WEBVTT - Brook | Betrayal Weekly 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:09.160 I went down to DC thinking that I was making 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:15.120 a parenting plan, and I came back with business cards 0:00:15.120 --> 0:00:21.400 for investigators and victims assistance phone numbers in my luggage, 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:25.200 doubting who I knew for the last five years. 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.760 I'm Andrea Gunning, and this is Betrayal, a show about 0:00:43.760 --> 0:00:46.919 the people we trust the most and the deceptions that 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:53.680 change everything. Betrayal Weekly is officially back for season two. 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:56.160 Whether you've been with us from the beginning or you're 0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:00.400 just tuning in, welcome this season. We're bringing you some 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:05.920 of our most riveting, emotional, and unforgettable stories yet, starting 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.480 with this one. 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:17.360 So I had been married for eleven years. It was 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:21.000 very shocking to me what little independence I had so 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:26.319 easily fallen into. And I didn't want to be like that. 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:30.199 That's Brook Fisk. She's an ICU nurse from upstate New York. 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:34.280 When she was thirty two, she divorced her first husband 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:35.559 and started over. 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:40.160 The first couple of months were scary and lonely. You know. 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:42.399 I would come home from work and the house would 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:44.400 be empty because the kids would be at their dads 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.360 and it would be quiet, and I would sit down 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.320 in the kitchen and look around and not know what 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:51.360 to do with myself. 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:55.920 Brooke was a newly single mother of two, sharing custody 0:01:55.960 --> 0:02:00.520 with her ex. This transition made her painfully aware of 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:04.160 how much she sacrificed in her marriage. She wanted to 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:06.280 rebuild a life where she was in control. 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:12.600 So when I got divorced, really my focus for that 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:17.560 first year was to become independent and maintain my independence, 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:19.960 and I really thrived at that. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:24.280 She bought a small house and fixed it up on 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:24.680 her own. 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:29.120 I would watch YouTube videos on how to fix things 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:33.160 and how to maintain things, and it was very empowering 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:34.960 figuring out how to do that stuff. 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:39.760 When she started dating again, she was careful her kids 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:42.440 had already been through enough change. 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:45.760 I was on dating apps and I would meet people 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.560 and go on dates and have a lot of fun 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.079 with that. But whenever it got to the point of 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:56.960 somebody wanting to get serious, I think that it would 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.359 scare me and I would back right off. 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:04.040 She didn't want a boyfriend, and she definitely didn't want 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:07.160 to get married again. If she was looking for anything, 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:10.120 it was just someone to go on dates with. Her 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:12.960 life was busy enough with her two kids and a 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:14.560 demanding job in the ICU. 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:22.640 I worked nights and it was an incredible experience. I 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:27.600 loved working in the ICU. I loved being able to 0:03:27.960 --> 0:03:29.919 really impact people's lives. 0:03:30.960 --> 0:03:33.040 That's where she met a medical resident. 0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:38.080 So his full name was Secunder am Ron, but I 0:03:38.120 --> 0:03:40.560 called him Sick. A lot of his friends called him Sick. 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.920 One day, she was called into a room with Sick 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:45.240 and another doctor. 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:50.040 They were talking about the patient's heart rate and he said, well, 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:54.440 his heart rates up now, it must be because this 0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:55.800 nurse is in his room. 0:03:56.840 --> 0:04:00.240 He was talking about Brooke. He shot Brooke a small le. 