Dirty Secrets: A Dark Mafia Romance (The Valenti Crime Family Book 5) by Kelsie Calloway

Author:Kelsie Calloway [Calloway, Kelsie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-06-26T16:00:00+00:00

8

FRANCESCA

I married Peter when I was twenty-three.

I had an affair when I was twenty-four.

I sit on the living room floor, surrounded by all of Peter’s memories—the chair we bought together that I’ll have to get rid of now, the pictures from our wedding still on the wall, the mounted deer head from the one and only hunting trip he took with his brothers. He is everywhere. It’s been four years and I’ve gone out with a handful of men since he passed, but my home is a shrine to the man I once loved.

I haven’t always been this devoted to him, though.

Our first year of marriage was hard. We’d just started working together at Bluemont Elementary when we discovered I was pregnant. I was terrified. It felt like we were only babies ourselves. I couldn’t imagine raising a child of my own. Taking care of them for a few hours every day was one thing, but they went home at 3:00 pm.

I didn’t have to worry for long, though. One trip to the ER due to spontaneous bleeding left us with news that no couple ever wants to hear. “You have a complete bicornuate uterus,” the OBGYN explained. “That means your uterus is shaped like a heart instead of being round. During pregnancy, your uterus expands to accommodate the growing fetus. Unfortunately, your uterus won’t expand properly due to the irregular shape.” She was very nice and explained the complications of getting pregnant with my specific uterus shape. “There’s a chance for miscarriages, preterm birth, bleeding, pregnancy-induced hypertension—”

She listed off what felt like a dozen complications, but I stopped listening. Her words sounded like the ocean as my vision blurred and everything darkened. I awoke a few moments later to the doctor’s stethoscope pressed against my chest and Peter fanning me like I was an Egyptian goddess. Thank God I was already lying down because the OBGYN said I fainted.

Lastly, she explained that having a bicornuate uterus didn’t mean I couldn’t have kids. While there was a higher risk for complications, surgery was an option to fix my uterus. “That also comes with some complications,” she shifted uncomfortably, “but the likelihood of getting pregnant and carrying to term increases dramatically.”

Peter was ready to have the OBGYN open me up right then and there, but I said no. He never really understood. Peter accused me of withholding a family from him. In truth, I was just afraid. I’d already lost one baby; I didn’t want to lose another. It just seemed easier to go on living my life with what I already had.

But my husband didn’t stick by my side. I guess I don’t blame him. He wanted a child as badly as he wanted to breathe. He saw my refusing to get surgery as denying him his rights. He came home drunk one night and raged at me for not giving him the only thing he asked for. It was one of the only times I saw him truly angry. “I don’t care if we have a dozen miscarriages, Fran.

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