I felt so useless watching the women flutter around my loft, decorating and preparing for the upcoming party.

“No, no!” I called out to Regan. “Don’t put that there. People will walk through the entranceway and knock it down.”

My sister cast me a sidelong look.

“You’re not even supposed to be here,” she reminded me, a subtle way of her telling me to shut up but I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Not my choice,” I informed her but I bit on my lower lip as I watched Lexi place a stack of plates perilously close to the edge of the buffet.

“We got this, Maggie,” Serena told me reassuringly but I could see the white wine still sitting on the countertops in the kitchen.

The party is in two hours. That wine isn’t going to chill itself.

“Someone pop a movie in for her to keep her entertained,” Regan quipped and Lexi chuckled.

“She can’t help it,” Lexi replied, winking at me. “She’s a Type A and it’s her party.”

“I am only trying to make suggestions based on my expertise in the area of party planning,” I replied shortly. “If you don’t want to hear them, I can play Angry Birds on my phone.”

“How about you tell me what the gender of the baby is instead,” Lexi teased and I felt my face flush crimson.

“I told you – we’re not finding out until it’s born.” I lied.

“Why?” Regan moaned, stepping onto a chair to tape a yellow streamer to the crown moulding.

If I had been allowed off bedrest for a couple hours, I would have insisted on having the party in the restaurant but my doctor had insisted that I take it easy.

“The baby is growing well,” she assured me, running the ultrasound wand over the gel on my belly. “Your blood pressure is still high enough to cause me concern though.”

“I’m doing everything I’ve been instructed. Cutting out fats and sugars, full-time bedrest. What else do I need to do?”

She smiled patiently at me.

“You are doing everything you can right now, Maggie but I think it might be time to start you on medication.”

The words sent a wave of panic through me. It wasn’t until my hand squeezed flesh that I realized Silas was holding my hand.

“Obviously, you and your baby’s well-being are at risk or else I wouldn’t suggest it but at this point in time – “

“What medication? What are the side effects? How long will she be on them?” Silas interrupted as if he had memorized a list of questions.

I eyed him, a bemused look on my face.

“If you let her finish, you might find she has all the answers to your questions,” I replied evenly and he flushed sheepishly.

“Of course,” he replied. “Sorry.”

Dr. Patel smiled.

“I understand you’re nervousness but what I am going to prescribe will likely ensure Maggie can get back up and resume her normal life. As physicians, we don’t like to recommend bed rest. Regular exercise and fresh air works wonders for the development of the fetus.”

“But you said – “

“The baby is doing great,” she assured me and I sat back, glancing toward the monitor where my uterus was displayed.

I could see a little, misshapen head extending from a bean-like body.

My heart filled joy and instinctively, I wrapped my hands around my abdomen, beneath the gooey mess of gel.

“Would you like to know the gender?” she asked.

“Yes!” Silas cried.

“No!” I declared.

We exchanged a look and the OB-GYN chuckled.

“I can arrange for the father to know if you would rather not,” she offered.

I shook my head, my eyes still locked on Silas.

“No,” I sighed and his face crumbled, thinking that I was refusing him the knowledge.

The look was short-lived, however.

“I want to know, too.”

But we had decided not to tell anyone else. Don’t ask me why, but Silas had suggested it and I agreed. I think he liked the idea of causing mystery around our group, and who was I to take away his small pleasures?

Those days, he certainly didn’t ask for much and gave a lot.

“You really don’t know?” Regan asked, pausing to look over her shoulder at me from where she stood on her chair. “Or you’re not saying?”

“What difference does it make?” I replied, turning my head so she couldn’t read my face. She was my sister, after all. If anyone could tell when I was lying, it was Regan.

“Well, you’re a control freak,” my older sibling replied. “And I find it hard to believe that you wouldn’t find out the sex.”

“Speaking of sex,” Lexi interjected, shooting my sister a look Regan couldn’t see. “How are you and Silas doing together under the same roof?”

Good old Lexi, knowing precisely when to change the subject. Although, she could have picked a less incendiary subject.

She is in PR, I reminded myself, smothering a smile as Regan’s eyes grew dark.

“That good?”

“Oh my God,” Regan moaned. “Please tell me you’re not having sex with him.”

“What is this?” I demanded, my cheeks staining scarlet. “I told you before, Silas is here until the meds do their job and my blood pressure is stabilized.”

“Uh huh,” Regan grunted, obviously not buying a word which came out my mouth and I instantly became defensive.

“It’s true!” I snapped hotly, wondering why I felt the need to justify anything to Regan.

It wasn’t like she had been around to help me out throughout anything.

That’s not fair, I chided myself, knowing I was just being childish. Regan has her own family and career to worry about. It’s not her job to hold your hand through a divorce.

But she had no right to pass judgment on how I was handling myself, either.

“It’s nice that you have an opinion on my life,” I told her caustically. “It’s been what? Two years since I last heard your two cents? Come on, lay it on me, sis.”

Regan’s mouth became a line of anger.

