TENDER BETRAYAL (Mystery Romance): The TENDER Series ~ Book 3 by H.Y. Hanna

Author:H.Y. Hanna [Hanna, H.Y.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wisheart Press
Published: 2015-02-09T18:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 20

Suicide.

The word burned into Leah’s brain. For a moment she couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t quite come to terms with what Rose was saying. It was as if someone suddenly told you that something you had taken for granted your whole life was completely untrue—like saying milk didn’t come from cows or grass wasn’t really green. She heard Julia inhale sharply next to her, but she, herself, sat immobile.

“I’m so very sorry, dear.” Rose’s eyes were full of sympathy. “I thought you knew.”

Leah shook her head slowly. “I thought… I was always told… that my mother had died giving birth to me.”

Rose sighed. “No, although she did have a very difficult birth. In fact, I think the whole pregnancy was quite difficult for her. She had suffered three miscarriages previously, you see, and had been very anxious that everything would go all right this time. Of course, you came out fine and, as I said, you were the most beautiful little baby. Your mother was over the moon, and your father too—he was a very different man in those days. I don’t think I ever saw anyone prouder than him the day he held you in his arms.”

“Then… what happened?” asked Leah. “I don’t understand…”

Rose’s expression hardened. “It was a very unfortunate thing, but the hospital that your mother was at—well, they had quite a strong policy on breastfeeding. Most of the other midwives and nurses were strong supporters of the ‘Breast is Best’ brigade and were always putting a lot of pressure on new mothers to breastfeed. Personally, I’ve always felt that it was more important for a new mother to be happy and bonding with the baby, especially if she was struggling. Not every woman finds breastfeeding easy—sometimes they have problems with milk production or mastitis or with the baby latching on…” She sighed. “Your mother was one of those. She was determined to breastfeed you because she had heard that it was the best and she wanted to do everything right by you. But her milk just wouldn’t come. She was producing very little and you were crying all the time and going hungry. After a few weeks of this, you started losing weight and there were serious fears for your health. Your mother was beside herself—”

“Didn’t she have family? Someone to come and give her some support?” asked Julia, horrified.

Rose shook her head sadly. “No, Natalie’s parents had died when she was young and David’s mother had passed away the year before, from cancer. His father was very elderly and in a nursing home himself. One of Natalie’s closest friends had emigrated to Australia and the other one lived in Scotland so… she had no one close by.” She looked at Leah. “Your father was a young lawyer at the time—he had just joined a busy practice—and he had to work very long hours, so he often couldn’t get home until late and your mother was left alone a lot. A social worker was supposed to come check in on her, but perhaps they didn’t take it very seriously.

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