, I drew not the most comforting general conclusions.

And that was especially true of the relationship between her son-in-law and her daughter. From the moment Emily became pregnant, he had changed dramatically. If before that he spent all his free time with her, then soon he began to have unforeseen business trips.

And not anywhere, but as far away from home as possible and most often in the same city. Emily loved her husband immensely and did not seem to notice the obvious things. And only her mother tormented herself with murky suspicions, but she could not express them, because she was afraid of her daughter’s anger.

Besides, suspicions alone meant nothing. Michael could have had 100 reasons to go on a long business trip. But the fact that he began to do it at regular intervals created those suspicions.

They’ve been building up like a snowball. And they’ve been building up, and they’ve been building up to even more difficult thoughts. And in fact, some of them floated near the surface, such as the choice of interior design for the children’s room.

After all, Michael insisted on his own option, contrary to Emily’s opinion, and did not even listen to her. Although she offered not the worst ideas. Perhaps not so original, but not empty.

From the outside, it would seem that he wasn’t doing the upgrades for his son. Or he’d gone to the trouble of appearing to be a loving and caring husband. Either way, both versions and all could not be ruled out, because they could lead to the same sad denouement.

Among other things, today’s surprise is about the baby’s weight. He was not born skinny. And that, on the contrary, was to be rejoiced over.

However, Michael said that he did not have such a stout child in his family. At the same time, he cleverly twisted his arm. When Emily began to demand explanations from him, I pressed on her pain points, and she immediately melted.

But then she pulled herself back together and came back to reality. And she was aided by her mother’s genes. It wasn’t easy to deceive.

Only two people had ever managed to do it in their entire lives. And her husband wasn’t one of them. He only showed character.

Otherwise, he didn’t even try to get away with it or look for false traces to deceive. Only to end up being exposed. After drinking a couple mugs of soothing tea, she still couldn’t sleep for a long time afterward.

All the same thoughts that had overcome her during the day were in her head and kept her awake. There was a sense of falseness on the part of her son-in-law, but without any obvious signs. Such an impression, as if he skillfully managed to disguise all his secret steps.

And they were not even out of the general background, as if they went in unison. At the same time, she saw no reason to relax. It was for her daughter to make a picture that everything was all right.

But what was really going on in her soul? Emily was not yet to know. Right now, her condition required not only peace, but also an attitude of positive emotions. Knowing this, her mother remained neutral and did not make any sudden movements.

In a sense, she even tried to present her son-in-law with a good side. But slightly miscalculated, because Emily was also not a fingermaid and did not believe in the sincerity of her husband, who rejoiced at the birth of a hero. After all, he gave himself away.

He doubted his paternity, though figuratively, and did not hurry to make it clear. Why did he suddenly have such thoughts? He could have asked his wife, Beloved, probably you’ve had a family of bogaters. But he did not do that, which spoke of his partial indifference.

Well, a big son was born, and that’s fine. That’s good, too. No warm feelings, though.

On the other hand, it was pointless to speculate on that alone. And Camille understood that perfectly well. Like two times two in math.

The only thing she couldn’t do was put the rebus together. As it was, but with different particles that sometimes didn’t fit together at all. And it was necessary to find the key link, especially since it was somewhere very close, right at the surface, in plain sight, like an eyesore.

But there was no way to look at it from the outside. That’s what worried Camille. She knew where to look.

But she didn’t have enough equipment. And to get them required certain steps. But Emily’s mother could not dare to take them yet and waited for a convenient moment for her son-in-law to reveal himself.

However, in the process of disclosure of fate, intervened and without unnecessary effort, all put everything in its place. Michael, soon after his arrival, showed himself in all his glory and surprised not only his wife with the statement, but also those who trusted him without complaint. In fact, shocked his immediate environment, leaving them in complete bewilderment.

In the morning, Camille woke up as if she had been broken. A hard night of heavy thinking had taken a toll on her overall health. She barely made it to the bathroom to wash her face and asked herself angrily.

Who makes you think so much? The question sounded hollow because she didn’t know how to answer it yet. Surprisingly, she didn’t even have any thoughts about it in her head. It was as if her brain had shut down and was still in hibernation.

And to bring it back to its awake state, it was necessary to take a contrast shower first and then drink a cup of coffee. Camille did just that, but it only partially helped. She remembered what her daughter had asked for closer to lunchtime and prepared everything in a special container so that nothing would spill.

There was broth and a plucky breast. From it came such a flavor that drool involuntarily flowed. She barely restrained herself from opening the container, but instead picked up a couple of sandwiches and skewered them hastily.

All thoughts were of driving to her daughter’s house and taking her to the hotel. On the way, she stopped by the store and bought juice and a pound of red apples. And with all this good stuff she rushed to the maternity hospital…