He sat near the window with his beer halfway to his mouth, staring at the package in Richard’s hand.
Then his eyes moved toward me.
Something changed in his expression.
Not pity.
Something heavier.
“Rich,” David said quietly.
Richard kept talking.
“Richard.”
This time David’s voice was louder.
The room shifted.
A few men glanced at him.
Richard laughed.
“What? Don’t tell me you’re about to lecture me. It’s a joke. She’s fine. Right, honey?”
He looked at me.
That was what he always did.
He expected me to smile.
To smooth things over.
To reassure everyone that Richard hadn’t crossed a line.
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
David calmly placed his beer on the table.
Then he stood.
“Sit down, man,” Richard said. “Come on. The second half is starting.”
David ignored him.
He crossed the room, gently took the package from Richard’s hand, and placed it on the coffee table.
The laughter disappeared.
“Game’s over for me,” David said. “I’m leaving.”
Richard stared at him.
“Come on. Don’t be dramatic. It was a joke.”
David turned toward him.
His voice remained calm.
“Belinda carried three babies for nine months. Her body went through something enormous bringing your children into this world. If you think her recovery is entertainment, then you’ve become someone I don’t recognize.”
Nobody moved.
David grabbed his coat and walked out.
For several seconds, the only sound was the television commentator.
Then Marcus stood.
He picked up his jacket.
“Yeah. I’m leaving too.”
Two more men followed.
As they passed me, they quietly said things like,
“Sorry, Belinda.”
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Take care.”
I couldn’t answer.
I simply nodded.
Richard tried to laugh it off.
“Wow. Sensitive crowd tonight.”
Nobody laughed.
The remaining guests finished their drinks quickly and left soon afterward.
When the front door finally closed, Richard turned toward me.
“Are you happy now?”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“You couldn’t just laugh it off? You stood there acting like I had done something terrible. Do you know how that made me look?”
I could barely believe what I was hearing.
“You held up my private underwear in front of six men.”
“I made a joke. That’s what I do. Now David gets to play the hero and everyone will be talking about this tomorrow.”
I didn’t answer.
I carried the plates into the kitchen, put them down, walked upstairs, and closed the bedroom door.
Then I sat on the edge of the bed and listened to the triplets breathing through the baby monitor.
One shifted.
Another sighed.
The third remained perfectly quiet.
I didn’t cry.
I simply felt cold.
At seven the next morning, my phone buzzed.
It was David.
“Belinda, I owe you an apology. Not only for last night. For a lot longer than that. Can I send you something? I think you need to see it.”
I stared at the message.
Then typed:
“Send it.”
Screenshots began arriving.
One after another.
They were from a private group chat Richard shared with his friends.
Months of messages.
Richard had been discussing my postpartum problems in detail.