Chapter 1

By the time I got home from the hospital, it was past 8 p.m.

I had barely stepped inside when I heard Zeke Evans laughing. He was on the phone with Hailey Moore, completely absorbed in their conversation.

"I loved that movie, too. We should go see it again sometime. Some of those scenes were incredible, especially the ending…"

Zeke looked up and saw me standing by the door, pale and exhausted, but his expression barely changed. He covered the phone with one hand.

"I'm gonna finish this call with Hailey in the study. I was too tired to cook, so just order whatever you want. Just get it from somewhere decent, okay? You're pregnant."

Without waiting for me to respond, he put the phone back to his ear.

"Oh, that reminds me. There's another documentary I think you'd like. Have you seen…"

He walked into the study and closed the door behind him.

I stared at the closed door, then looked down at the discharge papers crumpled in my hand.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

I had planned to sit down with Zeke and talk everything through. I wanted to tell him I was leaving and give our seven years together the dignity of a proper ending.

I didn't expect him to refuse me even that much of his time.

I was weak and drained after the procedure, and the thought of food made me sick. Instead of ordering dinner, I took a shower and waited for Zeke to finish his call so we could talk.

But the call dragged on.

By the time I was almost done booking a flight out of town, Zeke was still in the study, laughing and talking to Hailey as though neither of them ever wanted to hang up.

It reminded me of the way he used to talk to me when we first started dating.

Back then, we could spend hours talking about a single line from a commercial. Now, I could barely remember the last time Zeke and I had exchanged more than a few sentences.

It was probably the week before, when we were trying to finalize the menu for our wedding reception.

For once, we managed to have a real conversation, only for it to turn into a huge fight over a grilled salmon dish.

I wanted it taken off the menu. "I'm allergic to seafood. I can't even eat it."

He was already losing patience. "Then don't eat it. Hailey likes salmon. Could you stop being so selfish?"

I stared at him, stunned.

I couldn't understand how asking to remove a dish I couldn't even eat from my own wedding menu made me selfish.

The conversation ended in another argument, and we never did finalize the menu.

Looking back, I should have ended things that day.

But I couldn't bring myself to walk away. I held on until now, until I was standing there with my abortion paperwork crumpled in my hand, before I finally accepted that it was over.

At 1:30 a.m., Zeke finally came into the bedroom.

I had been dozing against the upholstered headboard, but the moment he walked in, I was wide awake.

I sat up and looked at him.

"Zeke, there's something I need to tell you."