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:05.960 Which was funny and flirtatious and maybe a little inappropriate 0:04:06.000 --> 0:04:09.600 at the time, but yeah, that was the first time 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:10.680 I remember meeting him. 0:04:12.800 --> 0:04:15.080 A few weeks later, Brooke was working the night shift 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:17.640 with Sick when he asked her to help with the patient, 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.560 and once the patient fell asleep, Brooke and Sick got 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:22.120 to chatting. 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:28.200 At the end of our conversation, he asked me if 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:31.040 I would like to go out with him, and I 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:37.080 said that I don't date doctors. He said ever, and 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.800 I said, no, I don't date doctors. I have a 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:44.159 rule against it. And he said, well, let me know 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:47.680 if you change your mind. And after he left the room, 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:52.960 the patient, who I thought was sleeping, opened her eyes 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:55.160 and she pointed at me. She had a trike so 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:58.520 she couldn't talk, but she mouthed the words that man 0:04:58.600 --> 0:05:01.560 is for you. And I laughed and I said, no, 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:04.680 he's not, and she said, yes he is. 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:10.400 Brooke didn't like the stereotype about doctors and nurses hooking. 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:12.720 Up, you know, the nurse and the doctors sneak off 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:17.599 into a supply closet, because that's what's depicted on Gray's anatomy. 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:22.400 That's why she had the rule no dating doctors. But 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.680 after a few weeks of flirtation, he won her over. 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:29.440 She took his number and decided that just this once, 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:34.240 she could break her rule. They started with an ice 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.839 cream date, then long walks and dinners at his apartment. 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:43.120 We really developed kind of a friendship first kind of relationship, 0:05:43.240 --> 0:05:46.680 so we would spend a lot of time watching movies, 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:51.679 going to movies. I taught him how to cook rice 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:56.440 American style. I don't think either of us realized at 0:05:56.480 --> 0:05:59.400 the time how much closer we were getting while we 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:07.120 were doing those casual things. So that fall we went 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:12.240 out a couple of times and we started talking about, 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:16.279 you know, where he came from, what my background was, 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:22.120 and I knew that he had come for residency from Pakistan. 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:25.880 He came from a family of doctors. In fact, his 0:06:25.960 --> 0:06:29.719 dad had owned a hospital in Pakistan. Like his older brother, 0:06:29.960 --> 0:06:33.280 Sick wanted to stay in the US and practice medicine here. 0:06:34.000 --> 0:06:38.799 Where he grew up. Men and women didn't do public 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:43.040 displays of affection. And I remember the first time that 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:46.359 he held my hand in public. He was so awkward 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:51.400 about it, and I was like, what are you doing? 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:54.840 Are you holding my hand in public? You know, kind 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.760 of joking with him, and he was like, yeah, I am, 0:06:58.160 --> 0:06:59.840 but he was so nervous about it. 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.960 There was a real connection between them, but that didn't 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.200 change Brooke's feelings about commitment. 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:10.000 I was honest with him that I really wasn't looking 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:14.240 for any kind of a relationship. That I have kids 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.680 at home and they're my first priority. He knew that 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:20.200 I would only go out with him when my kids 0:07:20.240 --> 0:07:23.960 were with their dad, and he was accepting of that. 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:28.240 He also said that he wasn't looking to get into 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:30.200 a relationship or get married either. 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:35.680 Regardless of what he said, Brooke could tell he was trying. 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:41.360 He would always pay attention and notice details. He would 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:45.480 notice how I took my coffee and make an effort 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:49.480 to prepare it for me that way. He knew which 0:07:49.720 --> 0:07:55.040 ice cream flavors I liked, at which dessert restaurants. He 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:59.200 was logical and thoughtful and funny and caring. 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:03.560 After six months of dating, they realized that what was 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.320 happening here was more than just a casual fling. 0:08:07.520 --> 0:08:13.800 It was probably late the next spring that he looked 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:18.120 at me and he said, do you consider me your boyfriend? 0:08:20.080 --> 0:08:26.320 And I hadn't even thought about it, and I said, well, yeah, 0:08:26.360 --> 0:08:28.640 I guess I do. Is that okay? 