Chapter 7 - Lauren's Choice.
Daniel did not sleep.
By sunrise, he had listened to all twelve recordings.
None contained Emily demanding money.
None contained threats.
None contained any attempt to force reconciliation.
They contained the opposite.
Emily repeatedly asked for one thing.
Tell Daniel he is going to be a father.
Martin repeatedly answered that Daniel wanted no contact.
Daniel heard a version of himself invented by other people.
Cold.
Careless.
Uninterested.
By seven in the morning, he understood why Emily had stopped trying.
At eight, Lauren returned.
She was still wearing the same coat from the night before.
Daniel met her in the kitchen.
“You don't owe me anything today,” he said.
Lauren set her keys on the counter.
“I know.”
“I was going to propose to you.”
“I know that too.”
Daniel looked toward the ring box sitting beside the coffee maker.
“I don't know what happens to us now.”
Lauren nodded.
“Neither do I.”
She poured herself coffee with hands steadier than his.
“But I know what should happen next.”
“What?”
“You show up for those kids.”
Daniel looked at her.
Lauren's eyes were wet, but her voice remained controlled.
“You do not make them wonder whether meeting you was another mistake adults made.”
Daniel nodded.
“I won't.”
“And you don't use me as an excuse to move slowly.”
“I won't.”
“And you don't turn Emily into the villain because you're angry at your mother.”
Daniel almost protested, then stopped.
Lauren was right.
His anger wanted a simple target.
The truth demanded discipline.
Patricia entered the kitchen.
She looked as composed as ever, though she had changed clothes.
“Lauren, may I speak with you privately?”
Lauren surprised both of them.
“No.”
Patricia blinked.
“No?”
“If you have something to say about Daniel, Emily, or the children, say it where Daniel can hear you.”
Patricia's jaw tightened.
“I wanted to discuss your future.”
Lauren glanced at the ring box.
“My future was in that box last night.”
She looked back at Patricia.
“Then four children walked through the door.”
Patricia lowered her voice.
“You should not let someone else's old mistake destroy your life.”
Daniel stood.
“Stop calling them a mistake.”
Patricia ignored him.
Lauren studied her for a long moment.
“Did you ever plan to tell me?”
Patricia said nothing.
“That Daniel might have four children?”
“I did not believe the claim was established.”
Lauren gave a tired smile.
“You spent thousands of dollars stopping the claim from reaching him.”
“That sounds very established to me.”
Patricia walked away.
Lauren waited until she was gone.
Then she pulled a small envelope from her purse.
“I need to show you something.”
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a copy of a venue contract for a June wedding.
Daniel stared at her.
“You booked something?”
“Your mother did.”
“What?”
“She told me she was holding the date as a surprise after you proposed.”
Daniel looked at the contract.
The deposit had been paid three weeks earlier from Patricia's personal account.
“She was planning my wedding before I asked you.”
Lauren nodded.
Daniel laughed once in disbelief.
Control had been hiding in places he once mistook for generosity.
Lauren reached for the ring box.
She pushed it across the counter toward him.
“I don't want this today.”
Daniel looked stricken.
Lauren continued before he could speak.
“That doesn't mean never.”
“It means I need to know whether you can build a life without letting your mother design it.”
She put on her coat.
“Go to the test on the twenty-seventh.”
Daniel nodded.
Lauren paused at the door.
“And Daniel?”
“Yes?”
“If those children are yours, Christmas is not the day your life fell apart.”
She looked at him steadily.
“It is the day you found out what had been missing.”
May you like
Then she left him alone with the ring box and a truth that was growing larger by the hour.
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