Chapter 1

On Labor Day I was pulling overtime at the office when my buddy, who works at a hospital, dropped a piece of gossip into our group chat.

“These young couples really don't know when to stop.”

“Eight months pregnant and still going at it rough―she nearly lost the baby!”

I was never one to skip a good story, so I typed back, “Who knows? Maybe that's their kind of fun!”

A few seconds later, my buddy messaged me privately. “Hey, Zane... this woman kind of looks like your wife.”

I zoomed in on the photo he sent, and my heart sank straight into an ice bath.

The woman on that hospital bed, her face twisted in pain, was my wife, Evie.

And the man standing beside her―why the hell was he a foreigner?

Chapter 1

The guys in our group chat were still chewing over it, all that talk about the woman in the photo dating a foreigner.

“Foreign guys are built different. One slip of control and the baby pays for it!”

“Kids these days, no caution at all. Couldn't she just hold on two more months?”

Watching them joke and sneer, I went cold from head to toe.

I couldn't focus on work for a second. I yanked my tie loose and drove straight to the hospital.

I had met that foreigner once before. He was an exchange student in Evie's class.

Word was he was the son of some tribal chief back home, and people in his country treated him like royalty.

Evie and I had always been a loving couple. I refused to believe it.

She wouldn't betray me. Not like that. And not while she was pregnant...

I asked my buddy for details about the woman. He said he'd only overheard a bit at the maternity ward and didn't know much more.

I kept telling myself that Evie must have fallen and brought on an early labor scare.

I sucked in a deep breath and fought to keep my rage in check.

I lost count of how many red lights I ran before I reached the maternity building.

“I don't know her pregnancy history! You're the doctors―why are you asking me!”

“I already signed everything! If you can't fix my wife, I'll report you all!”

Before I even reached the ward, an accent-laced voice was shouting in broken English.

The nurses were struggling to talk to him, trying to get any information about Evie's condition.

But the man knew nothing.

“And you have the nerve to threaten us?” a nurse shot back. “Look at how you've been as a husband!”

Evie was grimacing in pain, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

While I stood frozen in the doorway, Evie's attending doctor spotted me.

“Mr. Calloway, how could you two be so reckless?” she scolded. “Your wife is eight months pregnant! That was extremely dangerous. If she'd arrived any later, we'd be prepping her for an emergency C-section!”

“Now, take your wife for her pre-op checks. If anything looks bad, we operate right away!”

I took Evie's chart from her hand. In the emergency contact line, the name written in bold was Karim. That foreigner.

My mind went blank. Was my wife really having an affair with an exchange student?

Had things gotten out of hand between them, passion winning out over caution, even with her pregnant?

By then the doctors had stabilized Evie. Karim was holding her hand, murmuring soft words of comfort.

Neither of them noticed me standing in the doorway. Watching them act so cozy, rage exploded inside me.

“Evie! What the hell is going on here!”

I strode over and knocked Karim's hand away. Evie jolted upright in bed, terrified.

“Honey? Weren't you busy at work today? Why are you at the hospital?”

She stared at me, tense and nervous. But all my attention was on what that foreign student had been calling her.

“Evie, explain this to me. Why does he keep calling you 'my wife'? Why was he holding your hand in front of everyone!”

Evie trembled under my glare and stammered out an answer.

“Honey, Karim just got to this country. He mixes up his words―he meant to say I'm his professor. Don't be mad!”

“If he hadn't brought me to the hospital today, we'd have lost the baby!”

I felt like a whole field of green was growing on my head. Before I could even ask about the early labor scare, Evie jumped in first.

“Honey, I slipped on the stairs when I was leaving work and twisted my ankle. It shook the baby. Don't believe me? Check the card on my bed!”

I glanced at the chart hanging at the head of her bed. It said she'd come in after a fall?!

That didn't match the record in my hand at all. Evie was hiding something, keeping me in the dark.

I shot a sharp look at the nurse standing nearby. She blushed and dropped her eyes.

“Honey, didn't you say you'd be late handing out the Labor Day bonuses to your staff? Why did you finish so early?”

I raised an eyebrow and let a cold smile crawl across my face.

“Evie, it's not early. You said you slipped after your noon class―so why did you only roll into the hospital at ten at night?”

“And why were you holding hands with your foreign 'husband,' all sweet and lovey-dovey?”