, her voice trembling but resolute. “Why bring your pregnancy to our wedding if it has nothing to do with him?”
Van took a deep breath, her hand gently resting on her pregnant belly. The anger in her expression melted away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of profound pity. And that pity terrified me more than any anger ever could.
“Because, Clara… it does have everything to do with him,” Van said softly. “You see, after Ethan walked out on me, I was broken. I felt worthless, unlovable, and defective. I thought something was wrong with me as a woman. So, I finally did what I had begged Ethan to do for years. I went to a fertility clinic to get a full examination, just to see if I was capable of ever having a family.”
She paused, looking directly at Clara.
“The doctor ran all the tests and told me I was perfectly healthy. But then, he recognized my last name from my insurance records. It turned out, it was the exact same clinic where my father had pulled a few strings years ago to get Ethan a comprehensive corporate health screening when he first joined my father’s company.”
A horrible, suffocating weight settled onto my chest. I remembered that screening. It was a routine check-up required for executive tracks. I had gone, filled out the paperwork, and never thought twice about it because the HR department said everything was fine.
“What are you saying, Van?” Clara whispered, her face turning pale.
“I’m saying that the doctor remembered Ethan’s file because of a specific, rare genetic anomaly,” Van said, her voice echoing like a death knell in the silent ballroom. “Ethan didn’t want to go to a fertility doctor with me because he was arrogant and assumed he was perfect. But his corporate screening records were right there. Clara… Ethan is completely, irreversibly sterile. He has a congenital condition. He can never have biological children. The doctor confirmed it.”
