He Thought I Was Barren

For twenty years, my husband and I lived the perfect, childfree life.

Until the afternoon my doctor confirmed I had entered menopause, and he slid a photograph of a teenage boy across our marble kitchen island.

"We don't have kids," Simon said, his tone meticulously casual, like he was suggesting a new restaurant for dinner. "What if we adopt?"

I picked up the glossy print. The boy staring back at me had Simon's exact jawline, the same arrogant tilt to his hazel eyes. It was like looking at a ghost of the man I had married.