Chapter 1

When I lost the baby in a car crash, Caleb Sterling was soaking in a hot spring with his childhood sweetheart.

His voice over the phone was sharp with impatience.

"How many tricks do you have up your sleeve? I didn't even know you were pregnant, and now you're claiming a miscarriage?"

"I'm telling you, unless you're actually dying, don't bother me."

The next day, I found a used condom on our bedroom floor.

My heart went cold. I picked up the phone and dialed a number. "I've changed my mind. I'll take that job offer abroad."

1.

The front door clicked open. Caleb was home.

I immediately noticed a smudge of red lipstick on the collar of his white shirt.

"What was all that nonsense about losing a baby?

You only lied to get my attention because you were jealous.

If Scarlett hadn't been worried about you and told me to check in, I wouldn't have bothered.

But look at you, sitting there perfectly fine. You're exhausting!"

Caleb started screaming the moment he stepped inside.

I had loved him with my whole soul for years. But that love died when the doctor told me I would likely never conceive again.

For the first time, I didn't scream back. I was eerily quiet.

The silence made Caleb uneasy.

He glanced at the bandage the nurse had wrapped around my arm. His tone softened slightly. "What do you want to eat? I'll cook."

I had been at the hospital all afternoon. My stomach was actually empty.

"Pierogis," I said.

In our seven years together, I did all the cooking. Caleb had only made me frozen pierogis twice.

Just as he headed for the kitchen, his phone rang.

After a few brief words, he hung up and grabbed his jacket.

"Scarlett accidentally cut her hand. Just order some takeout if you're hungry!"

A tiny cut on her hand sent him racing out into the night. Meanwhile, I had lost a child in a wreckage, and he hadn't offered a single word of comfort.

I let out a bitter laugh.

My hunger vanished instantly.

While Caleb was gone, I spent the night organizing my documents for the move. I didn't want to miss a single detail.

By the time I finished, it was three in the morning.