Chapter 3
Series 1 Chapter 3
By the time I got home, Julian’s mother was already sitting in the living room.
Julian was beside her.
So was Chloe.
The three of them had clearly talked before I arrived.
The moment his mother saw me, her expression hardened.
“Elena, you’re pregnant. Why are you suddenly talking about divorce?”
“Chloe used a few of your story ideas. She’s family. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?”
I looked at Julian.
“You agree with that?”
His voice was calm.
“Have the baby first.”
“We can deal with the divorce and the script later.”
Later.
Again.
For five years, my life had always come after something else.
Chloe walked toward me.
“Elena, please don’t be angry.”
“If you really want to start writing again, you can do it after the baby is born.”
She paused.
“And if childcare becomes a problem, I can help raise the baby.”
I looked at her.
Then I laughed.
My husband.
My work.
And now even my child was something she could offer to “help” me with.
“No, thanks.”
Julian frowned.
“Elena—”
I looked at the three of them.
My husband had decided when I should write.
My sister had decided whose name would go on my work.
And now they were calmly discussing who would raise my child so I could keep fitting into the life they had chosen for me.
Julian had been saying the same thing for years.
After the wedding.
After we had a baby.
When things settled down.
Later.
There was always a later.
And somehow, every time I waited, Chloe moved one step further into the life I had once wanted for myself.
I picked up my bag.
“Where are you going?” Julian asked.
“The hospital.”
His expression eased.
“Good. Don’t miss your appointment again.”
I looked at him for a moment.
Even now, he thought he knew exactly what I was going to do.
An hour later, I sat alone with the consent form in front of me.
The doctor gave me time to reconsider.
I had already spent five years reconsidering my own life.
This decision wasn’t about punishing Julian.
And it wasn’t about Chloe.
It was about refusing to let either of them make one more permanent decision for me.
I signed my name.
Later, before I left the hospital, I called my attorney.
“Don’t wait for Julian to sign the divorce papers.”
“Move forward without him.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“And there’s one more thing.”
“The Forgotten. I want the copyright issue handled formally from now on.”
“Understood.”
I ended the call.
Then I muted Julian, his mother, and Chloe.
My phone started vibrating almost immediately.
Julian.
The first call.
I let it ring.
The second.
Ignored that one too.
The third time, I declined it.
A nurse came down the hallway holding a set of papers.
“Elena Vance?”
I looked up.
“Your discharge paperwork.”
At almost the same moment,
a man at the far end of the corridor stopped at the sound of my name.
He turned.
And I saw him.
Dark coat.
Older than I remembered.
More composed.
But I knew those eyes instantly.
Nathaniel Reed.
Nate.
Five years ago,
he had been the first person to read one of my scripts all the way through.
And the last person I ever expected to see again.