Chapter 4

By the following week, Chloe had moved from testing the edge of my marriage to choosing the worst possible moment to cross it.

It was the morning of my final egg retrieval.

Daniel had promised to hold my hand the entire time.

He literally had his hand on the glass door to push it open.

Then, his phone rang. The caller ID flashed on the screen: Chloe.

Daniel answered it. Instantly, I heard her hysterical sobbing through the speaker.

"Daniel... she texted me," Chloe cried. "My birth mother. She suddenly came to the city. But she is only willing to see me today. "

Daniel let go of the clinic door and turned away from the entrance.

"Where are you? " he asked quickly.

"I can't face her alone," Chloe sobbed like a terrified child. "You are the only one who knows what I went through. I need you. "

I grabbed Daniel’s arm.

"Daniel." I tightened my grip on his sleeve. "We are about to check in for my surgery."

Daniel covered the phone. He looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Emma, she is having a breakdown. I just need to drop you off and go to her. "

"No," I said, staring directly into his eyes. "The clinic requires my escort to stay in the building. If you leave this parking lot, my surgery is canceled. "

I took a deep breath.

"You know exactly what this means, Daniel. Do not walk away from me. "

Through the phone, Chloe heard my voice.

She immediately stopped crying loudly. She let out a tragic, broken whisper.

"It's okay, Daniel," Chloe said. "Emma needs you more. "

She said she would delete her mother’s number and drive home. If she had survived without answers for twenty years, she could survive without them forever.

Then the call ended.

Daniel stared at the dark screen.

I already knew what was happening.

Chloe had not asked him to leave me.

She had only placed a closing door in front of him and waited for him to stop it.

Daniel called her back.

She did not answer.

He tried again.

I took the medical bag from his hand.

His eyes moved to mine.

"She may never get another chance to face her mother," he said.

"Neither will I."

The words stopped him.

For one brief moment, I thought he understood.

His face tightened.

Then, Daniel looked down at his phone again.

A message from Chloe appeared.

I’m sorry. Forget I called.

That apology decided it.

He ordered a car to take him across town.

"I’ll be back before you wake up."

I stared at him.

"You know what leaving means."

"I’m not abandoning you, Emma. You’ll be surrounded by doctors and nurses."

He said it as if medical staff could replace a husband.

As if the person who had promised to create a family with me was optional on the morning we tried to save our last chance.

I stood alone on the sidewalk. I watched his car speed away.

I walked into the clinic by myself.

I went straight to the front desk.

The nurse looked around. "Mrs. Reed, we cannot begin the procedure without your escort physically present. "

Calling Daniel again would not bring him back in time. I opened my contacts and chose another name.

I pulled out my phone and dialed a different number.

Ryan Cole had grown up next door to me. We had shared a backyard, childhood summers, and two families that treated us like siblings.

We shared no blood.

Daniel had never accepted the word brother when I used it for Ryan.

He said a childhood bond did not erase the need for boundaries.

I had respected his rule.

Now Daniel had abandoned me for a woman who was not his biological sister either.

Ryan answered on the second ring.

"I need someone to sign for me to have surgery," I said.

"Give me the address," he said immediately. "I'll be there in ten minutes. "