Chapter 48
CHARLIE
Charlie stares at the pregnancy test in his hand, lost in the overwhelming dilemma it presents.
He remembers a time, not so long ago, when he could all too easily picture Freya and him having a family.
He’d dreamed of having two boys, just like him and Tom, and that they would have the idyllic childhood that he’d been lucky enough to have.
Days spent on the river, fixing up an old boat.
Playing cricket on the village green. Reading a book under the shade of an oak tree.
But as time went on, he began to realize that the Sunday mornings that could have been spent feeding ducks in the park would more than likely be spent festering under a duvet in a pool of cold sweat and self-loathing.
And their child’s pitiful requests for a bedtime story would probably be ignored because the pull of the glass of wine waiting downstairs was more important.
The truth of what their family life could look like terrifies him, so as sad as the realization is that he will never be the father he thought he was going to be, the overriding emotion is one of relief.
Relief that the decision’s been made for him—and that he doesn’t have to spend the rest of his life living a lie.
Now all he has to do is tell her.