Chapter 1

When my daughter Abby was struggling to breathe from her allergy attack, my husband Nathan Goodwin didn't even blink—he ran straight to the hospital to look after Olivia Lane, his old flame, who just had a cold.

The sneakers he kicked on in his rush were the same ones I'd scrubbed clean the night before.

I couldn't believe that Nathan, who used to swear I was his whole world, would abandon me at a moment like this.

I confronted him, seething with anger, but he planted his feet like I was the one in the wrong.

"If you'd just breastfed Abby when she was born, she wouldn't be so weak now," he shot back.

I stared at the vein pounding in his temple, and suddenly a wave of exhaustion crashed over me.

*****

I wrapped Abby up in her blanket and dashed to the hospital, barely slowing down as I got her checked in at the ER.

Jessica Williams had been our go-to doctor for a while. She frowned at Abby's rash and said, "Why didn't you give her the medicine? Good thing you got here in time—otherwise, she could've ended up with permanent complications."

I listened silently to Jessica's scolding. When Abby finally finished her medicine and drifted off to sleep, I slowly started to relax.

Suddenly, my vision blurred and exhaustion washed over me. I used the wall for support and collapsed into a chair, finally able to catch my breath.

Jessica shot me a teasing grin. "I get that you and Nathan are head over heels for each other, but now that you've got a baby, you probably can't go all out the way you used to."

I blinked at her in confusion.

"Yesterday, while I was on shift, I caught Nathan grabbing a ton of condoms," she explained. "Looks like you two are still on your honeymoon. Guess last night was fun, huh?"

"I'm honestly jealous—you've got a husband who adores you and the sweetest little girl." Jessica gave me an exaggerated wink, her eyes overflowing with envy.

I froze. Since Abby was born, Nathan and I hadn't slept together once in six months—and Abby had been crying because of the allergy attack since last night.

I couldn't comfort her on my own, so I called Nathan. But he impatiently told me he was busy rushing to meet a project deadline and said I was making a fuss.

Looking back now, he was probably busy rushing to meet Olivia instead.

A bitter wave rolled through me, and my heart felt like someone had carved out a hole inside.

After Jessica finished writing the prescription, I thanked her and left, carrying Abby in my arms, feeling completely numb.

It had been sunny when I arrived, but now the sky was pouring down rain.

With the wind howling and rain pelting down, I struggled to hold Abby in one arm and the umbrella in the other as I made my way home.

Not a single drop of rain touched me, but I was freezing—an icy chill seeped from deep inside, threatening to turn my whole body to ice.

Shivering, I stumbled through the front door—just in time for a glass to smash against the wall right next to my ear.

Seeing Abby in my arms, Nathan was furious. "Abby's fragile, and it's pouring rain outside—why did you take her out?

"Why are you so petty? Why take your anger out on Abby just because we had a fight? Do you even remember you're her mom?"

I met his eyes and replied softly, "I just took Abby to the hospital. She needed treatment and some medicine."

Nathan froze, embarrassment flickering across his face before he started deflecting, mumbling, "Didn't we still have some allergy meds at home?"

"We ran out three days ago. You just didn't bother to notice," I said quietly, my tone cool.

Nathan was mad again. "Cut it out with the passive-aggressive attitude.

"So what if I forgot Abby's medicine?

"I'm drowning in work every damn day—missing a tiny detail isn't the end of the world.

"You think everyone gets to live the easy life as a housewife like you?"

With that, he slammed the door and stormed off to his study.

I watched him go, exhaustion washing over me as I closed my eyes, trying to hide the tears welling up.

Nathan had probably forgotten that it was him who begged me to have Abby, and that he was the one who wanted me to be a housewife.

He had made all those grand promises, swearing he'd treat me right and never let me down. But now, just over a year later, he had broken every single one of those vows.

I did my best to hold back my tears, gently laid Abby down in her crib, and started washing her little clothes.

Just as I'd finished hanging up Abby's clothes, Nathan stepped out of his study.

"You still have that blue jewelry set, right?" he said. "Olivia's got a cover shoot tomorrow—she needs it, so I'll take it over for her."

I froze in place, my fingers trembling slightly. My throat felt like it was clogged with stone, and no words would come out.

I wanted to ask Nathan if he remembered that the jewelry was the promise gift he gave me—and that he had promised only I could wear it.