Chapter 1
Five years into our marriage, my husband had been carrying a torch for someone else the whole time.
I knew they'd gone to college together, that she was into cats and books and kept her hair short.
But I never knew her name.
Then I found it when I was sorting through some old stuff and saw his graduation photo.
Right next to her radiant smile, her name jumped out: Grace Evans.
Suddenly, everything clicked—why he had insisted on naming our daughter Gracie.
I calmly put the photo back and drove off to pick up Gracie from kindergarten.
I told her, "Come on, we're changing your name.
"And maybe we'll swap out your old dad for a new one."
*****
My hand trembled, and the college graduation photo of my husband, Edward Sterling, frame and all, crashed to the floor, glass shattering everywhere.
"Bella, are you okay? I just heard something smash. Is everything alright?" Edward's voice came through, fraught with worry.
"Stay right there and don't move. I'll be back in a second, okay?" he urged.
He sounded frantic on the other end of the line.
I steadied my voice. "Ed, I'm fine."
After reassuring him over and over that I was really okay, Edward finally stopped insisting on coming straight home.
His gentle, comforting words were still ringing in my ears, but the name of the woman beside him in the photo, Grace Evans, stared back at me, impossible to ignore.
"Alright, Bella, I've got to get back to work. I'll try to come home early today," Edward said.
Just as he was about to hang up, I stopped him.
"Edward, are you hiding something from me?" I asked quietly.
He replied without missing a beat, "No way. We're married. There are no secrets between us."
If I hadn't seen it for myself, maybe I would've believed him.
I finally understood why he always kept Grace's name a secret and why he had been dead set on naming our daughter Gracie.
Thinking back, I realized the clues were always right there in front of me.
I squatted down and carefully picked up the shattered glass pieces, one by one.
By the end, my fingertips were dripping with blood, and a stark crimson trail curled down my calf.
Only then did I realize the sting, pain blooming late and slow.
The hurt swept in, relentless and suffocating, leaving me no place to escape.
Suddenly, my phone started buzzing on the carpet.
I answered, a bit dazed. Then came a voice on the other end. "Is this a relative of Edward Sterling?"
"He's just been in a car accident. The doctors are trying to save him right now. Please come to the hospital as soon as possible," the caller added.
I couldn't even process what I'd just heard. Instinct took over as I grabbed my phone and bolted out the door.
By the time I finally made it to the hospital, disheveled and out of breath, the first thing I got was a slap across the face.
Alina, Edward's mother, glared at me, her eyes full of venom. "If it weren't for you, my son wouldn't have left work in the middle of the day to come home. And he wouldn't be lying here in the hospital, fighting for his life."
Her words hit me like a sledgehammer—silent and crushing.
As more people started to gather around, Alina only got louder and more vicious.
"Everyone, come look. This woman brought my son nothing but bad luck, and she can't even give him a boy," Alina shouted.
Her vicious words, mixed with the judging eyes around me, made my cheeks burn with shame.
I clenched my fists, swallowing down my sobs. "Mom, can I please see Ed?" I managed, my voice nearly breaking.
"See him? Aren't you afraid you'll jinx him even more?" Alina snapped, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Her sharp nails scratched deep, leaving burning red welts across my forehead.
"This is a hospital, not some market. If you want to argue, take it outside," a male doctor cut in, his voice firm.
He stood protectively in front of me, blocking out all those gawking eyes and nasty whispers.
Alina had always been a person who'd only pick on the weak.
"O-Okay," she mumbled, her voice suddenly deflating.
As soon as Alina was held up, I slipped away and rushed to Edward's ward, heart pounding.
The door was left slightly ajar.
"Ed, why do you have to be so foolish? That guy doesn't care if he lives or dies. What's the point of throwing yourself into danger for people like that?" Grace's voice quivered as she spoke.
Tears streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were swollen, making her look fragile.
Edward reached out, tenderly wiping the tears from her eyes, his words gentle and barely audible.
"If I hadn't jumped in, you'd be the one lying in this bed right now," he murmured.
"I could never just stand by and watch you get hurt," he added softly.