So I called Rose.
She answered right away, and the moment she heard my voice, everything changed.
“Are you alone?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Listen carefully,” she said. “I’m calling emergency services. Then I’ll get to the hospital. Unlock your door if you can. Sit down. Breathe. Don’t panic.”
By the time the ambulance arrived, Rose was already on her way. When I reached the hospital, she was waiting.
She came straight to my side, took my hand, and didn’t leave.
Jack never showed up.
Rose stayed through every contraction, every moment of pain. When the nurses were slow, she pushed them. When I felt like I couldn’t go on, she kept me focused.
“He was supposed to be here,” I whispered at one point.
“I know,” she said.
“He left me.”
“I know that too.”
Hours later, my daughter was born.
Rose was the first to hold her. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered softly, calling the baby beautiful.
I barely had the strength to react, but I remember laughing weakly at one point.
“You did amazing,” she told me. “I’m so proud of you.”
Then she glanced at the empty chair beside my bed, and her expression hardened.
“I cannot believe he left you like this,” she said, her voice shaking with anger.
“I’m too tired to even be mad,” I admitted.
“That’s fine,” she replied. “I have enough anger for both of us.”
Jack didn’t come to the hospital.
He didn’t come when I was discharged.
He didn’t answer any calls or messages.
Two days later, Rose helped me bring the baby home. She cooked, cleaned, organized everything—and quietly muttered about Jack under her breath.
Then, four days after he disappeared, the front door finally opened.
Jack walked in like nothing had happened, smelling like alcohol and smoke.
“Hey,” he said casually. “Where’s my little girl? I got delayed.”
I just stared at him.
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Then Rose stepped forward.
Her cane tapped once against the floor.
“No,” she said firmly.
Jack tried to laugh it off, but she didn’t let him.
“Your daughter was born four days ago while you were out drinking,” she said. “Your wife went through everything alone. Now you’re going to listen.”
She handed him an envelope.
