Chapter 2

At the hospital, the doctor used a translator to ask how far along I was.

"Seven weeks. I was going to tell the father today," I replied.

The light in the exam room shone down, cold and glaring. On the screen, the embryo had no heartbeat.

The doctor held my hand and waited for the translator to say the words. "I'm sorry. The baby didn't make it."

The surgery consent form was pushed in front of me. Just as the pen touched the paper, a drop of blood fell onto the signature line.

When I opened my eyes again, it was dark outside.

The room was quiet. A cup of water sat on the table beside my bed. Andrew had drawn a smiley face on it.

Half an hour later, I finally saw him.

Snow clung to his black coat. Charlotte's perfume hung on him.

"Feeling better now?" He sat on the edge of the bed and touched my forehead. "The doctor said you lost a lot of blood. I had someone make chicken soup. It'll be here soon."

His hand stayed for only a second before he pulled it back. He didn't ask why I had been bleeding. He didn't look at the surgical record.

"How's Charlotte's hand? You must be worried sick." My voice sounded strange even to me.

Andrew blinked and then got angry. "What's that supposed to mean? She's not frostbitten. She was just scared. She felt so guilty that she kept crying. They gave her a sedative, and she's asleep now."

So Charlotte cried, and he stayed with her all night. I lost our baby, and all I got was a cup of water.

The paperwork sat on the bedside table. Andrew reached for the surgical record. My hand got there first.

"Aren't you going to ask what surgery I had?" I asked.

He paused for a second. "What else would it be? Just debridement and stitches, right? The doctor said there's nothing seriously wrong with you. One night of observation, and you can go back to the hotel."

The chill from the anesthesia crawled up through my bones. At that moment, I felt the part of me that had once burned for him go still. "Who told you that?"

"Charlotte. She talked to your doctor." Andrew tucked the blanket around me. "She's more fluent in Aldenic than we are, and she's trained in first aid. Most people here speak Aldenic. They wouldn't get it wrong."

The door opened. Charlotte walked in with a thin bandage around her wrist and a container of chicken soup in her hand. "Olivia, I'm here to apologize."

She set the soup on the table. Her eyes were still red. "I really didn't think you'd be so fragile. We used to drag Andrew behind the snowmobile, and he'd get up and have a snowball fight with us."

Andrew shot her a look, pretending to be annoyed. "Now? Seriously?"

Charlotte stuck out her tongue. "Fine. You're so whipped."

She talked like she was scared of him, but she still slid right up to the bed. "Olivia, if you need to blame someone, blame me.

"Don't break up with Andrew. He asked me to contact a bunch of friends for the proposal. He even booked Aurora Bistro."

I looked at Andrew coldly. "Proposal?"

Andrew's face softened. He took out a velvet box. "I was going to give it to you tonight."

The diamond glittered under the cold fluorescents. It was the ring I had loved three months ago. Back then, he said money was tight and told me not to waste it on a rock.

Later, Charlotte posted a set of diamond earrings from the same collection. She said Andrew had given them to her as a late birthday gift. The earrings cost three times as much as the ring.

"Try it on. It's the style you liked." Andrew took my hand.

He pressed on the needle mark, and I hissed in pain.

"When we get home, we'll make it official. What happened in the snow ends here. No one brings it up again."

The ring had barely touched my finger before I pulled my hand back. "We're not getting married, Andrew. There's not going to be a wedding. I'm calling the police."

The smile vanished from Charlotte's face.

Andrew's face went hard. "Olivia, don't do anything stupid."

"They tied me to the back of a snowmobile and dragged me through the snow."

"It's just something people do here. Everyone does it," he argued.

"I didn't agree to it!"

Andrew lowered his voice. "Everyone was just trying to give you a surprise. Calling the police will ruin the trip for everyone.

"Charlotte just got certified as an outdoor guide. If this goes on her record, how's she supposed to get a job?"

I threw off the blanket and tried to get out of bed. The moment my feet touched the floor, dizziness hit me hard.

Andrew pushed me back onto the bed. "You're not stable right now. I'll hold on to your passport for you."

The surgical record was knocked to the floor. A piece of paper slid under the bed.

Charlotte bent down to pick it up, but a nurse called her out before she could see the heading.

By the time the door shut, Andrew had already slipped my passport into his pocket.

*****

The next morning, Andrew checked me out of the hospital.

The doctor wanted to keep me for observation. Andrew said the hotel would be more comfortable.

In the elevator, he put his hand on my waist. "Charlotte had a nightmare last night. She kept calling your name. When we get back to the hotel, I'll let her apologize to your face. Then we can put this behind us."

Every step pulled at the pain in my belly. I shook off his hand. "Where's my phone?"

"It broke."

"And my camera?" I pressed.

He paused. Then the patience left his face. "Snow got into the memory card. It won't open."

"Did you forget the camera was in a waterproof bag?" I asked.

The elevator doors opened. Charlotte stood outside. The bandage was gone from her wrist. She was holding my camera and showing photos to a few friends.

When she saw me, she pulled out the memory card. "Olivia, don't get the wrong idea. I just wanted to delete those ugly photos of you in the snow so they wouldn't get out and ruin your mood."

I reached for it. Charlotte stepped back. The camera hit the floor and the lens cracked.

She froze. Tears fell at once. "I didn't mean to."

Andrew stepped in front of her and looked at me. "It's just a lens. I'll pay for it when we get home."

"Give me the memory card."

"Every one of them is you covered in blood. What good will that do? Charlotte feels terrible about this. Come on. Don't make a scene." He took the card from Charlotte and snapped it in half in front of me.

The plastic cracked softly. My hand shook and wouldn't stop.