Then Dr. Monroe grew quiet. She measured something on the screen, clicked, and measured again.
“Maddie,” she said. “You mentioned on the phone that your husband had a vasectomy. When?”
Lucas sat up. “Two months ago. Why does that matter?”
Dr. Monroe looked at him. “Had you been cleared afterward? Did you have a semen analysis confirming no sperm?”
“Your baby looks healthy.”
Lucas’s mouth opened.
Charlotte’s hand dropped from his shoulder.
“I had the procedure,” he said. “That means I couldn’t…”
“No,” Dr. Monroe said gently. “That’s not what that means.”
The room went still.
Lucas swallowed. “What are you saying?”
Dr. Monroe turned the screen toward him. “Take a look here, and you’ll understand everything.”
His face drained.
“What are you saying?”
“These measurements put Maddie farther along than you seem to believe,” Dr. Monroe said. “They are consistent with a pregnancy that began before your vasectomy could prove anything against her.”
“No,” Lucas whispered.
“A vasectomy is not immediately effective,” she continued. “Patients are told to use protection until follow-up testing confirms sterility. This scan cannot prove paternity today, but it does not support your accusation.”
I pushed myself up on my elbows.
“Dr. Monroe,” I said, my voice shaking, “please say it plainly. Does this ultrasound prove I cheated?”
“A vasectomy is not immediately effective.”
She looked at me. “No, Maddie. It proves no such thing.”
Lucas covered his mouth.
Charlotte stood so fast her chair bumped the wall. “Lucas, you told me the vasectomy meant she couldn’t trap you.”
I turned to her.
“You knew about it?”
Charlotte froze.
“It proves no such thing.”
I looked at Lucas. “She knew before your wife did?”
He said nothing.
The silence answered.
I pulled off my ring and placed it on top of his divorce folder.
Lucas reached for me. “Maddie, I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“I was scared.”
“You were cruel,” I said.
For a second, I wanted to comfort him.
“Maddie, I didn’t know.”
Then Charlotte grabbed her purse. “I need air.”
Lucas turned toward her. “Char, wait.”
I laughed once, soft and tired. “Even now?”
He turned back. “Maddie…”
“She leaves, and you follow. I stand here carrying your child, and you still choose the audience.”
He stopped moving.
Tara handed me the visit summary before I left. “Do you need anything else?”
“One extra copy,” I said. “Please.”
