Chapter 3

Nina was the daughter of a part-time employee at Mom's dance company. Her family struggled financially, so my parents often helped them out.

Nina was a gifted dancer. Mom looked at her with the pride and affection she'd never shown me.

When I applied to college, my art portfolio earned the highest marks, securing me a spot at the most prestigious art school in the country.

It was there that I met Julian, who was studying architecture.

We fell in love.

After graduation, I married him without a second thought.

Our marriage was wonderful at first. But at some point, Julian started mentioning Nina more and more.

I started picking fights with him, crying and arguing because I felt like he cared more about Nina than he did about me.

But every time, he'd just pull me into his arms with a helpless sigh. "Sam, she's been through so much. Can't we help her?"

Then, when I was seven months pregnant, everything changed.

I was walking home alone from my studio, my belly heavy with our baby. A car came speeding past me, catching my backpack as it went. The force sent me crashing hard onto the pavement.

A sharp, excruciating pain ripped through my abdomen, and I felt a rush of warm liquid spreading beneath me.

Panic seized me. I immediately pulled out my phone and called Julian, but he didn't answer. Terrified, I fought through the excruciating pain and dialed 911 with shaking hands.

But I still lost my baby.

My little Annie. The baby I'd waited seven months to meet, whose name I'd already chosen.

I struggled to make my way up to the deserted hospital rooftop and sank into a corner. I stared down at the tiny cars and people far below, wishing I could just jump and end all my suffering.

That was when I heard Julian and Nina talking.

"Julian, I swear I had no idea my brother would… He didn't mean to hurt Samantha. He was just rushing to the hospital to see me when he clipped her as he drove past…"

Julian fell silent for a moment before replying, "She won't find out about any of this. I'll sign the papers agreeing to drop the charges on her behalf."

I stormed toward him like a woman possessed and grabbed his arm.

"Why?" I demanded hoarsely. "How could you do this to our baby? That was our child!"

Before Julian could answer, Mom came rushing over. She had apparently heard what had happened. She slapped me so hard my face stung.

Then she pointed at me, her eyes cold with disgust. "You're absolutely useless! You couldn't even keep your baby alive! You're a disgrace to this family!"

I collapsed to the floor. Through my tear-filled eyes, I saw Julian standing protectively in front of Nina, who looked ready to burst into tears. Meanwhile, Dad was busy trying to calm Mom down.

And in that moment, I realized I hadn't just lost my baby. I'd lost my parents and my husband, too.

The sudden chill of the shower water snapped me out of my memories.

I quickly turned off the faucet, dried myself with a rough towel, and pulled on my pajamas.

Just then, my phone lit up with a text from an unknown number.

"Your parents' 50th wedding anniversary party is in three days. I'll come pick you up."

I knew it was Julian.

I stared at the message for a long, long time before slowly typing out my reply.

"Don't bother."

I knew Mom and Dad didn't love me. They certainly wouldn't want me showing up and ruining the celebration of their picture-perfect family.

Why would I put myself through that humiliation?

I thought I'd made myself perfectly clear. But three days later, Julian showed up anyway.

He ignored my protests and practically forced me into his car. "Samantha, your parents have missed you so much. They'll be overjoyed to know you're alive."

He kept talking as he drove, trying to persuade me. "After they thought you'd died, they were so devastated that their health took a serious turn for the worse.

"Nina stayed by their side and took care of them the whole time. I thought having her as a goddaughter might give them some comfort, so I went ahead and arranged it."