Chapter 5: The Room Behind the Ballroom
Ava didn't cry until the bridal suite door closed.
The moment she heard the latch click, her knees weakened, and she reached for the nearest chair.
Simone caught her by the elbow.
“Easy. Sit down.””
“I'm fine.””
“Ava, please stop saying that.””
Ava lowered herself onto the chair, her emerald gown spreading around her knees. The bridal suite smelled of roses and hairspray. White bouquets lined the windowsill, and a half-empty glass of water stood beside a makeup bag.
Outside, the wedding reception continued in uncomfortable fragments of music and conversation.
Simone knelt in front of her.
“Look at me. Are you dizzy?””
“No.””
“Any pain?””
“No. I'm just angry.””
“Good. You can be angry. You don't have to pretend otherwise.””
Ava pressed her fingertips against her eyes.
“I wanted today to be about you.””
Simone's expression softened.
“You haven't ruined my wedding.””
“Your guests just watched my ex-husband discover my pregnancy while his girlfriend pulled out my ultrasound like she was presenting evidence in court.””
“Then my guests have something interesting to talk about during dessert.””
Ava laughed unexpectedly.
It was brief and shaky, but it was a laugh.
Simone smiled.
“There she is.””
Ava took the glass of water and drank slowly.
Then she lowered it.
“There's something I haven't told you.””
Simone sat on the chair opposite her.
“Tell me.””
“The clinic contacted me before the divorce was final. Someone had requested information about my pregnancy.””
Simone's smile disappeared.
“What?””
“They wouldn't tell me who. They said they were reviewing an unauthorized inquiry.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't know what it meant. I thought it might have been a mistake.””
“And then you received that message?””
Ava nodded.
She took out her phone and showed Simone the two messages from the unknown number.
Simone read them carefully.
Her face tightened.
“This isn't a mistake.””
“I know.””
“Have you saved everything?””
“Yes.””
“Good. Don't delete anything, and don't respond to the number.””
Ava watched her friend type the clinic's name into her phone.
“What are you doing?””
“Finding the patient-relations contact. If somebody accessed your information, there needs to be a formal record.””
“Simone, I don't want this to become a bigger mess.””
“It's already a mess. You don't have to make it easier for the people who created it.””
Ava looked down at her belly.
“I just want to have my baby in peace.””
Simone took her hand.
“Then we'll protect your peace. One step at a time.””
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Both women turned.
“Who is it?”” Simone called.
“It's Daniel.””
Ava's shoulders stiffened.
Simone stood immediately.
“Go away.””
“I need five minutes.””
“She said she doesn't want to see you.””
“I heard her.””
“Then why are you still standing there?””
His voice dropped.
“Because I made a mistake, and I need to apologize.””
Ava closed her eyes.
She had imagined Daniel apologizing a thousand times during the months after their separation.
In those imagined conversations, he admitted that he had been selfish. He acknowledged how lonely she had been. He promised to become a better man, and she decided whether he deserved another chance.
None of those imagined apologies had taken place in a bridal suite while she was pregnant and his girlfriend held her private medical records.
Ava stood slowly.
“Simone, let him come in.””
Her friend looked at her.
“Are you sure?””
“No. But I want to hear what he has to say.””
Simone opened the door but remained beside it.
Daniel entered without his jacket. His bow tie hung loose, and his face looked older than it had an hour earlier.
He stopped several feet away from Ava.
“Thank you for seeing me.””
“Five minutes,” she said.
He nodded.
“I didn't know you were pregnant.””
“You've established that.””
“I should have listened to you that night.””
“Yes.””
“I should have been there.””
“Yes.””
Daniel swallowed.
“I don't expect you to forgive me.””
“Good.””
He looked down.
For a moment, the old Daniel appeared: the man who could turn any difficult conversation into a negotiation, who believed that admitting one mistake should earn him credit for the others.
But the sight of Ava's belly seemed to strip away his practiced confidence.
“I need to ask you something,” he said.
“Then ask.””
“Did you know before we signed the papers?””
Ava stared at him.
“Yes.””
His face crumpled.
“You knew, and you still signed?””
“You had already decided to leave.””
“I might have changed my mind.””
“Because I was pregnant?””
“Because we were having a child.””
Ava's eyes shone.
“That is exactly why I didn't tell you.””
Daniel looked confused.
She stepped closer.
“I wanted you to want our family, Daniel. Not to stay because you felt trapped. Not because you thought a baby would damage your reputation. Not because you were afraid of what people would say.””
“I would never have seen our child that way.””
“You saw our marriage as an inconvenience. Why should I have trusted you to see a child differently?””
