Chapter 3His Thirty Minute Wife

“Okay, that is completely unfair!” Audrey stepped between us, her brows knit in righteous indignation.

“Penny is a living creature having complications, Tessa. Don't sit on your moral high horse. Marcus set you up with Dr. Ward—the head of the department! If Janet didn't call him directly, it means there’s no emergency. You’re manufacturing drama to make us look like monsters.”

Marcus’s face darkened, his jaw working.

“Did you take your meds today, Tessa? Pregnancy isn't a blank check for you to hold me hostage emotionally. If you think having a baby means you get to dictate my life, you're out of your mind. If this is how you’re going to act, maybe we shouldn't even have this child. You clearly don’t have the mental stability to be a mother.”

I stared at him, the air sucked clean from my lungs.

Before I could speak, hot tears spilled over my lashes, betrayed by my own body.

Seeing the water in my eyes, something in Marcus’s posture flickered. A crack in his armor. “Are you actually in pain? Did the doctor—”

Audrey let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

“Oh, please. Don't fall for the waterworks, Marcus. I taught her that routine back in college. Tessa knows exactly which buttons to press. But you're not like her exes, are you? You don't bow to guilt trips. Tessa, sweetie, as your best friend, I’m telling you: grow up. You can’t control a man by crying.”

I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand, staring at Audrey like she was a stranger wearing my friend’s skin. “Which exes, Audrey? What are you even talking about?”

“Enough.” Marcus tapped the face of his Apple Watch. “My window is gone. I don't have time for a soap opera.”

He gave Audrey a few quiet instructions regarding the veterinary bill, turned on his heel, and walked briskly toward his Audi without looking back.

My phone buzzed in my coat pocket. A text from Dr. Ward:

Do you want me to call Marcus and explain the nuchal translucency markers?