“And whose fault is that?” she demanded. “Mine?”

I snickered but there was no mirth in my laugh.

She has got to be kidding. She can’t even be bothered to pick up a phone.

“Whatever,” I muttered.

“Now it’s my fault that you married that guy barely out of high school, even though mom begged you not to? It’s my fault that he gambled your lives away?”

“We are not talking about what happened between me and Silas!” I yelled, a familiar defensiveness fusing through my spine. “I’m talking about you and how frequently you come around.”

“Maggie, if you’re going to play the victim, then at least get your facts straight. I have always been there for you. It’s you who closes yourself off from everyone.”

I snorted but I didn’t comment, knowing that I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. This also couldn’t be helping my blood pressure.

“You’ve always been like that,” Regan continued, jumping off the chair. “You never ask for help until it’s too late and at that point you’re so angry and look at everyone like they have become your enemy.”

“I shouldn’t have to ask for help!” I retorted. “You’re my family. You’re supposed to just be there!”

Regan’s mouth, a mouth so similar to mine, curled into a smirk not at all like my own.

“To what end, Margaret? How many unanswered texts and Facebook messages are we supposed to send? You know we can see that you’ve read them, right? Should we just show up on your doorstep so you can ignore us then too?”

I gaped at her and she spun toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I demanded, a sudden feeling of remorse overcoming me. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“Of course not!” Regan growled, sliding open the door. “No matter what you think, you stubborn ass, I am still your sister and you are carrying my niece or nephew in your belly. I’m going out for a smoke.”

The door slammed closed, leaving Lexi and me to stare awkwardly at one another but before I could apologize for the display, she spoke.

“Okay, another bad subject,” Lexi said lightly and I realized that she was embarrassed. “I’m zero for two right now.”

“It’s not you,” I replied, flopping back against the pillows. My head was beginning to pound and suddenly I was worried about my blood pressure.

“We always have it out,” I explained. “It’s better it happened now than at the party. We’ll behave now.”

Lexi walked around the counter from the kitchen and made her way toward the sofa where I was sprawled. “I was going to do this after the festivities but since we’re alone now…”

She withdrew an envelope from her purse, setting the bag aside and sat beside me on the sofa. “Luke and I wanted to do something really special for the baby,” she explained.

I smiled at her lovely face, cocking my head to the side.

“You are throwing the baby a party,” I reminded her but she shook her head.

“No,” she replied seriously. “I don’t think you realize how much you are the glue which has held everyone together, Maggie. What your sister said just now, about how you never ask for help until it’s too late—well, I agree with her. I think you’ve suffered in silence a long time now.”

I laughed, wondering what had given her that impression but inside me, I felt a twinge of some emotion I couldn’t explain as her words consumed me.

I’m fine, I wanted to say but something inside me stopped me from saying the words, knowing I’d be lying.

“Anyway,” Lexi continued quickly, handing me the white paper. “We wanted to do something which shows you how much we care about you and we want you to know that we’re here for you, no matter what happens with you and Silas. As obnoxious as he can be – “

She broke off suddenly, her face flushing.

“No offense,” she said quickly and I howled.

“You can’t offend me with the truth,” I replied. “He can be a complete asshole.”

Lexi bit on her lower lip to keep from conceding.

“I’m just saying that Luke and I care about both of you and we are so happy to be a part of the baby’s life.”

I was touched by her words and I felt tears burning behind my lids.

I’ve never really been alone, I realized. I guess I should have opened my eyes a little wider.

“Open it,” she urged quickly, glancing over her shoulder as if she worried we were going to be interrupted.

I could read the eagerness in her face and I tore open the card.

A cashier’s check fell into my lap and I picked it up, even though I knew it was bad form to do that before reading the inscription.

It was for one hundred thousand dollars.

“What the hell?” I gasped, gaping at her. “I can’t take this, Lexi!”

She shook her head.

“It’s not for you,” she explained. “It’s for the baby, care of you.”

“No!” I insisted, a wave of distress sweeping through me. “You don’t understand, Lex, I don’t need – “

“You’re not listening!” she insisted. “This isn’t yours to refuse. It’s for the baby. Buy anything you need. Pay your land taxes or use it for the kid’s education fund. By the time he goes to college, that’s what it will cost anyway.”

“Lex – “

The door opened and Regan sauntered back inside, her eyes glassy.

I realized that she had not been smoking a cigarette.

“We’ll talk about this later,” I told her, stuffing the check back into the envelope before I could explain to her how inappropriate the gift was to me.

She meant well, I knew that but I couldn’t accept that amount of money from Luke, even if it was a drop in the bucket to him.

“Let’s get this party started!” Regan declared, clapping her hands together, our earlier spat obviously forgotten.

But my good mood was overshadowed again by loneliness as I realized that no one really knew me at all.

They see me as this struggling divorcee who can’t pay her bills, I thought, watching as Lexi winked at me covertly.

The truth was, I was richer than most of the members of the billionaire book club.