He had no answer.
Ava continued, her voice shaking now.
“I spent weeks wondering whether I had failed you. I wondered whether I was too demanding, too emotional, too difficult to love. Then I found out I was pregnant, and for a little while, I thought maybe this baby would give us a reason to try again.””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“But every time I reached for you, you were somewhere else. So I stopped reaching.””
“I was wrong.””
“You were.””
He nodded slowly.
“I can't change what happened.””
“No. You can't.””
“But I want to know my child.””
Ava looked at him for a long moment.
“That depends on what you do next.””
“Tell me what to do.””
“Stop demanding answers as if you're entitled to them. Stop trying to control what I tell people about my pregnancy. And stop letting other people handle your relationship with me.””
Daniel frowned.
“What do you mean?””
Ava glanced toward the door.
“Your girlfriend had my ultrasound. I want to know why.””
His expression hardened.
“I'll find out.””
“No. You'll ask her, and you'll listen to what she says. Then you'll leave me out of whatever happens between you.””
“Ava, if somebody accessed your medical information—”
“Then I will handle it with the clinic. I have a doctor, I have support, and I have a life that doesn't depend on you rescuing me.””
Daniel flinched.
“I wasn't trying to rescue you.””
“Then stop acting like the hero of a story you helped break.””
Silence filled the room.
Simone folded her arms.
“Your five minutes are up.””
Daniel nodded, accepting the dismissal.
He turned toward the door, then stopped.
“Can I ask one last thing?””
Ava sighed.
“What?””
“Are you going to tell me whether the baby is mine?””
Ava's expression became unreadable.
“I will handle that question appropriately when the time comes. Not here. Not at a wedding. And not because you cornered me.””
Daniel lowered his head.
“Okay.””
For once, he didn't argue.
He walked out.
Simone shut the door and leaned against it.
“Well,” she said, “that was almost a conversation between adults.””
Ava sat down again.
“I don't know if I believe him.””
“You don't have to decide today.””
Ava looked toward the window.
Beyond the glass, the ballroom glowed with warm flowers and bright chandeliers. Guests moved between tables, and the band had begun playing again.
For a few seconds, she allowed herself to imagine a future that didn't involve Daniel.
A small nursery.
Morning sunlight.
Her child sleeping against her chest.
No arguments. No unanswered calls. No secrets hidden in somebody else's purse.
Then her phone vibrated.
The clinic had replied to the email she sent earlier that week.
*Dear Ms. Bennett, we are contacting you regarding the unauthorized inquiry into your protected medical information. Our internal review has identified a potential breach involving a person who may have had access to your appointment documentation. Please contact our patient-relations office as soon as possible.*
Ava read the message twice.
Her mouth went dry.
Simone moved beside her.
“What is it?””
Ava handed over the phone.
Simone's face grew serious.
“They found something.””
“Someone had access to my documents.””
“That's what it sounds like.””
Ava stared at the screen.
Then she opened her purse and pulled out the envelope containing the paperwork she had collected from the clinic.
She checked the ultrasound printout.
The appointment date was correct.
Her name was correct.
But the protective envelope she'd remembered using had a small adhesive label on the back that she didn't recognize.
It wasn't part of the clinic's usual paperwork.
Ava turned it over.
The label contained a short handwritten note.
*Return to V.C.*
Simone leaned closer.
“V.C.?””
Ava's pulse quickened.
“Vanessa Cole.””
They stared at each other.
Ava shook her head.
“No. That doesn't make sense.””
“Maybe it's a coincidence.””
“Maybe.””
But her voice lacked conviction.
She pulled the envelope apart carefully, checking its inner lining.
Something thin slipped from the folded edge and landed in her lap.
A small appointment receipt.
The date was from three months earlier.
The day Vanessa had appeared at the clinic.
Ava stared at the receipt, her heart beating harder with every passing second.
On the back, someone had written a message in blue ink.
*She doesn't know you have the original.*
Ava's fingers began to tremble.
Simone whispered, “What original?””
Ava looked at the ultrasound photograph in the envelope.
Then at the receipt.
She had no idea.
But somebody had clearly believed that a second document existed.
And if Vanessa had been involved in obtaining the first photograph, Ava needed to know what else might have been taken from her.
Before she could say anything, another knock sounded at the door.
This time, it wasn't Daniel.
It was Vanessa.
“Ava,” she called softly from the other side.
“Please. I need to tell you something before you find out from someone else.””
Simone looked at Ava.
Ava gripped the receipt.
May you like
Then she stood.
“Open the door.””
