Chapter 1

Sarah Miller felt a flutter, then a solid kick against her ribs.

Eight months.

After all those years, all those tear-soaked nights, all the needles and procedures, a baby. Her baby.

She rested a hand on her swollen belly, a soft smile playing on her lips.

Mark, her husband, was downstairs, probably grilling. Their backyard barbecue, a celebration of sorts, though for what, Sarah wasn't entirely sure anymore. He'd been distant.

"Just tired from work, honey," he'd say, but his eyes didn't meet hers.

She remembered the doctor's words, "It's a long shot, Sarah, but IVF can work."

And it had.

The thought of holding her child, their child, was the only thing that had kept her going. Mark had seemed happy too, at first. He' d held her hand during the implantation, kissed her forehead when the test came back positive.

But then, the comments started.

"You're really packing on the pounds, aren't you?"

"That dress makes you look huge."

Little digs, like papercuts. She'd brushed them off, blaming pregnancy hormones, his stress.

The smell of barbecue smoke drifted up. Laughter too. Mark and his best friend, Chris Baker.

Sarah pushed herself up from the nursery rocking chair, the one Mark had complained was too expensive. She wanted to feel part of things, even if she felt like an observer in her own life lately.

She moved slowly down the stairs, her back aching.

As she reached the bottom step, voices carried clearly from the patio, just outside the open kitchen door. Mark's voice, low and conspiratorial.

"She has no idea, man. None at all."

Chris snorted. "You're a cold bastard, Mark. Birth control for years? Telling her she's barren?"

Sarah froze. Her hand flew to her mouth, stifling a gasp.

Mark laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "Had to. I wasn't letting Jessica ruin her body with a pregnancy. This way, Sarah gets to do the grunt work, and Jess gets the kid without the stretch marks."

Jessica. Jessica Evans. Mark's colleague. The woman he always said was "just a friend."

"And the eggs? Really Jessica's?" Chris sounded incredulous.

"Of course. Think I'd want my kid to have Sarah's flawed DNA? Jessica's perfect. This whole IVF thing was a masterpiece. Sarah thinks it's her miracle baby."

The world tilted. The air in Sarah's lungs turned to ice.

Her baby.

Jessica's baby.

Her body, a vessel. Her love, a lie.

The years of self-blame, the invasive treatments, the hope. All a sham.

Mark' s voice continued, laced with contempt. "She' s so desperate, she never questioned a thing. Complains about her weight now, but she' s doing exactly what I wanted."

Sarah stumbled back, silent tears streaming down her face. The floorboards felt like they were miles below her feet.