She flicked the cord of her IV. “So now she’s your daughter. Could be I was having a raving affair with one of the teachers at school, or maybe one of Asher’s friends. Or . . . I know! Seeing as how you accused me of something salacious, I’m having one of my students’ babies.”

“Ella.” My voice cracked on her name. “I’m sorry.”

She glared but the hurt still blossomed from her tired, puffy eyes. “You bloody well should be.”

“I was jealous.” I rasped out the words. My throat dry, my voice scratchy.

“Of what? Why?” she cried. With a thick swallow and a wet sniffle, she turned her head away. “You’re the one who tossed me over.”

Ella would think that—and why not? Damn Monique these past few months. Her manipulations wreaked havoc on our lives. “I’m not. I never cheated on you.”

Her head whipped back around, and my chest ached as tears dripped over her lower lashes. “Bullshit, Simon. I’m many things but stupid is not one of them.” She swiped hard at her wet cheeks. “I saw those pictures months ago. When I asked you, you said not to worry. Not an issue. But, here we are—you asking for divorce and kissing that . . . that . . . woman in front of me.” Her chin trembled and her hands fisted. “How could you?”

I scooted forward on my chair, needing her to see the sincerity in my eyes. “From the day I met you on that cricket pitch at Cambridge, I’ve been faithful to you.”

“And, yet, you planned to leave me. Because I no longer fit your life.” She pushed herself up on her elbows. One of the monitors began to beep with a more rapid, insistent beat. “You’ve already left us behind to streamline your touring. Well, believe me, I don’t want to be part of that world—or part of yours since you’ve proved we’re so easy to drop.”

“It wasn’t like that. You told me you didn’t want to come on tour, and I was honoring your choice. But now with the baby . . .”

“She’s not your concern. Neither is Jeremiah nor me.”

I sat back in the chair, air leaking from my lungs as if I’d been slugged in the chest.

“Ella, you’ve been the love of my life for nearly twenty years. I get that you’re hurting. I am, too. But I can’t believe you don’t want me to know my child.” I paused, my heart pounding, my chest seeming to cave. “That’s not right, Ella. That’s not fair.”

Ella narrowed her eyes, the beeping ratcheting up again. “It’s not fair to get divorce papers at work. It’s not fair to find out my husband’s a cheat through papers. It’s not fair that Jeremiah is struggling under the weight of our mess.”