Chapter 3

Alexandria stood up slowly, a bitter smile touching her lips. She took the photo from his hand and held it up for him to see clearly.

"You' re an architect, Colby. You' re good with plans and designs. What does this look like to you?"

His eyes widened as he finally processed the image. He saw the tiny, curled shape. The flicker of a life. He looked from the photo to her, his mouth opening and closing, but no words came out. He looked utterly lost.

She didn' t wait for his response. She walked past him into the living room and sat on the couch, her back to him. The cold leather felt grounding.

He followed her, his steps hesitant. He could feel a wall between them, thick and cold. It terrified him.

"Alex," he said, his voice barely a whisper. He knelt beside the couch, trying to catch her eye. "I' m sorry. I' m so, so sorry. Please don' t be like this. Talk to me."

He reached for her hand, his touch a desperate plea.

Just then, the front door opened.

Camryn walked in, wrapped in one of Colby' s expensive cashmere coats. She was smiling, her cheeks flushed.

"Colby, honey, I forgot my purse," she chirped. She stopped when she saw them, her eyes taking in the scene. Her smile faltered into a look of concern. "Oh. Am I interrupting something?"

Her question was a perfect performance of innocence.

Colby looked trapped, torn between the woman he loved and the woman he was bound to by guilt.

Camryn' s eyes filled with tears. "I' m so sorry. I know I' m a burden. It' s just… if my husband were still here…" She let the sentence hang, a masterful piece of emotional blackmail.

Colby' s face crumpled with pain. He looked at Alexandria, his expression a mixture of apology and helplessness.

"Alex," he began, his voice strained. "Can you just… wait here for me? I' ll take her home and be right back."

Alexandria looked at him, her face a blank mask. "Okay," she said. Her voice was calm, so calm it was chilling.

Her calmness unnerved him more than any shouting match could have. He hesitated, feeling a deep sense of dread.

"I' ll be back in an hour. I promise," he said, as if that could fix anything.

"Okay," she repeated. She turned her head and pulled a throw blanket over herself, hiding her face from him.

He left. She heard his footsteps, then Camryn' s, fading away. The front door clicked shut. The house was silent.

The moment the silence settled, the calm shattered. A wave of agony, sharp and fierce, ripped through her abdomen. The pain from her fall, from the miscarriage, came roaring back.

She gasped, curling into a ball on the couch. She tried to call for help, but her throat was tight. The only name that came to her lips was a broken whisper.

"Colby."

Outside, she heard Camryn' s light, happy laughter as they got into the car. The sound was a final, cruel twist.

She remembered a time when Colby had cared for her like that. When she had a simple cold, he had stayed up all night, holding her, making her tea. That man was gone. His love, his care, it all belonged to someone else now. It belonged to his wife. His real wife.

The realization was the final blow. The pain, both physical and emotional, was too much. Her body gave out, and she sank into unconsciousness.

She dreamed she was floating in a dark, cold space.

When she woke up, Colby was sitting by her bed, his face etched with worry. He had carried her here.

"Alex, you' re awake," he said, relief flooding his voice. "You scared me. You must have caught a chill. You feel a little warm."

She almost laughed. A chill. He thought she had a chill.

"You' ll have a great future with her," Alexandria said, her voice flat. "She' s very good at taking care of people."

He didn' t catch the sarcasm. He smiled, relieved that she was talking to him. "She is. She' s a good person." He squeezed her hand. "But you' re the one I want to build a future with. We should start trying for a baby soon. A little boy or girl to fill this big house."

Her body went rigid. The air in her lungs turned to acid. A baby. He wanted a baby with her, after he had just killed theirs.

"I' m tired," she said, pulling her hand away. "I want to rest."

He looked hurt, but he nodded. "Okay. I' ll let you sleep." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. The touch of his lips on her skin felt like a brand. Then he left, closing the door softly behind him.

She didn' t sleep. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, replaying every lie, every betrayal. She thought of her lost child, a ghost she would carry forever.

Later, unable to bear the confines of the room, she got up and walked out into the cold night air of the backyard. She needed to breathe.

She found Camryn by the swimming pool, a silhouette in the moonlight.

Alexandria turned to go back inside, but Camryn' s voice stopped her.

"Wait."

Camryn walked toward her, her steps surprisingly quick for a heavily pregnant woman. "Alexandria. We need to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," Alexandria said, her voice cold.

"Oh, but we do," Camryn said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Colby loves you. I know that. But he has a duty to me, and to this baby. His brother' s baby."

Her eyes gleamed in the dark. "I' m not asking you to leave. I' m just asking you to accept your place. Be his lover. I will be his wife. We can all get what we want."

Alexandria' s mind reeled. The audacity of it. The sheer, sociopathic cruelty. She thought of her own baby, the one that would never be born. She thought of this baby, the one Camryn was using as a shield and a sword.

A strange sense of peace settled over her. It was the peace of a final decision.

"You' re right," Alexandria said, her voice even. "The baby is the most important thing."

Camryn looked at her, a flicker of suspicion in her eyes. She didn' t trust this easy agreement.

"I' m glad you see it that way," Camryn said slowly.

To seal her victory, to prove her power, Camryn took a step closer. She grabbed Alexandria' s arm, her grip surprisingly strong.

"Then you' ll understand why I can' t have you upsetting Colby anymore."

And then, in a move so swift and calculated it was terrifying, Camryn let her body go limp, pulling Alexandria off balance. She stumbled forward, her other hand flailing, and let out a piercing scream as she fell backward into the pool.

"Help! Colby, help me! She pushed me!"