“What about her job?” Heather asked.
“She’s leaving the dental office,” Seth said.
My fingers tightened around the satin of my dress.
“She told you that?”
“We’ve talked about it.”
We had never talked about it.
Seth and I had talked about buying a house. About having kids of our own someday, without rushing. About vacations. About retirement savings. About replacing his old truck.
Never once, not one single time, had we talked about me quitting my job to raise his sister’s children.
Heather sighed.
“I just don’t want Natalie to feel like I’m taking advantage of her. I know how much she likes her job.”
I heard Seth get irritated.
“Heather. We’ve been over this. She’s going to be my wife. We make decisions based on what’s best for the family.”
A pause.
“And she’ll start Monday morning?”
“Seven-thirty. Like we said.”
Monday morning.
I had a staff meeting at eight. Dr. Bennett was introducing our new billing software. And then she wanted to sit down with me and talk about the promotion.
Seth knew about both of those things.
I’d told him at dinner. He said, “Sounds exciting, babe.”
And now he’d given my Monday away to somebody else.
My heart was pounding in my throat.
I almost turned around. Almost went to find Paige. Pull myself together. Talk to Seth after.
Then Heather said, “I wish you’d let me thank her properly before today.”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Seth said. “She’s already nervous about the wedding.”
“I suppose.”
A pause.
And then Heather said the thing that changed everything.
“I just hope this works out. Because I already canceled their daycare two weeks ago.”
Seth didn’t sound surprised at all.
“I know.”
“Their last day was yesterday. The director said their spots are already filled.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’ve got Natalie.”
I stood there staring at that door.
This wasn’t some little misunderstanding about helping out for a couple of days.
Three children had lost their daycare. Because of a promise I never made.
And the man who made that promise for me was about to become my husband.
I pushed the door open.
Sophia Rivers is an experienced News Content Editor with a sharp eye for detail and a passion for delivering accurate and engaging news stories. At TheArchivists, she specializes in curating, editing, and presenting news content that informs and resonates with a global audience.
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