Chapter 1

For our fifth anniversary, my fiancé Andrew Grant took me to Veyrland to chase the aurora on snowmobiles. I fell behind, and a gang of snow bandits ran me down on the open snow.

They threatened me until I knelt, kowtowed, and barked like a dog. Then they tied me to the back of a snowmobile and dragged me through the snow at twenty-two degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

By the time they stopped, my head was covered in blood. I thought I was going to die there.

One of them giggled and pulled off her helmet.

When I saw her face, I realized it was Charlotte Reed, the girl my fiancé treated like one of the guys.

She chewed her gum and stared at me like she was daring me to say something.

"Andrew, I told you Olivia was a coward. I got her kneeling and barking on video. Some precious fiancée she is. Completely spineless," she said.

Andrew walked out from the back of the group, smiling. "Charlotte grew up overseas. She likes to joke around. She just wanted to test your courage. Don't hold it against her.

"Now get up and get back on. I'll take you to the hospital. You didn't lose a limb. It's just a few scrapes. Drop the attitude."

A warm rush spread between my legs. A sharp pain throbbed in my lower belly.

I bit back the pain, clutched the pregnancy report inside my snowsuit, and looked at him coldly. "Andrew, we're done."

*****

The words were barely out of my mouth when another tearing pain ripped through my belly. Blood seeped from my pant leg into the snow.

Andrew's expression finally changed.

But the moment he started toward me, Charlotte grabbed her wrist and sucked in a breath. "Andrew, I think my hand's frostbitten."

Andrew turned on his heel. He pulled off his gloves and wrapped her hand in them. "See what happens when you play too long?"

His scolding came out gentle, almost tender. He even bent down and breathed warm air on her fingers.

I lay in the snow, too weak to lift a hand.

In the past, whenever we crossed the street in winter, he would tuck my hand into his coat pocket. He used to say, "Olivia, your hands are always so cold. I'm going to have to warm them for the rest of my life."

Now I was shaking all over from the cold, and his hands were holding another woman.

The guide caught up with us, saw the blood on the snow, and called for help.

Only then did Andrew kneel down. "Olivia, stop throwing a fit. Let me take a look."

His hand touched my shoulder, and I flinched.

The back of my snowsuit had been torn open. Bits of ice were stuck in the wounds. Every movement felt like sandpaper scraping over raw skin. A cold sweat broke out over me.

At that moment, I couldn't tell which hurt more, my heart or my body. "Don't touch me."

Andrew frowned and took off his scarf, draping it over me. "You're really doing this right now? Charlotte and the others didn't control their speed. I'll deal with her later.

"And stop threatening to break up every time something happens. It's getting old."

Charlotte walked over and crouched beside us. "Oh, Olivia, don't tell me you carry fake blood around for drama."

She chewed her gum and smiled like none of it mattered. "You wouldn't go this far just to scare Andrew, would you?"

The guide didn't understand our language, but he understood the blood spreading under me. He pushed Andrew aside and wrapped me in a thermal blanket.

When the rescue vehicle arrived, the medics asked who would ride with the injured person. Andrew was about to get in, but Charlotte burst into tears.

She said, "My hand's numb. Andrew, I'm not going to lose it, am I?"

Andrew looked back at me. "Ride with the medics. I'll take the next one with Charlotte. She's scared of pain, and she doesn't speak the language here."

I looked at him through the pain. "Neither do I."

Andrew leaned down and tucked the thermal blanket around me. He sounded like he was soothing an unreasonable child. "Didn't you download a translation app?

"You've always been the strong one. Charlotte isn't. Don't do this right now."

The ambulance doors shut in front of my face. Through the frosted glass, I saw him carry Charlotte into the other rescue vehicle. He pressed a cup of hot cocoa into her hands.

After the vehicle started moving, the medics cut open my pant leg. Their faces went grim.

My phone had shattered while they were dragging me. The pocket holding my pregnancy report had been torn open. The words early intrauterine pregnancy were soaked in blood.