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:35.319 It was definitely okay with him. Once they became official, 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:37.000 they kept things quiet at work. 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:43.320 A lot of our coworkers knew that we were together, 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:45.920 but it was just kind of a thing that nobody 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.600 really talked about. Occasionally someone would say, oh, I saw 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:53.880 your boyfriend, but I would say, oh, do you mean 0:08:53.960 --> 0:08:55.360 doctor Imron. 0:08:55.280 --> 0:09:01.080 You know, outside the hospital. They built a rhythm. When 0:09:01.080 --> 0:09:03.839 Brooks kids were with their dad, she and Sick planned 0:09:03.920 --> 0:09:06.160 romantic dinners and weekend getaways. 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:11.040 We loved to go on trips. What we really liked 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:16.000 to do is go to vacation spots and find the 0:09:16.040 --> 0:09:17.760 foods that they were famous for. 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:22.560 It started with an impromptu road trip to Chicago. Sick 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:25.400 drove with Brooke asleep in the passenger seat. 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.400 And I remember him waking me up as we were 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:33.599 kind of driving into Chicago. It was nighttime and Chicago 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:37.680 was let up. A lot of the buildings had purple 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:41.080 lights on them for some reason. And he woke me 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:44.120 up and he said, look, I called Chicago and had 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:47.480 them light the buildings up purple for you, because he 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:48.679 knew that I liked purple. 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:53.160 That weekend, they didn't have a plan. They just explored 0:09:53.200 --> 0:09:54.280 their way through the city. 0:09:55.360 --> 0:10:00.960 We found this really awesome restaurant that had Kastani food 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:03.920 and they were open all night. We went there at 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:06.880 like one o'clock in the morning, in this hole in 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:11.240 the wall restaurant, and it was the most amazing food. 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:14.600 Next they went to New Orleans. 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:22.160 Even though I donate me, we ate alligator, it was 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:22.720 pretty good. 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:28.760 Back home in New York, they weren't living together, but 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:31.959 they were in each other's lives in real, tangible ways. 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:35.800 About two years into dating, Sick came to her with 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:36.600 a proposition. 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.760 He moved out of his apartment and into a townhouse, 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:44.720 and he had said at one point that he thought 0:10:44.760 --> 0:10:47.120 that I would come and live with him, and I said, 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:50.880 I can't come live with you. I have kids, and 0:10:50.920 --> 0:10:52.760 he said, well, you can just stay here when your 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:56.400 kids aren't home, and I said that's fine. And at 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.720 that point we had a conversation about how we really 0:11:01.040 --> 0:11:04.720 liked the life we had together, and we liked being 0:11:04.800 --> 0:11:09.120 together when we could be together, but that neither of 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:14.079 us were really passionate about wanting to get married. 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:18.400 Still, Brooke had been careful about boundaries from the very beginning, 0:11:18.960 --> 0:11:20.839 especially when it came to her kids. 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:25.640 For me, there was a lot of hesitancy about introducing 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.880 someone to my kids, so there was a little bit 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.320 of integration, but not a lot. We all went to 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:36.839 the movies together a couple of times, and he came 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:39.400 over for dinner a couple of times. 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:43.200 Her kids really took to sick and enjoyed having him around. 0:11:44.000 --> 0:11:46.880 After that, he wanted Brooke to meet his family. 0:11:47.640 --> 0:11:50.360 His mom came to town and he asked me if 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:56.000 I would meet her, and she invited me for lunch 0:11:56.120 --> 0:11:58.760 and tea. So I went over and we had a 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:05.720 really nice afternoon together and we ended up talking about love. 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.640 Sick was at work, so it was just Broken his mom, 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:12.280 and there was clearly a wink and a nod to 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:16.760 the conversation because Sick hadn't been completely honest with his mom. 0:12:17.679 --> 0:12:21.360 Sick had told her that I was his friend. But 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:26.760 she's a mom and she's not dumb, so I think 0:12:26.840 --> 0:12:32.000 she knew what was going on. She asked me what 0:12:32.040 --> 0:12:34.440 I thought about arranged marriage and if I thought it 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:39.240 was good or if I thought love marriages were better, 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.200 And we had a nice conversation about love, and she 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:49.520 told me about meeting six Dad and their marriage. I 0:12:49.760 --> 0:12:54.040 didn't get any sense of disapproval from her at all. 0:12:54.760 --> 0:12:56.240 She was very kind to me. 