Chapter 2

The necklace glittered under the dining room chandelier, resting perfectly against her collarbone. I couldn't look away from it.

Wasn't that necklace meant for me?

"You must be Lucas's wife." The woman wearing my necklace smiled at me, warm and sweet. "I'm Victoria. I'm so sorry I didn't wake you for dinner."

"It's fine," I managed, my voice coming out steadier than I felt. "I needed the rest."

Lucas glanced at me from where he sat at the head of the table. "Feeling better?"

I nodded, still staring at the necklace around Victoria's throat.

"Come, sit down." Eleanor gestured impatiently to an empty chair. "The food is getting cold."

I sat, but I couldn't eat. Every bite stuck in my throat. I pushed food around my plate while conversation flowed around me.

Eleanor was radiant, happier than I'd seen her in months. She kept reaching over to pat Victoria's hand, asking about London, about her studies, about everything. Victoria answered with animated stories that made Eleanor laugh, a sound I rarely heard in this house.

Victoria was Lucas's stepsister, brought into the family when Eleanor remarried his father. I'd known that much, but seeing them together now, I understood why Eleanor had never warmed to me. I would never be this. Never be the daughter she actually wanted.

"Victoria should stay here for now," Eleanor announced suddenly, setting down her wine glass. "At least until she finds a suitable place."

My fork clattered against my plate. "The house is already quite full."

Eleanor's eyes narrowed. "Nonsense. There's plenty of room."

"If it's inconvenient for you, sister-in-law, I can just stay in a hotel." Victoria's voice was soft, almost apologetic. Her eyes were wide and innocent, but something about the way she said it felt calculated.

I opened my mouth to respond.

"What hotel?" Lucas cut in before I could speak. "You get insomnia. You should stay somewhere you're familiar with."

Victoria's face lit up. "You remember that? Oh, Lucas, do you remember when we were younger and I couldn't sleep? You'd stay up with me and we'd watch those terrible old movies until dawn."

"The ones with the horrible special effects," Lucas said, and I heard something in his voice I couldn't quite place. Almost fondness.

"Yes!" Victoria laughed, touching his arm. "And you'd make fun of them the whole time, but you'd never let me watch alone."

They fell into easy conversation, trading memories I had no part of. Inside jokes I didn't understand. References to people and places I'd never been. I sat there silently, my untouched plate growing cold, feeling like a stranger at my own dinner table.

After dinner, Victoria immediately pulled Lucas aside, chattering about something that happened at her university. He followed her to the living room, listening intently.

"Clear the table," Eleanor said to me, not even looking in my direction.

I stared at her. "We have staff for that."

"They're not here right now. And we have a guest." Her tone was sharp. "Or are you too good to help in your own home?"

With Victoria watching from the living room, with Lucas right there, I swallowed my anger. I started gathering plates, my hands shaking slightly.

I was scraping leftovers into the trash when Lucas appeared in the kitchen doorway. My back was to him, but I could feel his presence.

"My mother is just excited," he said. Not an apology. Just a statement.

I didn't turn around. "That necklace Victoria is wearing. Where did it come from?"

"What necklace?"

"The diamond one. I saw the box in your car this afternoon."

There was a pause but when he spoke up again, his voice was cold, as if I was trying to prove difficult . "My assistant handles those purchases. I just sign off on them."

My hands stilled on the plate I was rinsing. "So you didn't buy it for anyone specifically?"

"I don't keep track of every item purchased." His tone was flat, almost bored. "If you want jewelry, just tell me what you want. I'll have something sent over."

The words should have been reassuring. Instead, they felt hollow, perfunctory. Like he was placating a child.

I turned to face him, drying my hands on a towel. He looked tired, his tie loosened, but there was no warmth in his eyes. He wasn't here to comfort me. He was here to smooth things over, to make sure I wouldn't cause problems.

"Why do you like making issues out of little things? She is my sister, whom I haven’t seen for two years," he said, his eyes slowly filling with irritation. "It's just a necklace, you of all people should understand better."

At his tone, my anger slowly melted away. Truly, it was just a necklace and it is only reasonable that he would gift his sister since they’ve not seen for long.

Maybe I was reading too much into things. Maybe his assistant really had just bought it randomly, and Victoria happened to receive it. Maybe I was being paranoid.

"Okay," I said quietly. "I believe you." The last thing I wanted was another round of argument.

Some of the tension left his shoulders. "Good."

This was my chance. He was here, he was calm. I could tell him now about the baby. About the life we'd created together. Maybe that would change things. Maybe that would make him see me differently.

"Actually, there's something I need to tell you." I took a breath. "I went to the hospital today because—"

A sharp cry cut through the air from somewhere outside the kitchen.

Lucas's entire demeanor changed in an instant. His eyes sharpened, his body went rigid. "Victoria."

He was gone before I could finish my sentence, moving faster than I'd seen him move in months. I stood there holding the dish towel, my words hanging unspoken in the empty kitchen.

I followed him out, my heart sinking with each step.

I found them in the hallway near the stairs. Victoria was on the floor, one hand braced against the wall, her face twisted in pain. And Lucas, my always composed, always restrained husband, was crouched beside her with something close to panic written across his features.

His hands hovered over her, uncertain. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm so sorry," Victoria whimpered. "I'm so clumsy. I think I twisted my ankle on the stairs."

"Don't apologize. Let me see." His voice was gentle in a way I'd never heard it. Soft. Almost tender.

He didn't wait for a response. He simply gathered her into his arms, lifting her as if she weighed nothing, cradling her against his chest. Victoria's arms went around his neck, her face pressed into his shoulder.

I stood frozen in the hallway, watching my husband carry another woman with a care and concern he'd never shown me. Not once in two years of marriage.

Not even today, when I'd collapsed at work.

My heart sank. I had never seen him look like this before.

His composure was completely gone. The careful control he always maintained had shattered. For her. For Victoria.

I watched his retreating back as he carried her toward the guest room, murmuring reassurances I couldn't quite hear.

My hand drifted to my stomach, to the secret I was still carrying alone.

I had never seen him look like this before.