Chapter 1
Five years ago, on our wedding anniversary, Isaac Baker left me trapped in a burning car to rescue his first crush, Nova Kelly, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
He had said, "A bit of blood is nothing. You'll be fine."
Five years later, Isaac had risen to fame and was standing on stage, accepting the prestigious Heart of Healing Award.
And I was the one presenting him with the award.
Under the spotlight, I smiled and asked, "Dr. Baker, if your closest loved ones were both in danger at the same time, who would you save first?"
His smile fell apart piece by piece as he caught sight of the scar on my wrist.
*****
In the car accident five years ago, the sound of shattering glass was my sharpest memory of that winter night.
The world flipped upside down, my head slammed into the passenger seat, and the seatbelt cut into my collarbone. The pain was so much that it made my vision go dark.
The first thing to come back was my sense of smell.
The strong smell of gasoline blended with a strange, sweet metallic odor filled my nose. I later realized it was my own blood.
"Nova? Nova, are you okay?" Isaac Baker's voice came from the front seat, urgent and trembling, filled with a panic I'd never heard from him before.
But it wasn't for me. It was for Nova Kelly, the woman in the passenger seat.
I struggled painfully to turn my head.
The windshield was shattered into a spiderweb, letting the cold wind roar inside. Isaac had already unbuckled his seatbelt and was reaching over to unbuckle Nova's.
His hands were trembling, but he handled her with an almost unreal gentleness, as if she were a fragile treasure.
"Isaac, my foot hurts. I can't move," Nova whimpered as she pressed herself closer to him.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll get you out right now." Isaac's voice was as warm and gentle as a spring breeze.
He yanked at the jammed seatbelt buckle beside her, then slipped his arm beneath her knees and, with one strong motion, lifted her up.
"Isaac," I shouted with everything I had, my voice rough and desperate.
He froze for a second, then finally turned to look at me.
I would never forget that look, not in this lifetime.
Through the shattered glass, the swirling dust, and the stench of gasoline, I saw shock, panic, and a flicker of guilt in his eyes. But what lingered there in the end was something I wouldn't truly get until much later.
It was the look of someone making a heartbreaking choice.
"Delilah," he said, his voice urgent and leaving no room for argument, "Hang in there. Nova's hurt. I have to get her to safety first. I'll call for help for you right away."
As he spoke, he was already cradling Nova in his arms, struggling to carry her out through the passenger side.
"No, Isaac. I'm trapped. My stomach hurts so bad." I reached out for him, but my fingers only grasped freezing air.
The pain in my abdomen was intensifying, twisting and tearing at me, and something warm was seeping down my thighs.
I glanced down and saw a huge, dark red patch blooming across my pants.
I was only two months pregnant, and I hadn't told him yet.
"Isaac, the baby..." I protected my stomach with trembling hands, using the last of my strength.
He'd already kicked open the mangled passenger door, and a blast of cold wind and snow rushed inside.
With Nova in his arms and half his body already out the door, he froze for a moment when he heard me.
Then I heard him speak. His voice was so calm that it was like he wasn't making a life-or-death decision for two people. "Delilah, stay strong. I know your leg's stuck. A bit of blood is nothing. You'll be fine.
"But Nova's not like you. She's always been frail, and she's terrified of pain. I can't leave her here by herself."
A bit of blood was fine? I would be fine? Those words stabbed into me like icy spikes, pinning me right where I stood.
He gave me one last glance, if one could call it that.
His gaze barely lingered, carrying a hint of apology, but mostly determination.
Then he held Nova close and disappeared into the blizzard, never once looking back.
The car door rattled, then hung half-shut with a heavy clang.
Suddenly, the world went eerily quiet.
All I could hear and feel was the drip-drip of gasoline, the distant wail of sirens, and the warmth of my blood seeping out beneath me.
I lay there, staring up at the car roof.
It was strange. At a moment like this, I actually found myself thinking if the way he held Nova was exactly the same as how he held me and spun me around when he proposed.
Both times, he held us so tightly, as if he were afraid the person in his arms might fall.
Orange-red flames licked up from under the hood.
They danced and shimmered, blurring in and out of my fading vision.
I suddenly started laughing. As I laughed, something warm trickled from the corner of my eye.
They weren't tears. It was blood.