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:00.720 The meeting went so well. Broken Six moms started sending 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.360 letters and care packages back and forth, which made Sick 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:05.599 a little nervous. 0:13:06.080 --> 0:13:09.120 I remember him being a little bit like, she's going 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:10.680 to know, She's going to know, and I was like, 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:12.800 I think she already knows. 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:17.800 Brooke didn't see the big deal, but for Sick, his 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:22.559 family expectations mattered, especially when he came to marriage. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:28.120 He talked about feeling like there was an expectation on 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:33.560 him to marry a Pakistani girl. And his family wouldn't 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:38.960 accept him marrying a white girl. And I asked him, well, 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:42.120 what if you just don't get married, would that be okay? 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:45.840 Would your family accept that? And he said I think so. 0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:50.800 And I said, well, okay, let's do that. Then let's 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:51.840 just not get married. 0:13:53.960 --> 0:13:58.000 Their agreement worked for almost four years, but when six 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:03.360 residency ended, there were relationship hit across roads. He started 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.079 applying to Fellowship programs across the country. 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:10.240 We actually went to a couple of different places. We 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.880 took a little road trip around for him to look 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:15.000 at them and interview. 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:18.880 The program he really wanted to go to was in DC, 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:23.080 a six hour drive from upstate New York. Brooke made 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:26.600 it clear that relocating wasn't an option for her family. 0:14:27.560 --> 0:14:31.920 I don't think that trying to have a long distance 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:36.200 relationship is a good idea, especially given that I have 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:41.240 kids and he's going to be living states away. And 0:14:41.280 --> 0:14:44.600 he acknowledged that, and we had a couple of conversations 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:50.280 about it, but ultimately he decided that it was important 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:53.040 for him to go to this program. It was a 0:14:53.080 --> 0:14:55.560 program that his brother had done, so it was kind 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:56.760 of a family legacy. 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:02.760 It was bittersweet, but Brooks supported sick if he wanted 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.040 to start his career in America. This really was for 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:06.520 the best. 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:13.040 I was very happy for him, congratulated him. I bought 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:18.960 him a cake and helped him start looking for places 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:22.920 to buy down there, and helped him paint it and 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:27.160 helped him pick out furniture and decorate it. And then, 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:30.360 you know, we kind of said goodbye after that, But 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:35.520 of course goodbye wasn't really goodbye, as often happens in 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:37.040 these relationships. 0:15:37.840 --> 0:15:41.120 They knew they had an expiration date, but they were 0:15:41.160 --> 0:15:42.720 having a hard time letting go. 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:49.080 I remember walking into the airport with tears streaming down 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:54.400 my face, bawling after saying goodbye to him, and Tshent 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:56.560 came up to me and she said, are you okay? 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:00.720 And I said, yeah, I just said goodbye to my boyfriend. 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.520 But I'm sure she thought something was horribly wrong, just 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:06.640 from the amount that I was crying. We said a 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:07.880 lot of good byes that year. 0:16:09.320 --> 0:16:12.880 This began a new era of their relationship, one where 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:16.080 they kept finding their way back to each other weekend 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:16.720 by weekend. 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:22.360 We weren't in a relationship, we were not together, but 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:25.240 what we would end up doing is anytime either one 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:30.960 of us had like a long weekend free, or if 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:33.360 it was one of our birthdays, we would take a 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:34.360 little trip together. 