Chapter 1

1.

Four years into our marriage, my husband Ethan and I were finally successful with IVF.

Just as I was about to tell him the news, I found him in a suit at another wedding―only this time, the bride wasn't me.

To make it all worse, my doctor later told me the baby inside me wasn't mine.

Ethan shielded the other woman behind him. "Amy, let me explain... Chloe is dying. This is just a formality, a wedding to check off her bucket list―"

I went home, tore our marriage certificate to shreds, and erased every trace of him from my life.

...

The transfer was a success.

After four years of marriage and countless heartbreaks, we finally had good news. I couldn't wait to tell Ethan Hayes our baby was finally on the way.

But his phone went straight to voicemail. Once, twice, a dozen times.

Something was wrong.

He'd taken the day off, promising to be with me for the final embryo transfer. But when I came out of the operating room, the nurse said he'd left half an hour ago for an "emergency."

I texted his sister, Jessica.

"Where's Ethan? Can you reach him?"

"He's handling something. Amy, come on, what's the big deal?"

I stared at the screen, my finger hovering over the reply. Then I opened our location sharing app.

It pinged his location on the outskirts of the city―Silver Creek Vineyard.

That wasn't where we were supposed to be.

I drove there with a stone in my chest. The nurses at the clinic told me to go home and rest, to stay in bed for at least 24 hours. But my gut was screaming.

The vineyard's parking lot was full. A few men in rented charcoal suits stood at the entrance, holding champagne flutes.

Marcus, Ethan's best friend, saw my car and his face fell.

"Amy..." he stammered, "You shouldn't be here."

I pushed my door open. "Where is he?"

Marcus took a step back, as if to block my view. But it was too late.

Music drifted from the lawn. I saw a white arch, an aisle scattered with rose petals, and―

Ethan, in a full tuxedo, standing at the altar.

The woman next to him was in a white wedding gown.

Ethan and I started dating in college. Six years together, then four years of marriage. Our friends called us the "perfect couple."

Our only struggle was that we could never get pregnant.

Two years ago, we started seeing a fertility specialist. The doctor said Ethan's sperm had low motility, making natural conception nearly impossible. IVF was our best shot.

"Amy, I want a baby so badly," Ethan had told me that night, his eyes red as he held my hand. "A family with you. It's all I've ever wanted."

I quit my job as a marketing director to focus completely on the IVF treatments. The hormone injections, the constant ultrasounds, the cycle of hope and disappointment.

Now, we'd finally made it. And here he was, marrying another woman.

I walked across the lawn, my heels sinking into the soft earth. The guests started whispering.

The officiant's voice rang out, "You may now kiss the bride!"

Ethan saw me and froze.

The bride―Chloe Vance―turned around. Her face was so pale it was almost transparent, with dark circles under her eyes.

"Amy," her voice was weak, "I can explain―"

"Don't bother." My voice was calmer than I expected.

I walked up to Ethan and held out my hand. He instinctively flinched.

I pulled the wedding ring from my finger and placed it in his palm.

"We're done."

As I turned, I heard Ethan's voice. "Amy, wait―it's not what you think―"

I didn't stop.

Marcus caught up to me, grabbing my arm. "Amy, listen to me―Chloe is dying. This is just… it's not real. It's for her bucket list or something―"

I shook him off. "He fucking should have told me."

"He didn't know the procedure would finish so early―"

"He left me on an operating table, Marcus."

My voice finally started to tremble. "I just had his embryo implanted inside me, and he ran off to play groom for his childhood sweetheart."

I didn't go home. I drove straight to the Marriott downtown and checked in.

I turned off my phone, drew the curtains, and curled up on the bed.

The post-transfer hormones sent my emotions into a tailspin. I couldn't tell if I was crying or laughing.

Four years. I had given four years to this marriage.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I was going to ignore it, but the name on the screen made me pause.

Ben Carter.

Ben was my college classmate and Ethan's business partner. More importantly, he was now my OB/GYN.

I answered.

"Amy, you need to come back to the clinic."

His tone was dead serious.

"What is it? Is something wrong with the embryo?"

There was a short silence.

"Just come back. We need to talk."

An hour later, I was sitting in Ben's office.

He pushed a file across the desk toward me. It was the consent form for the embryo transfer.

"Amy, do you remember signing this?"

I glanced at it. "Of course. That's my signature."

"Look at the donor information section."

My eyes scanned down the page.

"Egg Donor: Anonymous"

I looked up. "What? That's not right. We used my eggs. That was the whole point―"

Ben's expression told me it was much worse than I thought.

"That's not what the file says. And legally, this document has your signature on it."

My hands started to shake. "I didn't sign this. Not this version, anyway. They must have―"

"Forged it?"

Our eyes met.

"I need a DNA test," I heard myself say. "As soon as possible."