Chapter 3

There was nothing left for me in that house.

I booked a hotel room, packed all my things, and set the wedding ring Chris had given me on the coffee table. Then I got ready to leave.

But on the way, I got caught in traffic outside the hospital.

The doctor who'd seen me the day before spotted me and knocked on the window.

I rolled it down. The staff behind him came over one by one to say hello, and I wasn't sure what was going on.

"No patients today?"

The doctor gave his chest an exaggerated pat.

"The heating broke down. Our hands were too cold to hold the instruments. How could we see patients? The hospital gave us the day off.

"Chris picked you up last night, didn't he? That kind of cold is too much for a pregnant woman."

I shook my head.

"He didn't come. Ivy twisted her ankle, so he stayed at her place to look after her."

Everyone who heard me went wide-eyed.

They kept starting to speak, then stopping. Finally, someone said, "My God. Thank God you're all right!"

Their faces showed pity, along with a little anger.

But nobody said a word against Ivy. She was the Don's daughter, after all.

I didn't go into it any further.

We exchanged a few more words, and the traffic cleared.

I got to the hotel I'd booked.

The whole ordeal had worn me out. I felt sleepy again, so I lay down.

In the evening, my phone went off. It was a message from Chris.

"Are you home? I'll come get you for dinner."

Only then did I remember our reservation at Lescher that night.

It was the year's hottest restaurant. I'd spent three months on the waiting list before getting a table.

I thought it over. Fine. I'd tell Chris I wanted a divorce over dinner.

So I messaged him back.

"Just meet me at Lescher."

By the time I got to the mall, Chris was already there.

But he hadn't come alone.

The passenger door opened and Ivy got out.

"Aurelia, both my parents are out, and eating alone is so boring. I'm crashing your dinner. You don't mind, do you?"

I nodded and walked into the mall without a word.

But before we reached the restaurant I'd booked, they stopped in front of a seafood place.

I spoke up. "Did you two forget? I made a reservation at Lescher."

Ivy walked straight into the seafood place, beaming.

"What's so good about Lescher? Seafood's better! Right, Chris?"

Chris gave a resigned smile.

"Sure. Whatever you want."

He took my arm, supporting me as he led me toward the seafood restaurant.

"Don't hold it against her. She's young."

I'd heard that exact line more times than I could count over the past two years.

But he'd forgotten I was allergic to seafood.

There was a time he remembered it better than anyone.

He used to check twice, even three times, to make sure nothing on the table contained seafood, not even the seasonings.

But his attention was no longer on me.

So even the things he'd once known by heart had slipped his mind.

I didn't say anything. I went in too.

Ivy ordered plenty of seafood. Chris sat beside her and peeled the shellfish for her.

I sat across from him and watched the two of them talk and laugh.

By the time dinner was over, he still hadn't noticed I hadn't eaten a bite.

On the way out, the hunger caught up with me and made the room tilt.

I'd almost forgotten that I could go without food but my baby couldn't.

At the counter, a plate of toast from a canceled order was about to be thrown away.

I bought it and wolfed it down.

Ivy raised an eyebrow.

"We ordered all that and it wasn't enough for you? Aurelia, you've got quite an appetite."

Chris rubbed my back and smiled.

"Pregnancy does that."

Ivy made a face.

"Then I don't want to be pregnant."

He answered like it was nothing, "Then you don't have to."

A server came over and said to Ivy, "You and your husband are so sweet together. Could we take a photo of you two to promote the restaurant?

"We'll give you a matching pair of mugs as a thank-you."

Ivy lit up.

"Yes! Chris, come on!"

Chris hesitated.

"Ivy, that isn't appropriate. Aurelia and I are the ones who..."

Ivy caught his arm and lowered her voice. "It's a photo. Aurelia isn't that petty.

"Besides, the server will be mortified if you tell her we're not married. Her manager might even dock her pay."

Chris gave me one apologetic look, then joined Ivy by the window and posed with her for a series of intimate photos.

Suddenly, I could see no point in staying. I walked out alone.

I took a cab back to the hotel. Then he called.

"Are you upset? The server made a mistake, that's all. Ivy was just having fun. She didn't mean anything by it. Don't read too much into it.

"The mugs aren't worth anything. If you want a set, I'll buy you one."

I rested a hand on my heavy belly. I was about to bring up the divorce when he spoke again. "I know I've been neglecting you lately. That's on me.

"I have a surprise for you tomorrow night at the private theater where we had our first date. You have to come."

Something in me tightened.

Tomorrow was our seventh wedding anniversary.

Had he done all of this just to set up a surprise?

Thoughts crowded my mind until my head started to hurt.

Never mind. I'd see when I got there.

The next night, I arrived at the theater at the time he'd given me.

I hesitated at the entrance before finally going in.

There wasn't a single staff member inside.

Every so often there was a hand-drawn sign telling me which way to go.

The signs led me to a pitch-dark courtyard.

The moment I stepped in, fireworks lit up the whole sky.

I looked up, stunned.

Had all that closeness between Chris and Ivy been an act?

Then words appeared in the fireworks.

"Happy birthday, Princess Ivy!"

Chris's anxious voice rang out. "Too early! That's my wife!"

He ran over and pulled me behind a tree.

"Why are you so late?"

There was a hint of reproach on his face. As I looked at him, my heart slowly went cold.

"So you asked me here to celebrate Ivy's birthday?"

He nodded.

"You're always saying I pay too much attention to Ivy.

"Her birthday is a chance for you two to get to know each other. After that, we'll include you in everything we do."

I pressed my lips together.

"Do you remember what today is?"