Chapter 1

The day I got into a car crash, Ian Stephens left me, severely injured, and carried away his first love, Imogen Maxwell, who had only suffered a scratch.

I lay in a pool of blood, crying out weakly for help.

Yet he only watched me with cold, unfeeling eyes.

He said, "It's just a little bleeding. You'll be fine.

"Imogen is afraid of pain. I'll come back for you later."

But Ian never came back.

What he never knew was that I had lost my three-month-old unborn baby that very day.

I gave up on him completely.

*****

The second I found out my baby was gone, my whole body shook with agony.

The doctor tried to comfort me with gentle words, a sympathetic look on his face.

"Let her family know as soon as possible. It will help with her physical and mental recovery," the doctor said.

Gemma Conner, my best friend, shot back, "Family? You all know her husband, right? Mr. Stephens, the doctor who abandoned his pregnant wife and hasn't shown up until now.

"What, did he drop dead or something? Why not give me a heads-up so I can celebrate?"

The doctors and nurses looked embarrassed and hurried out of the room.

I lifted a trembling hand to my flat stomach.

Just yesterday, there was a life growing inside me. Sometimes I could feel its powerful, thundering heartbeat. Now, there was nothing left.

Tears streamed down my face, and I sobbed until I couldn't breathe.

Gemma didn't know how to comfort me. She cried too, cursing nonstop under her breath.

"I told you Ian was an ungrateful bastard. All these years you've worked yourself to the bone for him, even carried his child, and this is how he treats you?" Gemma said.

She sounded heartbroken. I loosened my clenched fists, revealing the bloody marks I had left from pinching my own skin.

The red was so bright, just as bright as it had been the day of the crash.

It was evening. I had gone out for a walk to help with my digestion when I ran into Imogen.

She was acting totally crazy, blocking me no matter which way I tried to go. I stared at her, confused.

Before I could even get a word out, a car hit me out of nowhere, knocking me off my feet.

The second the pain hit, I curled up as hard as I could to protect my stomach.

But against the force of the violent crash, it was all useless.

I could only watch as blood pooled beneath me; my belly felt like it was about to burst from the pain.

Imogen pretended to crawl toward me desperately, but I heard every word she said

The second the car came speeding toward us, she whispered, "Go to hell. Only when you and your baby are dead will Ian be completely mine."

This was murder. I pushed through the grief in my heart and called the police.

My baby was only three months old. He never even got to see the world before he was taken from me. She had to pay for this.

One day after I gave my statement to the police, they showed up at my hospital room. With them was Ian.

He walked into the ward impatiently, his face cold as ice.

Ian said, "Are you done with your drama yet? It was just an accident. You barely got a scratch, and you still had the guts to call the cops?

"If we're going by your logic, you two were there together. I have reason to suspect you were the one trying to commit murder."

He spoke every word clearly, as if he were making perfect sense.

I knew this was coming. A coward who could leave his pregnant wife bleeding at the scene of a crash was never going to stand up for me.

"Sir, please mind your attitude toward the patient. We're here to investigate," the officer said.

The officer gave Ian a sharp look, and I managed to shake off some of the sadness, trying to keep my voice level.

I said, "I go for a walk there every single day to help with my digestion, and I've never been in a car accident before.

"Yesterday, Ms. Maxwell kept blocking me again and again. There are security cameras that can back me up, so I have every reason to suspect—"

"Esme, are you done? Imogen only went to see you yesterday to apologize. She was hurt too. She was as white as a sheet from the pain. Are you blind?" Ian cut me off.

He directed all his anger at me, spitting out every word like he was my worst enemy.

The officer frowned, and I quickly grabbed Gemma's wrist to stop her from rushing forward.

There was no point in explaining anything to a man this blind and heartless. He was an idiot.

I hated that I had only seen it then, that I had cost my baby his life because of it.

After the cops escorted Ian out, they kept collecting evidence and didn't leave until the evening.

I stared blankly out the window. The sunset was a little redder than it had been the day before.