By The Time He Came Back Begging, I Had Already Moved On

AUDREY'S POV

The last wish my son made before his heart transplant surgery was to spend his birthday at the zoo with both his parents.

I begged Theo, my husband for weeks to take one day off work for Liam's ninth birthday celebration.

After countless pleas and tears, Theo finally agreed to spend Saturday at the zoo with our family.

We sat by the lake waiting for Theo to join us as he had faithfully promised but he never showed up. Hours later in the morning sun, the strain tortured Liam’s weak heart until he was rushed to the hospital.

He died three days later while Theo was unreachable on his emergency business trip.

While still recovering from emergency surgery brought on by the shock of losing my son, I had to arrange his funeral alone.

During this devastating time, my husband, who had been missing for days, posted a picture of himself with my younger sister Lara on a luxury cruise.

They were celebrating her graduation from fashion school. The caption read: "I called you crying about wanting to see the Northern Lights, and you flew me a thousand miles just to make it happen. Thank you for always putting me first 💕"

My sister had gotten her dream trip while my son got a coffin.

Heartbroken and betrayed beyond repair, I packed my belongings and prepared to leave forever.

When Theo finally returned home, he dropped to his knees with tears streaming down his face, desperately pleading for my forgiveness.

—-------------------

I returned from the funeral home after finalizing Liam's burial arrangements alone.

The house felt like a tomb. His cereal bowl sat unwashed in the sink, untouched since the morning he had been too excited about the zoo to finish eating.

I moved through the rooms, packing my belongings into boxes. Liam's drawings still covered the refrigerator, stick figures of our family holding hands under a bright yellow sun.

In every single one, he had drawn Theo standing beside us, even though his father had missed every school play, every doctor's appointment, every birthday until this last one.

Dragging my suitcase down the stairs, I stopped dead.

Theo was carrying Lara through our front door, her arms wrapped around his neck like she belonged there. Her nails sparkled against his suit jacket - the same suit he'd promised to wear to Liam's birthday party.

"Seriously, Audrey?" Theo's voice cut through the silence. "What's with the suitcase? Is this another one of your attention-seeking episodes?"

Lara looked up from the couch with fake concern, adjusting the ice pack on her ankle. "Oh Audrey, I'm so sorry for the intrusion. I twisted my ankle at my graduation party, and when I called Theo crying, he insisted on bringing me here since the clinic was nearby. You don't mind, do you?"

I watched as Theo reached for the bowl of fresh strawberries on the coffee table and began feeding them to Lara one by one, his fingers brushing her lips as she giggled softly. The intimacy was suffocating.

When I had suffered a miscarriage two years ago - our second pregnancy that I had desperately wanted, I had begged Theo to stay home with me during the recovery.

"It's just a miscarriage, Audrey. Women deal with this every day," he had said coldly, grabbing his briefcase. "I have an important client presentation. Stop being so needy."

I had bled for days, crying alone in our bathroom while he attended business dinners and networking events. The doctor had warned me about complications, told me I needed emotional support during the healing process.

But Theo never came home before midnight that entire week.

When I developed severe depression afterward and could barely get out of bed, he told me I was wallowing and making excuses.

I had to drive myself to therapy appointments, struggle through grocery shopping while my body was still healing, take care of Liam's needs while fighting waves of grief that left me breathless.

"You're supposed to be strong for our family," Theo had lectured me. "Not falling apart over something that wasn't even a real baby yet."

Just as I was about to speak, Lara suddenly clutched her stomach with both hands. "Oh, I think I ate too much ice cream on the plane."

Theo immediately dropped everything, gathering her in his arms. "Baby, let me make you some tea. What kind would help? Chamomile? Ginger? Should we call a doctor?"

I remembered when Liam collapsed at school three months ago. The teacher called me first because Theo had blocked the school's number, claiming their calls were disruptive to his work flow. When I finally reached him, he sighed heavily.

"Audrey, kids faint all the time. You're overreacting. I can't leave this client meeting for every little thing."

Liam had been in heart failure. We spent four days in pediatric ICU while Theo attended a crucial business conference in Audrey.

The difference between love and indifference was crystal clear now.

Theo began massaging Lara's shoulders while she moaned softly about her stomach pain. She glanced at me over his protective embrace, murmuring, "Audrey's still here. She might not like this..."

But I was beyond caring about their performance.

"Theo," I said quietly.

He didn't look up from Lara's foot. "What is it, Audrey? Can't you see Lara needs medical attention?"

My fingers tightened around Liam's hospital bracelet. The plastic was still warm from my palm.

"I want a divorce."