Claiming His Wife
Tony hung his head and ordered her out of his hotel room with a warning. By the end of the day, divorce papers had been served to him on the basis of adultery. Opal refused to speak to him. Richard wouldn’t help him.
The one person he loved was gone.
Chapter Seventeen
Three months later
After the scene caused at the hotel, their scandal reached new heights. The divorce became a sticky mess as Tony refused to sign the papers. At every opportunity he’d tried to see her.
Opal moved on with her life. She sold the house he’d bought her and found a small apartment in the city. Nothing fancy but something she could afford. Next, she found a job as a receptionist for a small firm. She loved making her own choices, never having to wait for them to be checked through by an adult.
With her life moving forward, she rarely saw her brother and his family. The events would mean Tony was present, and even though she’s asked for a divorce she couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him. She still loved him, and that would never change.
The rumours about their separation had started to cool down. The paper had another knew scandal to expose.
Even with all the changes, her heart remained empty. She talked with Scarlet all the time. She was the only person Opal trusted with her feelings. Richard kept telling her to talk to his friend.
She couldn’t do it. She knew what she’d seen. There was no way she could forgive him for that.
The phone was ringing, and it wouldn’t stop or take a hint she didn’t want to talk. Checking the time on the clock she saw it was close to two in the morning. The phone stopped, and seconds later, started back up again.
Growling in frustration, she threw the covers back and stormed down the hall.
“What? Don’t you know people sleep at this hour?” she asked, running a hand over her face to try to clear the sleep.
“Opal?”
“Richard? What’s wrong? Why are you calling me at this hour?” she asked. Her brother went quiet. “Richard? Answer me?”
“I need you to come down to the hospital,” he said.
“Why? What’s happened?” Her heart rate kicked up.
“It’s Scarlet. They don’t think she’s going to make it.” The very reason for her brother even existing was in the hospital.
“Please, get here. I know she’d want you to be here.”
“I’ll be there right away. Richard, what happened?” she asked.
“I can’t talk right now. Please, just come down here. I need you.” The phone went dead. Opal didn’t take the time to change. She wore a pair of night pajamas and an old t-shirt. A cab was called. She stood outside waiting as soon as it pulled up. The drive took forever. Every second she began to think the worst. Scarlet meant everything to Richard. The woman meant everything to her. The one true friend she had in this world.
“Could you put your foot down or something?” she asked the driver.
“What’s the problem?”
“My sister-in-law is in the hospital, and it sounds bad. Please, could you go a little faster?”
He sped up, and for that she was thankful. After a thirty minute drive, she paid him, jumped out of the taxi and ran to the maternity building. White lights flooded her vision. She walked to the main reception, and a nurse offered to take her to the wards she was looking for. Richard, Wayne, Lily and Tony sat in the waiting area of the third floor ward.
“Richard,” she said, ignoring Tony as her brother got up. She wrapped her arms around her brother. “Where is she? What happened?”
Richard broke down, the tears streaming down his face. “She’s had it difficult this pregnancy. Nothing has gone right. The baby has been underdeveloped, and she’s been doing too much.”
What he said explained the pinched looks between the couple. “What happened?”
“She went to get some water, but I’d forgotten to pick up one of the kids’ toys on my way up to bed. Tripped over that blasted toy and fell down the stairs. I heard her scream.” He looked haunted.
“I’m sure everything will be okay,” she said.
“There was so much blood.”
Opal’s tummy dipped. She’d heard so many scary tales about women losing babies from falls.
“They won’t let me see her,” he said.
“That’s because they’re doing the best they can. Give them time to care for her, Richard.”
“If anything happens to her, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Nothing will happen to her,” Opal said. The moment she said those words, she looked up to the sky and sent her prayers for mommy and baby to be all right. She took a seat as far away from Tony as she could.
The hours ticked by with no news. Lily and Wayne looked comfortable together. Hugging and kissing. Each concerned but basking in the love they had for each other.
Tony stopped and sat next to her.
She folded her arms and stared straight ahead.
“Opal. You’re looking great.”
Why did he want to make this harder than it had to be?
“I wanted to talk to you. You sold the house, and I’ve been trying to reach you. I thought at one stage you’d fallen off the planet.”
Biting her lip, she counted in her head. Anything to stop his words from affecting her.
“I love you.”
As she turned to say something, the doctor came out. Richard went with him. Tony went silent, and Opal wished she hadn’t walked away.
****
Richard looked relieved as he walked out of the hospital room.
“They’re going to keep her here for a few days for observation, and she is on strict bed rest. Other than that, everything seems okay.”
Opal hugged him, pleased everything would work out fine. Tony kept trying to talk to her, but she refused to listen to a word of it. They could all see Scarlet for a minute. She waited as the men went first to give Richard support. Lily went next, and Richard escorted her in last.
Scarlet lay in a bed hooked up to some monitors. She looked awful, her face pale. “Hey, you,” she said.
Opal went and hugged her sister-in-law. “You scared us all.”
“I know. It’s been a hectic couple of months,” Scarlet said. “How are things with you and Tony?”
Opal frowned. “No different than the last time.”
“When are you going to open your eyes and see that he loves you?”
Uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, Opal smiled and wished her well.
“You know he fought your brother at every turn,” Scarlet said as Opal was about to leave the room.