Chapter 1

My voice was perfectly calm.

I stood to get the documents from the drawer. Colton stiffened as he watched me.

He caught my wrist. "What is this? You're doing this because I didn't bring you blueberries?"

"Yes. Because you didn't bring me blueberries."

I looked at him, my expression blank.

Colton's growing anger was frightening. He started to speak, then stopped. When he looked at me again, he seemed frustrated and at a loss.

"I told you. I've been busy.

"I'll make a special trip tomorrow, all right? I know being pregnant has made you moody and irritable.

"Lucky for you, I know you well enough not to hold it against you."

He reached for me again, trying to smooth it over.

I gave a cold laugh. My chest hurt, and I pushed him away.

Colton did know me. He'd forgotten things that mattered to me before. But he remembered every little thing Beth mentioned in passing.

A few years earlier, before our wedding, I'd asked him to pick up the diamond ring.

He forgot the ring, but he remembered to go out of his way to pick up Beth's dress.

I made a scene, sobbing and shouting that I was moving out of the estate. He wearily accused me of being childish. How could I be jealous of Beth, of all people? He tried to soothe me for a while, then left on business.

But early the next morning, he went to get the ring and kept trying to make it up to me.

So I let it go.

After I pushed him away, I opened the closet and started packing.

Colton's hand froze in midair. Anger spread across his face. "Do you really have to do this?! I told you I'd buy them tomorrow!"

His voice rose a little. I was about to answer when I caught sight of Beth in the doorway.

I had no idea how long she'd been standing there.

As soon as she realized I'd seen her, Beth hurried in and took my hand. Her eyes reddened. "It's all my fault," she said, sounding hurt. "Monica, please don't get a divorce. I'll buy you blueberries tomorrow.

"It's all my fault. Colton was only trying to celebrate my birthday. If I'd known, I wouldn't have celebrated at all. Then he wouldn't have been distracted, and he could have focused on what you wanted."

And then she started to cry.

Colton frowned and looked at me.

I kept my face blank, but my disgust showed through.

He pulled Beth behind him and started in on me. "That's enough, Monica. She gets one birthday a year. Do you have to upset her right now?

"Take the night to calm down."

He sounded a little impatient. Then he took Beth's hand and led her out of the bedroom.

He didn't sleep in our room that night.

After they left, I stood there for a moment without moving.

He was throwing her birthday party at the estate, so she'd moved in a month in advance.

From the day she arrived, every meal was built around her favorite foods.

Colton would even come home early from the family office to get the ingredients ready. But when I wanted him to cook fish for me, he'd put it off for days.

Beth liked a sweet, heavy rose perfume, so he had the staff spray it in every corner of the house.

Strong scents made me feel sick. Now that I was pregnant, that perfume made me want to throw up.

But Colton only said, "Let it go. She gets one birthday a year.

"I'll buy you nose plugs tomorrow. Wear them and you won't smell a thing.

"Once the party is over, she'll move back out. Then you can have the house however you want it."

So I let that go too and spent most of my time in the bedroom.

Whenever Beth was involved, he put her first. Every time.

That night, I didn't sleep.

I lay there with a sharp ache in my chest, replaying our entire relationship in my head.

When I got up the next morning, Colton was already back with fresh blueberries.

He'd washed them himself and put them on a plate. He'd also made me a blueberry cake.

He smiled at me as if nothing had happened. "Baby, I really was busy yesterday. That's the only reason it slipped my mind.

"See? I dropped everything to get them for you first thing today. Please stop being angry with me."

I looked at him in silence and felt a wave of disgust.

He held a blueberry to my mouth. "Try one. If you don't like them, I'll drive out to the farm and pick them myself."

Before I could answer, Beth came down the stairs in a red dress and heels. Her makeup was done, and she wore a radiant smile.

She walked straight over, hooked her arm through Colton's, and cooed, "You promised you'd get even for me today. You didn't forget, did you?"

Colton frowned, then ruffled her hair indulgently.

"Of course not."

I pushed his hand away from my mouth. "I don't want them."

My voice was cold.

Irritation flickered across his face, but he held it back. "I'll leave them out. Eat them when you feel like it.

"A few people won money from her at the casino yesterday. I'm taking her back to win it back and make things right. You rest at home. I'll bring you a present."

Then the two of them started for the door.

I asked, "Aren't winning and losing both part of gambling? She lost. How is that unfair? She lost the money herself. Why do you have to win it back for her?