Yvonne Taylor narrates the poignant story of a prominent woman in the community—Liah Cunningham Mathis. She is a devoted wife, mother of five, and a well respected Consumer Psychologist. Unexpectedly, her life was radically changed when her husband of 25 years, Brannon Mathis, abandoned her and their children after finding out she was pregnant again, despite his vasectomy. Little did she know, her pregnancy wasn’t the only reason he walked out.
Brannon left with the better part of their joint account, leaving Liah strapped with all of the responsibility. She was forced to sell her most valued possessions, including their home, in order to make ends meet.
Despite her hardship, Liah kept her hand in God’s and triumphed through her trials. She stepped out on faith and changed her career in order to accommodate her new lifestyle, facing the world as a single working mom.
Years later on a Saturday evening, the handsome and charming Marcus Michaels, a well-known business tycoon forsaken by his wife, stumbles into her life. The moment they lay eyes on each other, their hearts whimsically collided like magnets. Hit by a whirlwind of emotions, Liah and Marcus find themselves in an ambiguous situation. Neither of them was looking for love.
Will Marcus be up to the challenge of fathering the children Brannon left behind? Will Liah trust another man to step in and father her children? Will Liah and Marcus both learn the true meaning of an inseparable love?
Prologue
Yes, she was definitely pregnant. She took two home pregnancy tests and another at the clinic. She just couldn't believe it. "How could this have happened?" she asked the nurse, on the verge of hysterics. After all, her husband had had a vasectomy. Before the nurse could respond, she already knew the answer. "Ah, don't bother. I know the answer, 99.9 percent effective."
"Yep, that's it."
"How am I going to tell Brannon?" She spoke more to herself than the nurse as she paced the length of the examination room. "He won't believe it. Things are already shaky in our marriage."
"I know, Liah," the nurse said understandingly. She put her hand consolingly on Liah’s shoulder, ceasing her nervous pacing. "But the sooner you tell him, the better."
"He’s out of town at the moment. I’m thankful for that. It will give me some time to process this."
"Well, if there’s anything I can do, just call," the nurse offered.
"Thank you. I appreciate that," Liah said kindly, although she knew she'd never take her up on her offer. She left the clinic and went to the park to think. She knew that whatever she was about to face, she would get through it.
A week had gone by, and she hadn't told anyone about her situation. Brannon was due home today. She had fixed his favorite meal, trying to convince herself that it would be easier to tell him. The truth is she knew it wouldn't have any effect on his reaction being the arrogant jerk that he was! However this panned out, she wasn’t going to go out of her way to prove that she hadn’t been unfaithful, something he had attempted a year ago.
The homecoming was good and dinner was delectable. They had a “Leave it to Beaver” evening. That was until the kids went to bed and she told him the news. She showed him the pregnancy test she had brought home from the clinic and brochures on a vasectomy procedure’s effectiveness percentage. “You’re pregnant,” he said, seemingly calm.
“Yes, seven weeks.” Then he flew off the handle. “See, I knew you hadn’t forgiven me for having that affair,” he accused, sending his chair flying back as he stood up abruptly. “You not only went out and cheated, but you got yourself pregnant.”
“Excuse me? You idiot, you think I cheated on you? I can see why you would say that, being the person you are,” she said derisively. “You know—you don’t deserve my fidelity.” She took a deep breath. “You know what? I’m not going there with you. This is your child, and that’s all there is to it.”
“But I had a vasectomy. I can’t produce,” he said as he slowly sat back down, abandoning the pretext of her infidelity.
“You’re sure not producing any sense right now,” she murmured, sure that he’d heard her.
“I don’t care what this paper says. That is not my child, and there is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise,” he stubbornly declared.
“You don’t have to worry about me going out of my way trying to prove anything to you. You are looking for a way out of this marriage and your responsibilities, as you always have. Except this time, I’m not giving you a reason to stay. So if you don’t think you already have a reason to stay, you definitely shouldn’t. Despite everything, Brannon, I’ve always been there for you. But if you want to leave, by all means, go. I’m not begging you to stay.” She dramatically went to the door and opened it. He grabbed his bags he’d just brought in and walked out.