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:38.560 For her thirty seventh birthday, Sick planned a trip to 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:39.479 the Poconots. 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:45.280 We stayed at a bed and breakfast up in the mountains, fireplace, 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:55.280 woody romantic get away, candle at dinners and fireside chit 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:57.120 chat every night. You know. 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.200 Brooke didn't know it at the time, but what happened 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:06.959 that weekend would affect the rest of her life. At 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.840 the end of their trip, they said another tearful goodbye. 0:17:10.560 --> 0:17:13.760 It was a great time, But that whole weekend, Sick 0:17:13.840 --> 0:17:16.680 had been keeping a secret. He just couldn't bring himself 0:17:16.720 --> 0:17:17.840 to tell her in person. 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:22.960 He called me a couple of days later, and he 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.080 said that he wanted to talk to me, and he 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:28.960 wanted to let me know that he had talked to 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:34.480 his mom and that he had agreed to let his 0:17:34.560 --> 0:18:03.800 mom arrange him a marriage. 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:07.800 After a romantic getaway for Brooke's birthday, Sick called her 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:12.719 with surprising news he was moving forward with an arranged marriage. 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:17.879 I was surprised because he had not been interested in 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:22.080 an arranged marriage and hadn't expressed any interest in it. 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:26.280 She always thought Sick wanted a love marriage. And when 0:18:26.280 --> 0:18:29.399 he broke the news, he didn't even seem excited about 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:30.320 the idea. 0:18:30.840 --> 0:18:35.120 He seemed resigned to it. He seemed sad about it. 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:40.360 He talked about it like he was going to get 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.320 a girl who wanted to marry a doctor. 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.199 Brooke tried to hide it, but she was hurt. 0:18:46.880 --> 0:18:51.159 I felt sad, but I think that part of me 0:18:51.240 --> 0:18:54.040 had been expecting it because we'd basically been trying to 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.960 say goodbye for a year. So even though part of 0:18:58.000 --> 0:19:01.800 me felt like he was still mine, he really wasn't 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:02.720 mine anymore. 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:08.160 If he was serious about pursuing this, that meant their 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:09.720 relationship had to be over. 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:14.880 I told him that if that was happening, then we 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:18.560 really needed to stop talking to each other, because it 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:24.359 wasn't fair to another woman to think that she was 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:27.760 getting a husband and have her husband over here in 0:19:27.800 --> 0:19:30.879 the United States talking to me and going on trips 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:36.359 with me. That's just not fair. And he agreed, And 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.480 for all the times we had tried to say goodbye 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:45.480 over the past year, I think that finally seemed to 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:47.600 be the thing that let us stop talking to each other. 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:56.480 After that, conversation. I think we went the longest period 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:02.000 we had ever gone without talking. It was over two weeks. 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:10.320 Neither of us reached out, and then I realized my 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:15.760 period was late, so I took a pregnancy test and 0:20:15.920 --> 0:20:16.720 it was positive. 0:20:17.600 --> 0:20:20.600 Brooke knew it happened during their Pocono's trip. 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:25.639 The moment I realized I was pregnant, I started thinking 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:29.919 about the baby and who he was going to be. 0:20:31.080 --> 0:20:34.800 I really just felt like that was my baby. From 0:20:34.840 --> 0:20:38.120 the minute I knew I was pregnant, it felt like. 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:40.679 A gift from the universe. She knew this would be 0:20:40.720 --> 0:20:44.720 her last baby, and it just felt right. But now 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:46.920 she faced another decision. 0:20:48.080 --> 0:20:53.080 I wasn't sure if I should even tell him. Part 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:57.479 of me thought, if I don't tell him, he'll never know, 0:20:58.640 --> 0:21:02.159 and I just have the baby and go on with 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:05.399 my life and he can go on with his life. 0:21:06.359 --> 0:21:09.040 On the other hand, it felt wrong to keep this 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:09.520 from him. 0:21:10.320 --> 0:21:13.800 Is it fair of me to not give him that 0:21:14.000 --> 0:21:18.000 choice and that opportunity to take part in his child's life. 0:21:18.680 --> 0:21:21.840 I knew how much I liked being a parent, and 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:25.280 I wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to be in 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:30.119 my child's life. So I decided to tell him because 0:21:30.119 --> 0:21:31.960 I thought that it was the right thing to do. 