Chapter 2

Our marriage did not come from romance. It came from pressure, timing, and silence.

Cain married me fast, too fast for love to grow and too quiet for doubt to speak. His family wanted stability, something neat and respectable, something that would quiet the rumors that had always followed him and Leah like a shadow.

A sudden marriage to me was the easiest way to make people stop talking. I told myself it was enough. A ring on my finger. His name added to mine. A promise, even if it was never spoken, that things would finally change.

They never did.

I fell in love with a man who had already given his heart away, and I spent every day of our marriage pretending not to notice that it had never been mine.

Standing in the reception hall again, surrounded by light and music and smiling faces, I realized marriage had only changed my title, not my place. I was still the one standing on the edge, still the one waiting, still the one hoping for scraps of attention that never came.

The thought made my chest tighten, my breath turning shallow as shame crept up my spine.

I had been so foolish.

A sharp laugh cut through the noise and pulled my attention to the side. I knew that sound. It was too familiar, too precise, carrying a kind of amusement that was never harmless.

I turned my head slightly and saw them gathered near the champagne table, dressed in silk and diamonds, their hair perfect, their posture relaxed, like they owned the space. The same eyes that looked through people instead of at them. The same smiles that sharpened the moment they landed on me.

“Isn’t that her,” one of them said, not bothering to lower her voice. “She looks exactly the same.”

Another laughed, slow and deliberate. “Of course she does. Girls like her don’t really change.”

I felt my jaw tighten, tension spreading into my neck, but I kept my face calm, my expression still, even as my fingers curled slightly at my side.

“She still has that look,” the third one added, tilting her head as she studied me openly. “Like she’s waiting for someone to save her.”

“She never learned her place,” the first said. “Still clinging. Still embarrassing.”

I let out a controlled breath through my nose, my chest burning with the effort to stay steady.

Not today, I told myself. Not here. Not anymore.

A deep ache rolled through my lower abdomen, slow at first, then heavier, enough to make me pause and shift my weight. I pressed my fingers briefly against my stomach, grounding myself, feeling my heartbeat thud beneath my palm.

I reached for my phone and typed quickly, my hands trembling despite my effort to stay calm.

“I’m in pain. It’s getting worse.”

The message was sent instantly. I stared at the screen, my breath caught halfway in my chest.

Seen.

No reply.

I waited anyway, counting my breaths without meaning to, my shoulders tight, my stomach twisting uncomfortably as seconds stretched into something heavier.

Nothing.

I lifted my head and scanned the room, my eyes finding Cain without effort. He stood near the bar, relaxed, his body angled toward Leah as she spoke, her hand resting easily on his arm like it had always belonged there. He laughed softly at something she said, his expression open and warm.

Then he started walking.

Straight toward me.

My body reacted before my mind could stop it. My chest loosened just a little. My shoulders lifted. Hope, small and humiliating, rose in my throat, warm and dangerous. For a brief, fragile moment, I thought he had finally noticed. Thought he had seen my face, the way I was standing too stiffly, the way my hand kept drifting back to my stomach.

I told myself not to hope, but my heart did it anyway.

He got closer. Close enough that I could see the faint crease between his brows, close enough that my breath hitched without my permission.

Then he passed me like I was invincible. He did not even spare a second to look at me.

He walked right by me and reached the bar, ordering a drink without hesitation. I stood there frozen, my hand halfway lifted before I realized what I had been doing. Heat flooded my face, sharp and burning, my chest tightening so fast it hurt to breathe.

He took the glass, turned slightly, and finally looked at me.

“Stop embarrassing me with that long face,” he said coolly. “People are watching.”

The words landed harder than a slap.

My stomach clenched violently, pain shooting low and sharp, enough to make me sway. I swallowed thickly, my throat closing, my ears ringing as laughter and music blurred together around me.

He turned away immediately and handed the drink to Leah, his attention already gone.

Something inside me went very still.

My phone vibrated in my hand, the sudden movement making my fingers jerk.

“Mrs. Cain,” a calm female voice said when I answered. “I’m calling to confirm the documents you requested. The divorce papers are ready. We just need your final confirmation.”

The room felt distant. My breathing slowed. The pain in my stomach was still there, heavy and wrong, but my thoughts were suddenly clear in a way they had never been before.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “Proceed.”

I ended the call and slipped my phone back into my bag. My hands shook as I did, my palms damp, my heart still pounding, but something firm settled in my chest, something that did not waver.

I turned toward the exit.

I should have known it would not be that simple.

They stepped directly into my path, blocking me before I could take another step.

“Oh, leaving already,” one of them said, her smile wide and false. “The night just started.”

“Don’t tell me you’re feeling sick,” another added, her gaze dropping pointedly to my stomach. “Pregnancy suits you. Makes you look delicate.”

“Or desperate,” the third said with a laugh.

I tried to move around them, my patience thinning, my stomach tightening again with a deep, aching pressure.

They shifted together, closing the space deliberately.

“Move,” I said calmly, even as my heart raced and my breath grew heavier.

“Why so rude,” one of them mocked. “We’re just talking. Like friends.”

“Friends don’t slap their husbands’ reputations around,” another said softly.

Then one of them leaned closer, her voice low and sweet, and said, “Don’t worry. If the baby doesn’t keep him, Leah will.”

Something snapped.

My hand moved before my mind caught up, the sound sharp and echoing as my palm connected with her cheek. She stumbled back, eyes wide, hand flying to her face as the room fell into sudden, shocked silence.

I stood there breathing hard, my chest burning, my palm stinging, my stomach aching fiercely, but my spine straight, my feet planted firmly on the floor.

“Say one more word,” I said evenly, my voice low and steady despite the tremor in my body, “and I will forget I’m pregnant.”

For a moment, no one spoke.