When The Understudy Walked Off

Synopsis

My husband, Herman Foster, pushed me when I was pregnant. His hand shoved my shoulder so hard, like I was nothing. Just an ugly piece of furniture in his way. I tumbled down the stairs. Even then, my hands went to my stomach. Pure instinct. I didn't even know I was pregnant yet. "Arianna, Rosalind's back," he said from the top of the stairs, his voice icy. "It's time for you to step aside." My head crashed against the corner of the stairs, and everything went dark. Then came the pain, low and sharp, tearing through my belly. It scared me more than the injury to my head. Rosalind Sinclair stood next to him, wearing a white dress, looking fragile and pitiful. She gently tugged at his sleeve. "Herman, don't... Ms. Wright has been with you for three years." He looked at me like I was dirt. "Just a stand-in. That's all she ever was. I kept her because her eyes. They reminded me of you."