4

Then came the day Ivy announced she was pregnant.

In the middle of the dining table sat a pregnancy test, a lab report, and a pair of baby socks.

She grabbed my hand, her face glowing with excitement.

"Claire, I'm going to be a mom. I'm almost six weeks along, and the baby's healthy."

Six weeks. So they'd been together even longer than I'd thought.

Nathan wrapped his arms around her from behind. The tenderness in his eyes stopped me cold.

"We'll have to move the wedding up and get the dress altered. We can't have anything too tight around your belly."

He'd already started looking at cribs and even cleared his schedule for a week so he could go to her prenatal appointments.

Ivy rested a hand on her stomach and looked at me.

"Claire, are you happy?"

My chest tightened. I didn't say anything.

Her eyes got a little red. "Are you still mad at me?"

Nathan put his phone down.

"Claire, Ivy still considers you her best friend. The least you could do is be grateful."

I picked up the lab report and gave it a quick glance.

"With my memory all messed up, I'm just worried I might mistake her baby for my own someday."

Nathan's face darkened.

Ivy caught his arm. "Don't be mad. Claire didn't mean it."

She turned to get soup from the kitchen. As she passed me, she stumbled and fell toward the corner of the table.

Nathan was farther away, but he got to her first.

A bowl hit the floor, and a shard sliced the top of my foot.

Ivy didn't have a scratch on her.

As he held her, the first thing Nathan asked was, "Is the baby okay?"

She shook her head. Only when she saw me bleeding did she say, "Claire's hurt."

"It's just a little cut."

Nathan carried her to the couch, then turned to warn me. "She can't handle any accidents right now. Stay away from her."

"She's the one who ran into me."

"Enough. She's pregnant. Why would she put herself at risk just to frame you?"

I looked at him and suddenly didn't even have the energy to argue.

Blood trickled down my foot. I pulled out the shard, wrapped the wound, and went to my room to pack.

My ID and my laptop were already packed. I didn't have many clothes.

When I came out dragging my suitcase, Nathan was organizing Ivy's prenatal paperwork on the table.

"What's this tantrum about?"

"Didn't you tell me to move out?"

"There's still a lot to do for the wedding. We'll talk once that's done."

"None of that has anything to do with me."

That shut Nathan up for a second. Ivy got up with a hand on her lower back.

"Claire, I only told you I was pregnant because I wanted to share the good news. You don't have to leave just because I'm having a baby."

I opened the door. "I'm not leaving because you're pregnant. I'm leaving because this isn't my home."

Nathan's face froze.

"Ivy treats you like family. What are you throwing a fit for now? Walk out that door, and don't expect me to come get you."

I looked back at him. My eyes burned, but my voice stayed steady. "Don't worry. I'm never coming back. After all, you're her husband now."

I took off my wedding ring and left it on the entry table.

Nathan flinched and looked as though he was about to stand.

But Ivy pressed a hand to her stomach and let out a little cry, and he turned right back to her.

Before the elevator doors closed, I saw him crouched beside her, his hand over her stomach.

That night, I checked into a hotel the company had booked for me. The next day, I gave my pitch for the Southport project.

Marcus told me on the spot that I'd passed. My base salary was going up 40 percent.

Quarterly bonuses were extra, and the company would cover a year of housing.

I signed the transfer agreement, then sent the divorce agreement to my lawyer, Rachel.

That evening, Nathan took Ivy to the hospital for a checkup, and they ran into Mark, the doctor who'd been helping me hide the truth about my memory.

Nathan stopped him.

"Dr. Quinn, I'm getting married next week. Would you like to come celebrate with us?"

Mark looked at Ivy and smiled.

"Congratulations on finding love, Mr. Cole. I guess that's why Ms. Whitman asked me to keep quiet about her memory. She never lost it in the first place."

Everything went silent.

The smile slowly drained from Nathan's face.

"What did you say?"