Chapter 2

The sound of my crutches against the hardwood floor echoed through our empty house like a metronome counting down to something I wasn't ready to face. Each step sent a dull ache through my healing leg, the cast heavy and cumbersome as I navigated the space that had once felt like home.

Raylan had carried my hospital bag to the bedroom and disappeared into the kitchen, his phone already buzzing with what I knew would be Angelina's special ringtone. The same melody that had interrupted our dinner conversation, our movie nights, and now my homecoming.

"Can you help me reach the prenatal vitamins?" I called out, balancing precariously on one foot as I stared up at the medicine cabinet. The bottles sat on the top shelf, impossibly high now that I couldn't put weight on my left leg.

"In a minute," came his distracted reply from the kitchen. I could hear him talking in that soft, concerned tone he reserved for her. "No, no, don't worry about it. I'll be right there."

I waited, my arms aching from gripping the crutches, watching the vitamins that were supposed to keep our baby healthy remain just out of reach. The irony wasn't lost on me—I couldn't even take care of my pregnancy properly without help, and my husband was too busy taking care of someone else.

Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.

"Raylan?" I tried again, louder this time.

He appeared in the doorway, keys already in his hand, his expression impatient. "What is it, Mya? I told you I'd help in a minute."

"I just need—"

"Look, Angelina's having a really hard time with her back pain. The doctor said she needs to start physical therapy immediately, and she doesn't have anyone else to drive her." He was already backing toward the front door. "You're home now. You can figure out whatever you need. You're being too dependent."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Too dependent. I was three months pregnant with a severely fractured leg, and asking for help reaching my medication made me too dependent.

"What about my appointment tomorrow?" I asked, my voice smaller than I intended. "Dr. Martinez wants to check on the baby after... after everything."

Raylan paused, his hand on the doorknob. For a moment, I thought I saw guilt flash across his features. "Can't you reschedule? Or take an Uber?"

"An Uber? Raylan, I can barely get in and out of a car by myself."

"There are medical transport services. Figure it out." The door closed behind him with a decisive click, leaving me alone with the echo of his dismissal.

I stared at the closed door for a long moment, my wedding ring catching the afternoon light as I gripped my crutches. The same ring I'd twisted anxiously through every hospital night when he'd left me alone to sit with Angelina.

Slowly, I made my way to the kitchen and found a step stool. It took me fifteen minutes to safely position it, climb up, and retrieve my vitamins. Fifteen minutes that my husband could have saved me if he'd taken thirty seconds to help his pregnant wife instead of rushing to assist a woman whose only injury was a barely visible scratch.

That evening, I called the medical transport service. The cost made me wince—sixty dollars each way for what should have been a simple favor from my husband. I booked it anyway, because our baby's health was more important than my pride.

Raylan returned home near midnight, smelling like Angelina's perfume and carrying takeout from her favorite Thai restaurant. He found me in the living room, where I'd been trying to get comfortable on the couch with my leg elevated.

"How was your day?" he asked, settling into his chair with his food as if this were perfectly normal.

"I managed to reach my vitamins," I said quietly. "And I booked medical transport for tomorrow's appointment."

He looked up from his pad thai, a frown creasing his brow. "How much is that costing?"

"Sixty dollars each way."

"Jesus, Mya. That's expensive. Why didn't you just ask me to take you?"

I stared at him, wondering if he truly didn't remember our conversation from this morning, or if he was really that skilled at rewriting history to suit his narrative.

"I did ask," I said simply.

He had the grace to look uncomfortable for about three seconds before his phone buzzed again. Angelina's ringtone. His face immediately softened as he read the message.

"She's having trouble sleeping because of the pain," he said, already standing. "I should probably go check on her."

I watched him leave again, the Thai food growing cold on the coffee table, and realized with crystal clarity that I was living with a stranger who wore my husband's face. A stranger who would move heaven and earth for another woman while leaving his pregnant wife to climb step stools and pay strangers for rides to medical appointments.

The baby fluttered inside me, a tiny reminder of what I was fighting for. Not just my marriage anymore, but my child's future. And maybe, for the first time, my own dignity.