ly stroking my sister's hair like she's the one wh

up against those white pillows. The rugged, athletic fiancé I knew has been replaced by a man who looks b

I couldn't wait another day to tell Emily that the wedding was a mistake. I was r

"You almost died for us," she wails. "I've been so scared, Julian. Having to w

the IVF. I think of the crushing guilt I felt, believing he'd crashed that car because he was rushing home to me. I think of the child growing inside me, th

e jerks away. Julian looks toward me, his eyes wide and glassy. He doesn't hold m

e Julian's mother standing there with a cardboard tray of coffees. Her

ooks at my stomach with a hopeful, watery smile. "How d

ars, then at Julian. The coward is still staring at the ceiling. The tru

dy, devoid of grief in a way that surpris

s for the back of a plastic chair to steady herself.

r mouth slightly open in a mock expression of shock. She brings a

at the mother with a mournful expression before turning that gaze back to me. Her eyes d

maybe it's probably for the best, isn't it? Everything is so complicated right now with Julian's

rings in my ea

clear it feels like a veil dropped from my eyes. I think of the hormones I pumped into my body. I think o

lt before. It just sits there, a blinding, wh

ed that catches her completely off guard. The sound o

and stumbles back, a red hand

is face contorting in pain as his monitors begin to beep a

ng her toward the side of the bed. She's screeching, her polished nails c

den of being a liar. Let's talk about what you two were doing while I was

s he tries to pull my hand away from her co

s a stranger with a weak chin and a terrified expression. I let go of Chl

for the guilt I carried, thinking I was the reason he was hurt. The third slap is for the farce. For the way the

her of you again, I'll make sure the rest of the

m. I don't stop until I'm in the empty stairwell three flights down. I lean again

t with a billionaire's c

en's clinic on the other side of town. I can't keep Alistair Wol

ith you. Your records show a history of severe endometriosis and a very thin lining. This pregnancy is essentially a

e afternoon driving through the city, hearing the same sentence repea

already setting. I head toward the study to find my father, but I sto

know not to listen to vo

this, Lydia," my f

ly thing that can save us now. He's been asking about Emily for months. He won't care about the fact that the

weakly. "The way his last wife ended up. an

we got from the hospital, we know that Emily needs

Reed. He's a predator who is known for his cruelty. My own f

pull it out and read the words o

a decision, Emily

negotiating my life like a piece of livestock. Then I look at the text. I h

he unknown number. It ring

ct your call,"

, my hand resting on my stomach. "I'll c

end. "A wise choice, Emily. I'll ha

g. "I don't want the hundred m

me

th. "You have to m