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Bindu.”
    â€œI know who it was, Celeste. What was he saying about a coat hanger and abortion?”
    Celeste’s heart beat so fast she felt it was about to explode from her chest. Her entire body shook with nervousness. She felt as though she had pneumonia. She was chilled to the bone yet she was burning up.
    The secret she had hidden from her husband for years was now exposed. That was the moment that Celeste prayed she would never have to face. She had been willing to keep living the lie and take it to her grave if it would save her marriage.
    â€œWhat was Dr. Bindu talking about?” Anthony yelled.
    Celeste flinched at Anthony’s outburst. She didn’t say a word. She just sat and looked at him with pity in her eyes.
    â€œWhen did you have an abortion, Celeste?”
    She knew it was time for her to confess everything. Celeste silently prayed to God that Anthony wouldn’t leave her when she revealed how deceptive she’d been. She looked deeply into her husband’s eyes. She didn’t know she was crying until a single tear had fallen from her lower eyelid and trickled down her face. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to find out this way.” Truth be told, Celeste never wanted Anthony to find out at all. She patted the cushion next to her. “Come and sit next to me.”
    Anthony stood where he was. He glared down at Celeste. “Just tell me when you had an abortion with a wire hanger.”
    Celeste wiped the tears from her face. “It was my sophomore year in high school. I got pregnant and I was scared to tell my folks. My mother wouldn’t have been able to bear it. And I couldn’t even fathom the thought of how disappointed in me my father would have been.”
    Anthony stood looking down at his wife. “Is it the reason you can’t have a baby?”
    Celeste’s mouth went dry. Since she’d met Anthony she prayed that her promiscuous years would never catch up with her and have to be revealed to him. What was she going to do? How could she explain to her loving husband why she kept such a deep, dark secret from him all these years?
    Celeste stood from the sofa and grabbed Anthony’s arms that were folded across his chest. “Dr. Bindu believes so.”
    Anthony released his arms and took a step backward. “So you’ve been lying to me all these years? Crying every month when you got your period, going from doctor to doctor and making me get myself checked out like I could’ve been the problem. And all along you knew we would never have a baby.” Anthony looked at Celeste with disgust in his eyes. She was damaged goods.
    Celeste stepped to Anthony. She tried to grab his hands but he wouldn’t let her. She started to cry openly. “When we first got together, all you talked about was getting married and having a house full of kids. You told me that it was your dream to become a father. I didn’t know then that the abortion I had five years prior would be a problem for us. That’s why I never mentioned it. It wasn’t until after we got married and started trying to conceive, and couldn’t, that I got concerned. I made an appointment with Dr. Bindu and found out that the abortion killed my chances of getting pregnant.”
    â€œAnd you said nothing to me.”
    â€œBaby, I’m so sorry that I kept this from you but I didn’t wanna disappoint you.”
    Anthony looked at her tearstained faced and shook his head from side to side. “All this time, Celeste. All this time you had us fasting and praying that God would do a miraculous thing when you knew all along why we couldn’t get pregnant. And I don’t buy the crap about you not feeling the need to tell me about the abortion. I could understand you hiding something like, ‘Honey, when I was in high school I stole lipstick from the convenience store,’ or ‘Honey, when I was in high school I pulled the