Something New

Chapter Eleven

Isa

Three and a half months later.

The night Elijah Stone sauntered up to my doorstep, I fully surrendered my heart to him, uprooted life as I knew it, and moved in with him in Atlanta. It was the first time I’d been away from home for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Between freelancing and nesting, I kept myself busy. I was days away from my due date and could pop any minute, so even as much as I didn’t want to do it, I made myself go out and walk the baby down every day. While walking, I looked down at my phone to see a text message with a picture of Imani in a wedding dress, followed by the words I SAID YES in all caps with about a million exclamation points behind it. I grinned with all my teeth, and instead of texting her back, I called her on FaceTime.

“Oh my God, I love it!”

“Me too!” She beamed, cheesing from ear to ear. “It’s simple, breathable, and fits me to a tee.”

“The perfect trifecta!”

“Hell yeah!”

I sucked my teeth before my brows downturned, and I frowned. “I wish I could be there for your big day.”

“If you consider a courthouse wedding a big day, then okay. But lowkey is what Bleu and I both want, and that’s what we’re doing. Besides, you’re about to pop any day now. You can’t be waddling your ass onto no plane. I promise to send you plenty of pics when it’s over!”

“You better!” I urged as I waddled to the mailbox at the end of our driveway to check the mail.

“Are you excited?” I asked while flipping through all the junk mail I’d retrieved.

“I think so.”

“That’s a yes!” I beamed before freezing when I got a letter addressed to me. It was sent to my old address in Potomac Falls but had gotten forwarded to my new address in Atlanta. My eyes widened when I saw Axel McAdam’s name on the return address with postage from London. I hadn’t heard from him since our wedding day and heard he fled the city the same night. I hadn’t thought about him as much as I thought I would. I didn’t know if the pain of losing him was drowned out in all my humiliation and self-loathing or what.

“Hey, I’m gonna have to call you back. Something just came up,” I mumbled before ending the call.

I cracked open the envelope and pulled out a folded letter with Axel’s handwriting scribbled across it.

Isa,

I hope this letter finds you well. I know it’s been a while, and I hope you’ve found it in your heart to forgive me for the part I played in breaking your heart and betraying your trust. I left town like a coward in the wake of it all because I couldn’t face you or anyone else. Although it wasn’t in the cards for us to make it through the long haul together, I still believe you deserve the best, and for what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry things didn’t turn out better for us, and I take full responsibility for any pain or shame I caused you. You and Jeanine.

With that being said, I’ve found solace here in London. Not only with my music but with my health. I initially came here to pursue music, find myself, and clear my head. After everything that happened that day, I realized I was more lost after losing my mother than I thought. So, after seeking professional care and rigorous rounds of testing, I discovered that I had a brain tumor pressing on my frontal lobe, which was the reason for my erratic decision-making skills and reckless judgment calls. I’ve since undergone two successful surgeries and am in recovery. I know that’s no excuse for what I put you through, but as I continue to heal, I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can tell my truth. I hope you accept it.

All the best,

Axel

I was floored when I got to the end of the letter. In the end, everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Finding out about Axel’s brain tumor still didn’t move me in one emotional direction or another. What he did to me was wrong, whether he was in total control of his actions or not. But people in glass houses couldn’t throw rocks. I’d been just as unfaithful to him as he’d been to me, and we both seemed better for it.

I folded the letter and took one step forward, only to be met with a warm liquid running down my leg, causing me to gasp. “Oh shit.”

I looked down to allow my eyes to confirm what my brain knew. Axel’s letter had caused my water to break and officially kicked off my labor. Instinctively, I started breathing exercises while waddling faster up the driveway and into the house.

“Eli?” I called out when I made it through the door. “Eli! Eli, where are you?” I yelled from the foyer.

I found him in the kitchen, cooking as always. “Eli!”

“What’s wrong? Why are you walking through the house yelling my name, woman?”

“My–my water broke,” I gulped, “we have to go! Get my bag!”

His brows heightened as I watched his brain connect the same dots, I had put together minutes prior. “Oh shit!”

He raced to cut off the oven and stove, leaving whatever culinary creation he worked on to spoil before completion. Elijah zoomed past me, then ran back to grab my hand. “What do you need? Do you wanna sit down? Do you wanna stand? Squat? You tell me!”