The nurse brought Carrie to me a couple of times during the night to feed her, but otherwise, I slept like the exhausted woman I was. Awakening early, I got my phone from the table beside my bed. I opened it and stared at Axel’s phone number glowing at me on the screen.

Should I do it? It was probably the right thing to do, but the anxiety was gnawing at my stomach like a hungry piranha. If he rejected me and our child again, it would throw me back into the very dark place I had fought my way out of the past few months. Maybe it was better not to know.

I closed my eyes and thought about it. I really would love to hear his voice again, and he did deserve to know he was a father. He had a home game tomorrow, so he would be headed to practice soon. If I was going to do this today, I needed to do it now.

Taking several deep breaths, I drew up all the courage I had and touched my finger to his phone number. It rang once, twice, three times… and then my heart leaped into my throat. He was answering!

“Hello,” a woman’s high-pitched voice said. I froze. “Helllllooooooo?”

“Oh, um, who is this?” I asked.

“Tiffany,” she said smartly, as if I had asked her the stupidest question in history.

“Uh, is this Axel’s phone?”

“Yup.”

“Well, can I speak with him, please?” My heart felt like it was going to hammer right through my gown.

Big sigh. “Hold on.” I could hear movement as if she were walking. “Axel, phone! And can you zip my dress? I have to be in New York for my photo shoot by early afternoon.”

Axel took the phone and said into it, “Hey, hold on just a second,” before addressing Tiffany again. “Be careful, Tiff. And call me when you’re on your way home. I’ll order us something for dinner.”

My hand was shaking like a leaf in a thunderstorm. Ax had moved on already with some model named Tiffany? Should I still tell him about the baby? Fuck! Tears pooled in my eyes at the thought of him with this woman. Did she live there with him? I pictured Tiffany. She was probably blonde with a willowy body and a gorgeous face. And here I was in a messy ponytail and no makeup with my baby weight and stretch marks.