Chapter 3
The week I spent in the hospital felt like a long sleep.
Or maybe it was the first time I had truly been awake in years.
Naomi, an old friend from my investment banking days, came to pick me up when I was discharged.
The moment she saw how pale I looked, her eyes turned red.
She helped me into the car and stayed quiet for a long time before finally speaking.
“Do you know what happened after you left the company?”
I turned to look at her.
“You were barely gone before Audrey walked in and took your old position.”
I looked out the window.
My reflection stared back at me from the glass.
A pale, exhausted face.
A six-month baby bump beneath my clothes.
Something sharp twisted in my stomach.
But even that pain could not compare to the bitter absurdity settling in my chest.
A laugh escaped me.
“So that's what this was.”
All that concern.
All those speeches about how I needed to rest.
Grant had never been protecting me.
He had been clearing the way for Audrey.
The fragile woman with anxiety who always seemed to need him at exactly the right moment.
Before I stepped away, I had been one of the toughest executives in investment banking.
I had once negotiated through the night until my stomach bled.
I had worked until the blood vessels in my eyes burst.
I had sat across from men twice my age and twice as ruthless, smiling while we fought over millions of dollars.
I did it for the company.
For us.
I thought we were building something together.
And like a fool, I believed Grant had asked me to step back because we had finally made enough money.
Because he wanted me to rest.
To enjoy my pregnancy.
To live comfortably as his wife.
“I was such an idiot,” I whispered.
My nails dug into my palm.
For years, I had filed down every sharp edge of myself for this marriage.
For this home.
I had seen the signs that Grant's heart was drifting elsewhere.
And every time, I clung to the same beautiful lies like a drowning woman.
He's just busy.
Audrey is only a friend.
He's still the man who loves me.
By the time I got home, the familiar rooms of the villa felt almost frightening.
I had lived there for years.
Yet for the first time, it felt like I had walked into a stranger's home.
I opened the drawers in Grant's study.
Then I went through several old briefcases he no longer used.
I didn't even know exactly what I was looking for.
Something Audrey had left behind?
Company records?
Or simply proof that the doubts eating away at me were not just pregnancy hormones?
My fingers stopped when they touched a folder.
The baby moved gently inside me.
I looked down at my stomach.
Three years.
I had built three years of my life around one man.
If our marriage had truly rotted from the inside out, I needed to see exactly how it had happened.
Then I would decide whether I was ready to leave.
Before I could make sense of the thoughts weighing on me, something unexpected broke through the silence.
That evening, Grant came home.
For once.
He was even carrying flowers.
He walked over to me, his voice softer than I had heard it in months.
“I haven't been there for you these past few days.”
I stared at him.
“Your birthday is next week. I want to throw you a big party.”
He paused, as if remembering something.
“Audrey reminded me.”
The words landed strangely.
He seemed not to notice.
“She said I’ve been too distracted lately, and that I should do something special for you.”
Audrey had reminded my husband of my birthday.
And somehow, I still let myself believe the party was his idea.
He gave me a small smile.
“Consider it my apology. And a celebration now that you're feeling better.”
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
My heart betrayed me and began to beat faster.
I looked into his sincere eyes.
And for one humiliating second, I wondered if I had imagined everything.
Maybe Grant really had been busy.
Maybe he simply wasn't good at showing how he felt.
“Really?”
My voice trembled.
“Of course.”
He slipped an arm around my shoulders.
“You can have the party exactly the way you want it. Choose everything you like.”
His voice was so certain.
So convincing.
“I've already put together the guest list. All you have to do is be the most beautiful woman in the room.”
He pulled me closer.
“Leave the rest to me.”
I rested against his chest.
His body was warm.
And suddenly, I couldn't stop the tears.
In that moment, one pathetic thought filled my mind.
If he was willing to come back to me...
If he still remembered my birthday...
Maybe I could forgive everything that had happened.
Maybe I could pretend none of it mattered.
I thought I was the happiest woman in the world.
I threw myself into planning the party.
I chose expensive flowers.
I ordered a custom dress designed to flatter my pregnant body.
I planned every detail until the entire venue looked like something out of a fairy tale.
And somewhere along the way, I began imagining myself standing beneath the lights with Grant beside me.
I would tell everyone how difficult the pregnancy had been.
Then, in front of all our friends and family, I would ask him to promise me one thing.
That he would stay by my side for the rest of our lives.