Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
“Come here, Chunky Monkey,” I whisper, pulling Addie into my arms.
Within seconds of me holding her, her cries soften from an ear-piercing scream to a sob as her head flops onto my shoulder and she clings to me like the sweetest little monkey.
When she was born, she came out screaming like a pissed-off cat. She was only four and a half pounds with her skin hanging off her bones. But my little girl loves to eat, and all too soon, she was gaining weight and filling out. She also loves to be held, hence the nickname—because she’s clingy and chunky. Nora hates it, says it sounds juvenile, which only has me loving the name that much more.
“What’s the matter with my sweet girl?” I coo.
“She wouldn’t stop screaming,” Nora huffs, as if our crying daughter is such an inconvenience.
“Did you try holding her?” I ask, glancing at my wife, who shoots daggers back at me.
“I told you not to go to work today. I can’t do this without Freida.”
“I had an important meeting, and you’re her mom,” I hiss. “The nanny is here to help because you demanded it, but she’s not meant to replace you. She needs her mom, not some stranger.”
“I’m not good at this!” Nora throws her arms in the air, sounding like a petulant child.
“It takes time.” I pace the room, patting Addie’s butt lightly. Her sobs have stopped, but her breathing is still heavy from her earlier exertion. “Maybe if you help Freida more …”
“This isn’t what I signed up for.”
“What are you talking about?”
“This.” Nora flails her arms about. “Her.” She nods toward Addie. “This isn’t how I thought my life would be.”
“This isn’t how you thought your life would be?” I retort with a humorless chuckle. “How the fuck did you think your life would be when you tricked me—not once, but twice—into getting you pregnant?”
She opens her mouth to argue, but before she can get a word out, I continue, “And before you try to say both pregnancies were an accident, don’t bullshit me. I overheard your conversation with your mother. I know you lied about being on birth control and that you tampered with my damn condoms.”
I hit her with a hard glare that has her taking a tiny step back.
“If you didn’t want a baby, you should’ve listened to me about waiting after we lost the first baby. But you didn’t. Instead, you kept track of when you were ovulating …”
Her eyes widen in shock, and I shake my head.
“Yeah, I saw the app that was downloaded from the App store. You’re on my account.”
I didn’t say anything because what’s the point? Addie is here, and what’s done is done. I might despise my wife and the fact that she trapped me into this bullshit of a marriage, but I love my daughter something fierce. Adeline Elizabeth Du Ponte is my entire world, and I’ll never regret her being born. In the four short months she’s been alive, she’s managed to wrap me around her tiny little finger, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Okay, fine,” Nora says, raising her chin in the way she does when she goes on the defense. “So, I might’ve done things to increase my chances of getting pregnant.”
I roll my eyes at the way she’s spinning shit. It’s so typical of her. God forbid she takes responsibility for her actions.
“But this wasn’t how I envisioned my life,” she adds. “I wasn’t meant to be a mom, and this isn’t worth it.”
“What’s not worth it?” I hiss. “You live in a multimillion-dollar home, drive an expensive car, have access to my black card, spend the majority of your time shopping or at the salon when you’re not doing girl days with your equally spoiled friends, and you have a fucking nanny who helps take care of our daughter ninety-nine percent of the time.”
I was originally against the nanny because I had been raised by one. After my mom left, my dad was given full custody, and he immediately hired a nanny. Don’t get me wrong. Greta was as sweet as they came, but she wasn’t my mom or dad—although in my case, she was better because she actually cared about me. But when I was old enough to no longer need a babysitter, she moved on to take care of another family, and I was left alone. I never wanted that for my daughter. I want her to know that her parents love her and put her first.
But when Nora threw a fit and it was clear she wasn’t in the right state of mind to take care of Addie, I gave in. After two months, when she still wanted nothing to do with our daughter, I did some research and thought maybe she was going through postpartum depression. But when I asked her to let me get her help, she refused.