Chapter 2

I woke up to the sterile smell of a hospital. The first thing I did was touch my stomach. It was flat. Empty.

A nurse saw I was awake and her face softened with pity. "The doctor will be in to speak with you soon, honey."

I didn't need a doctor. I knew. The baby was gone.

A wave of cold, hollow grief washed over me. I closed my eyes, but the image of Andrew choosing Molly over me on those stairs was burned into my mind.

Andrew came in a few minutes later, his clothes disheveled, his hair a mess. He looked exhausted, but not heartbroken. Just stressed.

"Gabby, I am so, so sorry," he said, his voice a low whisper. "Everything happened so fast. It was just chaos."

I stared at the wall, unable to look at him. Chaos didn't make you choose your mistress over your pregnant wife. That was a choice.

Then, Molly appeared in the doorway, her eyes red and puffy. It was a masterful performance.

"Oh, Gabby," she cried, rushing to my bedside. "I am so sorry. I just wanted to explain. I didn't mean for you to fall. You were just so… violent."

Violent? I was running away.

Andrew put a comforting arm around Molly' s shoulders. "It's okay, Molly. It was an accident." He turned to me, his voice hardening. "Gabby, stop being so emotional. You're upsetting her."

I watched, stunned, as he led Molly out into the hallway. He thought I couldn't hear him, but the door was still open.

"I'll make it up to you," he whispered to her. "I promise."

That was it. That was the moment my heart, which was already broken, turned to dust. I was completely and utterly alone.

A friend brought Buddy to the hospital. The nurses weren't supposed to allow it, but one look at my face and they bent the rules. The dog whined softly and licked the tears from my cheeks, his warm body a small comfort in the vast emptiness of my hospital bed.

He was the only one who seemed to understand.

With Buddy' s head in my lap, I picked up my phone. I didn't call my family. I didn't call a friend.

I called my lawyer.

"I need you to draft divorce papers," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "Effective immediately."