The urgency in her tone startled Elise. “Of course,” she said. “You have my word.” But even as she spoke, unease prickled down her spine. Whatever this letter meant, Olivia clearly didn’t want it seen.
That night, the nurses’ lounge buzzed with gossip. Marta leaned across the table, whispering, “That guy who dropped off the note? Handsome. Looked nervous, though, like a kid about to confess something.” Elise kept her face neutral, pretending to care less than she did.
“Did he say anything?” another nurse asked. Marta shrugged. “Just asked if Olivia still came by. We couldn’t reveal anything about her or the baby, patient confidentiality, of course. Said he was an old friend.” The word friend lingered in Elise’s mind like a half-solved equation.
The next morning, Olivia arrived early. She seemed tired and distracted, clutching her baby tighter than usual. Elise decided to ask gently, “The man who came by and left you the note. Why didn’t he just come visit you at home?”
Olivia hesitated, then exhaled. “He’s someone from before,” she said. “I thought he’d moved on.” The confession was quiet but said everything, a stone dropped in still water. Elise nodded slowly, piecing it together—an ex-boyfriend, maybe. A past that refused to stay buried.
Yet something didn’t fit. The fear on Olivia’s face hadn’t looked like heartbreak; it looked more than that. Elise couldn’t help wondering: why such panic over a man from the past? What exactly had she been so desperate to keep hidden?
Top Articles
