Chapter 1

I was six months pregnant the day Michael Reed threw me out.

Over a bowl of soup.

My sister Emily Summers came over for dinner. I spent the whole afternoon cooking, heavy with my belly, and made four dishes and a soup. She knocked the soup bowl over, and it splashed on her expensive silk dress.

"Sophie, you did that on purpose!" she shrieked.

Michael rushed out of the study, saw Emily pointing at me with red-rimmed eyes, and slapped me without a word.

I held my cheek, stunned.

"Emily rarely visits, and this is how you treat her?" he said, glaring at me with a disgust I'd never seen. "She's your own sister!"

"It was just the soup..." I tried to explain.

"Enough!" Michael cut me off, grabbing my arm and dragging me toward the door. "Get out and clear your head."

My six-month belly weighed on my back, making it ache. I tried to pull free, but he was too strong. The door slammed behind me. I stood there in my homewear and slippers, the November wind biting.

I didn't bring my phone, my wallet, or my keys.

I stood at the door and heard Emily inside say, "Michael, don't blame Sophie. She probably didn't mean it."

Michael said, "You always defend her. When has she ever appreciated it?"

I stood there, cold wind slipping down my collar.

He forgot I was six months pregnant.

He forgot it was barely above freezing out here.

He didn't even think to ask me: what really happened?

I crouched for a long time in the corner outside the building entrance, curled into a ball. A security guard walked by, glanced at me, and moved on.

In this upscale complex, a pregnant woman in homewear was probably something one'd pretend not to see.

I started counting.

When I hit a thousand, would he come looking?

Two thousand, would he remember I was carrying his child?

I reached five thousand. It was completely dark.

Nobody came.

I stood and started walking aimlessly.

My cotton slippers were soaked through, leaving cold prints with every step.

I reached the corner of the street and spotted a 24-hour convenience store. Its warm yellow light looked incredibly inviting in the night.

I pushed the door open.

Heat hit my face, along with the smell of hot stew.

I sat by the window and stared at the bubbling pot.

Steam rose and fogged the glass.

I had no money. Not even a single dollar.

I sat there, and the clerk didn't kick me out. Maybe she pitied my huge belly, or maybe it was just that no other customers were around.

After a while, she came over.

"Hi, we have one last bottle of Memory Eraser left. Would you like it?" she said.

I blinked, then gave a bitter smile.

"I don't have any money," I replied.

"It's free. You just need to trade something from your body for it."

Without thinking, I touched my swollen belly. "Will this do?"

The clerk looked at me, silent for a few seconds. "Are you sure?"

I didn't know why I nodded. Maybe I was too cold, or in too much pain. In that moment, I thought, rather than let this child be born into such a family, it'd be better if it'd never existed.

She pulled a small bottle from under the counter—clear liquid, like water.

"Drink it, and you'll forget everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours," she said. "The price is you'll lose the baby."

I took the bottle.

It was cold.

I twisted off the cap.

Just as I brought it to my lips, the door burst open.

Cold air rushed in.

"Sophie! Are you done yet?" Michael's voice came from behind.

I didn't turn around.

I drank it.