He went to a clinic in Downtown and had a vasectomy.
At the time, he convinced himself it was love. That he was protecting her. That he couldn’t bear to see her suffer again.
The doctor came in, congratulated them warmly, then left after a quick check. Rachel smiled at Ethan, the same smile that had once made him fall in love with her.
“Look… he has your eyes,” she said gently, brushing the baby’s cheek.
Ethan’s throat tightened. “Yeah… he’s beautiful,” he replied, his voice barely steady.
In eight years together, he had never once questioned Rachel. She wasn’t someone who would betray him. She was the woman who prayed for a child, who cried through every loss, who never gave up hope.
None of it made sense. Unless…
His thoughts spiraled. Maybe something had gone wrong. Maybe the procedure failed. Maybe miracles existed.
But then he remembered the follow-up. The clinic. The doctor’s voice.
“Everything went perfectly. You have zero sperm count. You are completely sterile.”
Zero.
