Chapter 2

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was the stark white ceiling of a hospital room.

I tried to sit up, but I nearly tumbled right off the bed and startled the young nurse standing nearby.

When the doctor saw I was awake, he let out a heavy sigh and told me I needed to rest.

"You lost the baby," he said quietly. "The fact that you're alive right now is honestly a miracle. But you were brought in too late—there's a good chance you won't be able to get pregnant again."

His words hit me hard, and my hand clenched around the blanket, released, then clenched again even tighter.

After he left, I curled up under the covers and scrolled through my chat history with Ryan over and over again.

Only now did I finally see it clearly.

From the moment we got together until now, I was always the one reaching out first. Most of the time, his replies were just some lazy emoji—nothing more.

Ryan's pinned posts on Instagram used to be just one photo, but now there were two. Both were pictures of him with Sophie—one from her engagement, one from her wedding.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I broke down sobbing, and the tears streaming down my face felt like a cruel joke mocking the eight years we'd spent together.

When I finally calmed down enough to function, I called Kennedy Thompson, the school administrator.

Sophie and I both taught at the same school, and Kennedy had also attended her wedding.

The ceremony was still going on when I called, so Kennedy sounded surprised to hear from me.

He asked, "Emma? You didn't come to the wedding? I thought I saw Ryan here as one of the groomsmen?"

Kennedy was an old friend of my father's—he'd watched me grow up and knew Ryan and I had been together for years.

Every part of my body ached, and my voice came out weak when I spoke, "Kennedy, I heard the school's looking for volunteers for the rural teaching program. I want to go, but please don't tell Ryan. I don't want anyone to know."

Kennedy was quiet for a few seconds, but he didn't ask why I didn't want Ryan to know. Instead, he just gave me his word.

"Alright, I promise. That boy skipped his own wedding to you, but he's all worked up over someone else's wedding. He needs to learn his lesson."

I thanked Kennedy and hung up, and I couldn't help the bitter laugh that escaped me.

It turned out everyone could see how cold Ryan had been to me—everyone except me. I'd been lying to myself for years.

Ryan finally showed up at the hospital the day after the wedding.

The second he pushed open the door, I caught the smell of alcohol still clinging to him, and it made my stomach turn.

I'd never seen Ryan look this much of a mess before. His shirt was wrinkled and stained with alcohol that hadn't even dried yet.

When he saw how pale I looked, he pressed his lips together and couldn't meet my eyes.

Ryan walked over to my bed and set down the thermos he'd brought, then reached for my hand. I pulled away before he could touch me.

An awkward expression crossed his face, and he said in a low voice, "Emma, I swear I didn't mean to ignore your calls. At the wedding yesterday, they made me play truth or dare, and when I lost, they took my phone away."

He was afraid I wouldn't believe him, so he said he'd show me the videos other people took yesterday.

I didn't take the phone he held out to me. I just looked at him coldly and said nothing.

Before all this, I would've definitely fought with Ryan over something like this, and we would've ended up in one of those silent standoffs that lasted for days.

But now I didn't even feel angry. I just wanted him gone. "I trust you," I said. "You don't need to show me."

Ryan looked relieved, like a weight had just lifted off his shoulders. He opened the thermal container and tried to butter me up. "I know you're mad at me, but look—I woke up early to make you seafood soup. Come on, try some."

The soup was still steaming, and it smelled amazing, but there were only a few tiny pieces of seafood floating in it.

Ryan must've caught my confused look because he gave this awkward laugh and said, "The doctor told me you can't eat too much seafood right now, so I only put in a little bit."

He looked like he was about to say something else, but his phone rang and cut him off.

After he answered, he told me that the police department had an emergency assignment and that he'd come see me again after he finished it.

I didn't respond. I just stared down at my phone in silence.

Sophie had posted a new Instagram story, and she'd tagged me in it too. She clearly wanted to make sure I saw it.

She posted: [Exhausted from yesterday, but Ryan made me seafood soup today.]

The photo showed the same thermos container, but this time it was loaded with an impressive spread of seafood.

I wasn't surprised. I'd already guessed as much.

That bowl of seafood soup sat untouched on my nightstand until it went cold.

I'm allergic to seafood, but Ryan never seemed to care about that. His attention was always focused on Sophia.

A nurse came by for rounds and spotted the seafood soup on my nightstand. Her eyes lit up with envy. "Ms. Brooks, your husband treats you so well."

She glanced at the time and leaned in closer, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret.

"Ms. Brooks, I shouldn't tell you this, but your husband was just here begging our head doctor for a herbal remedy prescription. He knows your health hasn't been good.

"And the second he got that prescription, he rushed off to the herbal shop to have the medicine prepared. He's definitely planning to surprise you."

I could only manage a bitter smile. I'd been biting my lip so hard it was raw, and all I could see was Ryan's hurried departure from earlier.

So this was the "work" he'd mentioned.