She closed the door behind him and took a deep breath, not the least bit shocked that he had left. Liah walked over to her recliner, picked her Bible up from the coffee table, sat down, and began reading as tears ran down her face. She had put everything she had into their marriage. Now it was over. After reading her Bible, she noticed Brannon’s blazer on the couch next to her. She picked it up then threw it on the chair. A picture fell out on the floor. She picked up the picture. It was a photo of Brannon, a female, and a baby. Written on the back was “To Brannon…please keep this picture close to your heart…from your baby girl and me.”
Liah was fuming. She could not believe that he would be so careless to cheat and get someone pregnant and now have the audacity to deny their child together. She took the liberty of checking all of his pockets. She found a note written to Brannon, apparently thanking him for a wonderful weekend.
The next day he came back… without his luggage this time. He’d told her that he was leaving for good.
“I just don’t believe that the baby is mine,” he said. “But if for some reason it is, I don’t care to know.”
“Brannon I have just one question?” She picked up a photo off the coffee table. “Tell me, who this female and this baby are in this picture with you?” She went on to say. “Come to think of it, this baby looks just like Jayde when she was a baby. Now you and I both know it’s not Jayde.”
“Liah I’m so sorry. I…” She cut him off.
“Brannon just save it. You and I both know you’re in no way sorry. The only reason you’re breathing sorry is because you got caught. Now back to our situation.”
“Do you not want to have a paternity test done? If so, we can certainly have one. Not for you, but for the sake of our child. Then it will know that you chose to leave because you wanted to leave, not because you didn’t know that it was yours.”
“I don’t care. I want out,” he said simply.
“Then out you will get. You had better take everything today because come tomorrow, the only thing that will be left here are the children you’re abandoning.” She was about to turn and walk away from him, but stopped and faced him for the last time.
“Just tell me one thing, Brannon. What shall I tell our children?” she asked angrily,
“They know I love them.”
Later, she sat down with all of the kids and explained things the best she could. The kids didn’t take it too badly. They weren’t used to spending a lot of time with him anyway, as he was always away on his trips. She also told them about the new baby on the way. They all seemed thrilled.
Liah immediately started planning for their future over the next few weeks. They planned for a huge garage sale. The house was on the market. By the time the divorce was final, she would have an offer on the house. The garage sale went better than she had expected. She sold everything she didn’t think she would need. She took all of the money from the garage sale and opened up a new savings account. She called it her “just-in-case-something-happened” money, her “cushion.”
A few months later, her divorce was final. With the exception of the house, there wasn’t much left for her to get in the divorce settlement. Brannon was a big spender. He had debts she knew nothing about. The majority of their life’s savings was used to pay off all debts, mostly his. He tried to negotiate the kids’ college fund. But there was no way she would allow that. Other than the house and college funds, she was ready to cut her losses and move forward. She did just that. Neither she nor the kids heard from Brannon after that. She supposed he moved back to Virginia Beach, where his family lived.
About three weeks later, the house sold. They moved into a three-bedroom apartment. The two oldest boys were living in dorms on campus. They were in their second and third years of college. Liah had to go on bed rest the entire last trimester of her pregnancy. She knew the hard times would come soon. There was no way she was going to let them get the best of her. She predicted that she would not be able to work for at least six months. She would just take it one day at a time.
After the baby was born, she only had enough money to sustain them for two months. At this point, they had everything they needed, so this wasn’t a concern. However, due to the circumstances, she was forced to apply for government assistance. Two months went by. She had no income and government assistance had not yet, been approved and she still wasn‘t getting any help from her ex-husband, of course. She could have easily picked up the phone and called her mother. She did come from a pretty wealthy family. Liah was always determined to do things on her own: Especially when it came to taking responsibility for her own choices. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. One thing she was sure of, she would not give up. Through all her hard times, she remained a faithful Christian. She always reminded herself of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
