Chapter 3
I opened the sketch and the photos side by side.
The backdrop. The clothes. The spot where he knelt.
Everything matched what I had drawn.
Except the woman standing in front of him was Chloe.
The night I finished that sketch, I’d been lying on my stomach in bed. I slid my tablet over to Luke.
“I’m not offering this concept to clients.” I pointed to the note in the bottom right corner. “This one is just for us.”
He leaned closer, studied it for a few seconds, then smiled.
“So who takes the pictures?”
“We can hire someone. Or take them ourselves. Just don’t tell me it’s too much trouble when the time comes.”
“Why would I?” He slipped an arm around my waist. “Send it to me. I’ll save it.”
I sent it to him, smiling.
Back then, I thought he was looking forward to it as much as I was.
Now the future I had sketched for us had become the reference for their photo shoot.
I tried to close the image. It took me two tries to click the little X in the upper right corner.
Even after the screen went dark, I could still see him lowering his head to kiss her belly.
When the doorbell rang, I was braced against the edge of the desk, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
My sister stood outside. The moment she saw me, her brow furrowed.
“Ava?”
I stepped aside to let her in.
“Luke posed for maternity photos with Chloe.”
I opened the pictures again and moved the chair out of her way.
“The coworker who said her baby’s father wouldn’t take responsibility.”
My sister leaned toward the screen.
Her expression froze.
She clicked through two more photos, then straightened abruptly.
“Where is he?”
“He said he had to go to Denver for work.”
She pulled out her phone.
I put my hand over hers and shook my head.
“Don’t call him. I don’t want to hear his explanation right now.”
She looked at me, her lips pressed tight. After a moment, she put the phone away.
“Okay. Let’s get you to my place.”
I unplugged the hard drive and packed it. My sister picked up my travel bag while I slung the camera bag over my shoulder.
At the door, I looked back.
The gift box was still on the dining table.
That morning, I had even taken the time to retie its ribbon.
My sister followed my gaze.
“Should we take that, too?”
“Leave it.”
I closed the door behind us.
I didn’t go back inside.
At my sister’s house, she set my travel bag in the guest room and opened the curtains.
“We can get anything else you need tomorrow. For tonight, just settle in.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and took the document folder from my bag.
“There’s something else.”
She turned around.
I held out the ultrasound picture, my fingers pressed against one corner.
For a long moment, I couldn’t let go.
“I’m pregnant. Eight weeks.”
The anger slowly faded from her face.
She crouched in front of me, looking from the picture to my face.
“Does Luke know?”
I shook my head.
“This is what I put in the gift box this morning.”
I let out a breath.
My sister wrapped her arms around me.
I gripped her sleeve and rested my forehead against her shoulder.
I couldn’t even cry.
She didn’t say anything else. She just kept stroking my back.
A long time passed before I finally let go and slipped the picture back into the folder.
“Don’t tell him yet.”
She nodded, then poured a glass of water and handed it to me.
My phone vibrated inside my bag.
Luke.
“Still mad at me? I’ll open your gift when I get back. And I’ll make up for missing our anniversary.”
I read the message, then set the phone facedown on the nightstand.
I didn’t reply.
My sister took my hand. Her thumb brushed the faint mark around my ring finger.
“Where’s your ring?”
“I left it behind.”
She glanced at the folder holding the ultrasound picture.
She didn’t ask anything else.
Luke still expected to come home and open his gift.
But the future I had wanted to give him was no longer inside that box.