Love's Quiet Demise

"I run into my former sister-in-law, whom I haven't seen in ages, during a prenatal checkup at the hospital.Wynne Jenkins glances at my belly. And just like she always does, her face crinkles with disdain as she starts nagging me."Look at you, wandering around with a pregnant belly at your age," she hollers. "What if something happens to my baby nephew? Can't you be a little more sensible and stop making Sean worry all the time?"She must have forgotten.A year ago, Mom was gravely ill. Her only wish was to see me married with children.I staked everything and proposed to Sean Jenkins.On our big day, I waited from dawn until nightfall—only to receive a 30-second voice message from him. "I won't show up at the ceremony, and I won't marry you. This is what you get for bullying Lav."Mom was so enraged by Sean's recklessness that she suffered a heart attack and passed away. After taking care of her funeral, I erased every trace of myself. With what little I had left, I fled Horton—while Sean was still abroad, skiing with Lavender Quinn.And yet now, Wynne says, "Sean spends more than two weeks every month flying around looking for you. He's lost nearly 20 pounds in less than a year."He's been waiting for you, Janelle. Now that you're back, please stay and build a family with him."I smirk and raise my hand, flaunting the ring on my finger."Sorry, I like to keep a low profile. I'm already married, but we kept the ceremony simple. That's why you didn't know.""