A Tough Moment

Chapter Forty Five

A few hours had passed since my father left the hospital, despite some slight difficulties I'd managed to get Leon to feed. All this time spent alone, in a hospital bed with nothing to do, was causing my brain to spin. I had to make some decisions about my future, to make sure that me and my children could survive and if possible find happiness.

I jumped as my phone started ringing. As I glanced at the screen I saw that it was my solicitor.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hi, Emma Chambers?" she questioned.

"Yes, this is her." I replied.

"This is Diana calling from Mackay's solicitors." she stated.

I remained silent and waited for her to explain to me why she was calling.

"I'm just calling to let you know that we received the final divorce papers that you signed." she explained.

"I'm sorry....what?" I frowned.

"The ones that were left for you to sign, they were returned signed to us this morning, so it should all be finalised within the next few days." she told me.

I sat holding the phone in stunned silence, my brain working overtime. I vaguely heard her thank me and hang up the phone but she seemed distant, as though I was having an out of body experience. How could the forms possibly have been returned to her, when I hadn't even signed them? I hadn't wanted to sign them because I didn't feel ready for it to be finalised.

My head snapped up as Caleb entered the room and smiled at me.

"Are you alright, you look rather pale?" he frowned.

"Someone must have forged my signature." I muttered thoughtfully, almost speaking to myself.

I looked up at him as he stared at me, completely silent.

"Someone has forged my signature on the divorce papers." I repeated.

As I sat looking at Caleb, I knew in that moment that it was him.

"Why don't you seem surprised?" I asked.

"I am surprised." he said quickly.

"No you're not." I sighed.

He stared at me, clearly he had no idea what to say.

"Why did you do it?" I asked.

"I don't know....I guess I was worried that you would go back to him." he said quietly.

"Even if I was going too, he doesn't want me back anyway." I pointed out.

"Seeing the way you two were together last night, it worried me I guess." he explained.

"That doesn't give you the right to go behind my back and get involved in my marriage!" I snapped.

"I know, I'm sorry." he sighed.

"Sorry isn't good enough Cal, every time I start to trust you, you break it again. You're just so selfish, you only think of yourself!" I cried angrily.

"Would you prefer it if I was more like Ethan?" he muttered sarcastically.

"At least he's not as selfish as you." I hit back.

We instantly stopped arguing as the door opened and Ethan walked in.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, looking between the two of us.

I nodded slowly and returned to glaring at Caleb. I couldn't quite believe that he'd done something like this. He'd always been the selfish one, but this was on another level even for him.

"I'd better go." Caleb said, shifting his feet awkwardly.

"Yeah I think you should." I said shortly.

"I'll come back later." he stated.

"Don't bother." I said dismissively as I walked away from him and gazed out of the window. After a moment, I heard him sigh and leave the room.

"Wow, that was awkward." Ethan stated as he walked over to the window and stood opposite me.

"Yeah, don't worry about it." I said quickly, not really wanting to explain to him what the problem was. It didn't seem possible that Ethan was now officially my ex husband. I quickly wiped away my stray tear that was rolling down my cheek. Ethan watched me closely, clearly unsure what to say or do.

"Where's the little fella?" he eventually asked me.

"They've taken him to get weighed, he'll probably be back soon." I sighed.

"I'm really proud of you, you know." he blurted randomly.

"I haven't done anything." I said, gazing at the ground.

"You carried Leon for the last few months and didn't have much support." he pointed out.

"And you gave birth to him, I said you could do it." he added.

I smiled slightly, I knew that he was trying to be kind but it only made me want to blurt out how much I loved him.

Before I had a chance to reply Tanya walked into the room, cradling Leon in her arms.

"He's such a cute baby." she cooed.

I smiled proudly as she walked over to me and Ethan.

"So I take it you're the father?" she asked, winking at me, after her comment last night to Caleb.

Ethan nodded slowly and smiled as she gently handed Leon to him. As I watched him with Leon, I couldn't help but wish that we were still a family unit, that we could return to happier times. But that would never happen now, Ethan and I were officially separated. It felt like my heart was being shattered all over again. In some ways, having Ethan in my life helped, to be able to still enjoy his warm, comforting presence around me, but in other ways it was like a constant reminder of what we used to have. The constant feeling of longing that I felt when I was around him, was beginning to take it's toll on me, and I needed to do something about it.

"Emma, did you hear me?" Ethan asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"No...sorry...what did you say?" I asked quietly.

"I said what are we going to do about his surname?" he asked.

"I don't know, whatever you want." I said dismissively.

He frowned at me for a moment, clearly wondering what he'd said to upset me.

"I need some air." I stated, quickly leaving the room.