Chapter 1

At sixteen weeks pregnant, I heard my husband bet that I would never leave him.

Then he signed our separation papers for a laugh.

I was standing outside the VIP room with a box of his favorite pastries when Ethan's voice carried through the door.

"You should've heard Claire that night." He laughed. "'I can't be pregnant and wait for you to come home from another woman every day.'"

My hand froze on the heavy brass door handle. My breath caught in my throat.

Those had been my exact words.

Last month, Ethan had missed the prenatal appointment he swore he would attend because Natalie's apartment had a burst pipe. I sat alone in the hospital for three hours while he helped his childhood sweetheart.

That night, I packed my suitcase.I even had a separation agreement drafted by a lawyer.

But Ethan took the paper from my hands.

He pulled me into his arms while I sobbed against his chest. He placed his warm palm on my stomach.

He promised our family was his priority.

He promised we would move into our new house.

He promised to be a good husband and a good father.

I thought he finally understood my pain.

I believed him.

Now, one month later, he was turning the worst night of our marriage into entertainment.

"So what happened next?" Dean asked.

Ethan chuckled. The sound made my stomach turn.

"I reminded her about the baby," he continued. "That was all it took."

Dean raised his glass."That easy?"

Ethan laughed. "With Claire? It is always that easy."

My fingers tightened around the pastry box until the cardboard bent.

I had thought he remembered my tears because he was afraid of losing me.

He remembered them because he was proud he had made me stay.

Then a woman spoke.

Natalie. Ethan's childhood sweetheart. The woman he had left my prenatal appointment to help.

"Pregnant women get emotional," Natalie smiled. "They say dramatic things when they want attention. "

A few men laughed again.

Then she added, "But I don't think Claire is the one who's scared to sign those papers."

The room erupted.

Ethan set his glass down.

"I brought the papers down to show you." He tapped a folder beside him. "She couldn't even sign them herself."

I recognized the bent corner.

I had folded it back and forth outside the lawyer's office while gathering the courage to go home.

Natalie reached across him and opened it.

Her purse rested on the chair I usually took beside my husband.

"Well?" She pushed the folder closer. "Just for a joke. Dare to sign them, Mr. Brave?"

The room went crazy.

"Do it, man!" Dean cheered.

"Yeah, Claire isn't even here," another friend laughed. "Are you really that scared of your pregnant wife? "

They were clapping and banging on the table.

For one stupid second, I waited for Ethan to stop them.

He could laugh about our fight. He could show off in front of his friends. But surely he would not put his name on the paper I had once cried over.

Ethan looked around the room. Then, he laughed.

"Scared?" Ethan sneered. "Give me the pen."

He reached out and took the silver pen from Natalie's hand.

One of the men hesitated. "Hey Ethan, she is sixteen weeks pregnant. Do not play with that."

Ethan did not look worried at all. He looked perfectly relaxed.

"That is exactly why I said she won't leave."

His eyes were completely clear. He was not drunk.

He took the pen from Natalie and signed.

The room exploded with cheers before he finished the last letter of his name.

I stared through the crack in the door.

My husband had just used our unborn baby as proof that he could humiliate me safely.

Not because he thought our marriage was strong.

Because he thought pregnancy had trapped me.

The pastry box was still warm against my palms. I had spent an hour making them because he had skipped dinner. I had come here to surprise him.

Instead, he had surprised me.

I stepped away from the door before anyone saw me.

There was no reason to make a scene. There was nothing left to ask him.

Outside, the cold air hit my face.

I rested one hand over the slight curve beneath my coat. Then I took out my phone and opened my sister Nora's chat.

Ethan thought this baby made me weak. He thought my pregnancy was a chain to hold me down.

He was wrong.

A month ago, I had packed a suitcase and let Ethan talk me into unpacking it.

This time, I typed before I could talk myself out of anything.

[You said your spare room is always open for me,Does that still count?]

I hit send.