The Marry-Me Wish Read Free Page B

life.
    She missed that bond.
    Here she was, sitting with the people she loved most in the world. About to have an experience they’d all been dreaming about for so long, and she’d never felt so utterly miserable.
    So lonely.
    It was too much. Something deep inside her snapped.
    She pushed her barely touched mug of tea away so sharply it slopped onto the table. Her voice came out high and tight.
    â€˜I don’t believe this,’ she said. ‘You’re both starting to sound exactly like David used to. Pressuring me into doing something I don’t want to do by finding ways around it.’
    She pushed herself to her feet, shaking her head with an angry gesture. ‘This is it. A one-off! Why won’t anyone understand that?’
    â€˜We do understand,’ Julia said urgently. ‘I’m sorry, Annie. It was just—’
    Anne cut her off. The anger and misery were coalescing now. A volcano that had to erupt.
    â€˜You don’t understand anything,’ she said bitterly. ‘How could you? You have no idea how hard it’s been to do my job ever since I got pregnant. Feeling rotten with morning sickness…being tired all the time. Having backache that’s been killing me every time I’ve been in Theatre for months and months.’
    Julia’s face had gone pale. Mac was standing up, looking unsure of whose side he should go to. His wife or the angry pregnant woman who was shouting at them both?
    Anne spared him having to make the decision. ‘I’m leaving,’ she announced. ‘And I don’t want to talk to either of you right now so don’t try and stop me.’ She got to the door but had to turn back for a parting shot. ‘You might be happy to give up your job to be a mother,’ she told her sister. ‘That’s great. Absolutely peachy. But that’s you , not me. I’m not happy to give up mine. I thought I’d manage a lot better than this but, if I’m being honest, it’s been extremely hard and I’m not doing it again. For you or David.’
    Julia’s face had crumpled now, on the verge of tears. Could this day get any worse? Anne closed her eyes.
    â€˜Look…I’m sorry.’ She opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. ‘Blame it on the hormones. I chose to do this for you and I’m happy about it, honestly. Presenting David with a baby isn’t going to fix what went wrong. It’s…like you guys. A family has to be a bonus, not something to patch up a relationship that’s come apart.’
    Somehow they were all within hugging range again now. There were tears but the knowledge that they would all get through this and come out stronger on the other side.
    It was Anne who pulled away. ‘I really do need to go,’ she told them. ‘I’ve got a ton of stuff I have to get done. Nesting urge or something probably but I really do need to get to the supermarket and buy enough toilet paper to last the next six months.’
    Shaky laughter was following her as she headed for the door.
    â€˜It’s bad luck that David’s happened to come back at this particular point,’ she added by way of farewell, ‘but I can deal with it.’ She smiled to prove it. ‘You’re both right. I just need to talk to him.’
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    Weird that having an emergency department crowded with sick and injured people and a team of medical staff depending on his skills to make sure it was running smoothly enough that no one fell through any cracks had often seemed too stressful to be enjoyable.
    But this was great! Perfect.
    â€˜Get Security to cubicle three,’ he instructed the receptionist.
    â€˜Set up the trauma room for incoming patients from that MVA,’ he told a hovering nurse. ‘And Resus 1. Page the team. We’re expecting three status 1 and 2 patients.’
    David took just a moment to survey the spaces on the whiteboard beside the main