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:36.320 She told him over the phone. He was quiet for 0:21:36.359 --> 0:21:38.800 a few seconds, and then. 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:42.400 His immediate reaction was to ask me to have an abortion. 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:48.480 I told him I couldn't and he didn't have to 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:53.000 be involved. He didn't have to financially support the baby, 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:55.560 he didn't have to have anything to do with the baby. 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:00.240 I was already a single mom. I loved having kids. 0:22:00.400 --> 0:22:04.199 I'm good at raising kids. If he doesn't want to 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:05.840 have the baby, that's fine. 0:22:06.280 --> 0:22:08.639 She went to the doctor and learned the baby was 0:22:08.720 --> 0:22:12.480 perfectly healthy. It was a little boy. 0:22:12.640 --> 0:22:16.840 I was already picking out names before I was even 0:22:17.040 --> 0:22:21.920 showing because I already knew who he was. I decided 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:26.720 to name him Makai and call him Kai for short. 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:33.359 But Sick wasn't on the same page. After she told him, 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:34.879 he started spiraling. 0:22:37.320 --> 0:22:44.280 That started months of phone calls and text messages, begging 0:22:44.320 --> 0:22:47.159 and pleading with me to have an abortion, and telling 0:22:47.240 --> 0:22:51.520 me that I was ruining his life, that this was 0:22:51.600 --> 0:22:55.720 going to cast shame on his family in Pakistan, that 0:22:56.359 --> 0:22:59.760 his mother was going to be ridiculed and he was 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:04.160 going to be an outcast, and that I was causing 0:23:04.240 --> 0:23:06.919 him mental anguish. 0:23:08.080 --> 0:23:11.480 She understood that having a baby outside of marriage wasn't 0:23:11.520 --> 0:23:16.160 part of his plan, but plan or not, this was happening. 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:21.440 All of that text message and the phone calls about 0:23:21.480 --> 0:23:23.800 your ruining my life, You're ruining my mom's life. That 0:23:23.880 --> 0:23:24.920 all made me pretty mad. 0:23:26.000 --> 0:23:29.080 She kept waiting for Sick to come around, but every 0:23:29.119 --> 0:23:32.120 time she talked to him, he tried a new tactic. 0:23:32.960 --> 0:23:35.719 One day, I was sitting on my bed and I 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:38.920 was on the phone with Sick, and he said that 0:23:40.040 --> 0:23:42.840 he had talked to a friend of his who was 0:23:42.880 --> 0:23:46.760 an OPIQI N and that his friend had told him 0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:55.320 that I could take mesaprostal and that it would abort 0:23:55.359 --> 0:23:57.880 the baby, and that I could do it right there 0:23:57.880 --> 0:24:02.520 at sex house and it all happened very easily, and 0:24:02.560 --> 0:24:05.080 I wouldn't even need to go to the hospital or anything. 0:24:05.440 --> 0:24:07.720 And said could be there with me the whole time, 0:24:09.119 --> 0:24:11.840 and asked if I would be willing to do that, 0:24:11.920 --> 0:24:13.639 and I said absolutely not. 0:24:14.240 --> 0:24:14.320 No. 0:24:16.520 --> 0:24:19.320 He said that he wasn't trying to pressure me, but 0:24:19.440 --> 0:24:21.880 that we were running out of time because we could 0:24:21.920 --> 0:24:26.080 only do this in the first trimester, and my first 0:24:26.119 --> 0:24:30.280 trimester had been coming to an end. So he wanted 0:24:30.320 --> 0:24:33.919 me to do this, and I said now. 0:24:36.400 --> 0:24:40.200 When she started the second trimester, the conversation was over. 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:45.320 She'd made her choice. The window for second guessing had closed. 0:24:46.200 --> 0:24:49.119 Now that it was official, Brooke shared the news with 0:24:49.160 --> 0:24:50.159 her two kids. 0:24:51.040 --> 0:24:54.639 We had a little gender reveal cake for the baby. 0:24:55.800 --> 0:24:59.520 We went shopping and bottom a bunch of clothes and 0:24:59.760 --> 0:25:01.040 some stuff for his croup. 0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:04.359 She didn't hear from sick for a few weeks, but 0:25:04.400 --> 0:25:07.200 when he did reach out again, he'd had a change 0:25:07.200 --> 0:25:07.520 of heart. 0:25:08.400 --> 0:25:12.640 Eventually, he starts talking about setting up a bank account 0:25:12.800 --> 0:25:17.520 for me and the baby, and then he asks me 0:25:17.920 --> 0:25:23.320 if I'll come down to see him so that we 0:25:23.359 --> 0:25:26.240 could figure out a parenting plan and figure out a 0:25:26.240 --> 0:25:30.000 way that we could have this baby together and him 0:25:30.680 --> 0:25:33.399 still be in d C and maybe in New York, 0:25:34.000 --> 0:25:35.560 but still have this baby together. 0:25:36.560 --> 0:25:40.080 Finally, the sick she knew was back. She made plans 0:25:40.119 --> 0:25:42.560 to drive down to d C right after her four 0:25:42.600 --> 0:25:43.920 month ulder sound appointment. 0:25:44.920 --> 0:25:47.000 The morning that I left, I went to the doctor, 0:25:47.600 --> 0:25:52.359 We did a fetal heart rate, everything looked good, and 0:25:52.720 --> 0:25:56.080 I left and set off to go down to d 0:25:56.280 --> 0:25:59.680 C to see him. I drove the whole way down there, 0:25:59.720 --> 0:26:03.959 he texting me reminders to get up and walk so 0:26:04.000 --> 0:26:07.080 I don't get a blood clot, reminding me to drink water, 0:26:07.480 --> 0:26:09.280 asking me how my drive is going. 0:26:10.200 --> 0:26:12.879 When she got to Sick's house, he gave her a 0:26:12.960 --> 0:26:13.560 long hug. 0:26:14.680 --> 0:26:21.359 Everything seemed back to normal, except for one thing. He 0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:25.120 didn't say anything about my belly. He didn't try to 0:26:25.119 --> 0:26:26.720