Chapter 1
"Nora... where's Celeste?"
For one impossible second, I actually thought he had said my name because he needed me.
My fingers jerked in my pocket, nails nearly piercing the folded lab report.
Positive. I was pregnant.
I had practiced telling him in the elevator. I had practiced smiling through the tears.
But I had never practiced standing beside a hospital bed, watching my husband wake up from a car wreck only to ask for another woman.
Celeste arrived at the hospital shortly after. She looked as though she had rushed over—her hair slightly disheveled, her eyes rimmed with red.
"I heard what happened. I couldn't just wait at home," she said, her tone perfectly polite.
The doctor entered the room, advising that the patient shouldn't be agitated and needed a family member to stay the night.
Naturally, I took a step forward.
"Let Celeste stay." Adrian's voice stopped me dead.
I froze.
"When that car hit me, her voice was the only thing in my head." He looked right at me.
"Nora, you've been a good wife. But this crash made me realize I can't keep wasting my life on a polite mistake."
Celeste stood off to the side, letting out a soft sigh. "Adrian gets terrible anxiety waking up alone. Nora, it really is best if I stay tonight."
My fingers pressed against the lab report in my pocket. The paper I had pulled halfway out was slowly pushed back into the deepest depths of the lining.
"Can I step out for some air?" I asked the doctor.
The ER waiting area. I sat on a row of plastic chairs, a dull cramping starting low in my abdomen.
Cold sweat slid down my spine. I pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling as I dialed Adrian's number. I needed to tell him I wasn't feeling well.
The call connected, but it was answered by a soft, feminine voice.
"Nora?" Celeste had deliberately lowered her voice. "He just fell asleep. Is there something you need me to pass along?"
I hung up. My palms were slick with cold sweat.
The pain flared sharply. I gripped the armrest and struggled to my feet. When I looked down, I saw a blinding smear of dark red blooming against the hem of my light-colored skirt.
"Ma'am? Do you need help? Where is your husband?" A nurse hurried toward me from down the hall.
I didn't answer her. I turned my head to look at the illuminated window of the VIP ward.
I could clearly see Celeste's silhouette at the glass, thoughtfully drawing the curtains closed for Adrian.
My vision began to blur.
That repeatedly folded lab report slipped through the opening of my coat pocket and drifted onto the floor.