Chapter 3

Liam and Victoria's baby? So the proposal hadn't been an act after all?

As if that weren't ironic enough, Liam had called Victoria his wife in front of everyone.

In the five years we'd been together, he'd never once called me that. The most affectionate he'd ever gotten was "babe."

I'd brought it up more than once, telling him I wanted us to call each other husband and wife around other people, the way some couples did.

Every time, he'd flick my forehead and laugh, teasing me for being so impatient. He always said we could call each other that once we were actually married.

I'd assumed he simply didn't believe in using "husband" and "wife" before marriage, so I'd never pushed it. But now he'd called Victoria his wife without a second thought.

So that had never been the reason. I simply wasn't the woman he wanted to call his wife.

While I stood there frozen, the doctor sighed. "Mr. Burnett, your wife is only four months along, and her pregnancy isn't very stable. We'll do everything we can to save the baby."

My ears started ringing.

Four months? I was only three months pregnant.

Then it hit me. A month before I'd gotten pregnant, Liam had gone out of town on a business trip.

No wonder he'd been acting so hot and cold ever since he came back. More than once, I'd woken up to find him secretly scrolling through old photos of him and Victoria.

And lately, whenever things got heated between us, he'd forgotten to use protection several times. Before that, he'd never once slipped up. He always said he had to be responsible when it came to me.

At the time, I'd secretly been happy about the change. I'd thought maybe he'd finally decided he wanted to marry me and wasn't so worried about being careful anymore.

Looking back, maybe he'd been thinking about Victoria whenever we were together. And that so-called business trip had probably been nothing more than an excuse to see her.

He'd been gone for an entire month. I didn't need anyone to tell me what had happened between them during that time.

A chill ran through me, and my chest tightened until I could barely breathe. I took several slow breaths before I finally managed to steady myself.

Once I'd calmed down, I was surprised to find that I mostly felt relieved. I'd already decided to leave Liam anyway. Whatever had happened between him and Victoria was no longer my problem.

Just then, a nurse called my name. "Natalie Elling? We're ready for you. Please come in for your D&C."

Liam immediately looked in my direction. But Victoria let out a soft cry of pain, and his attention snapped right back to her.

"That can't be Natalie. It must be someone else with the same name," he murmured.

If he'd bothered to walk a few steps closer, he would've seen that it really was me. But when it came down to Victoria or me, he still chose her.

I walked into the procedure room and lay down on the cold table. The procedure was easier than I'd expected. Once the anesthesia took effect, I drifted off.

When I woke up, it was already over. I stared at what remained of the pregnancy, overwhelmed by emotions I couldn't even begin to put into words.

Once I'd recovered enough to leave, I collected my paperwork and the medication the doctor had prescribed, then took a cab home.

I was going to pack my things, move out, and cut Liam out of my life for good.

When I got home, he still wasn't back. He was obviously too busy taking care of Victoria.

Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. I simply started packing.

I threw every photo booth strip Liam and I had taken together into the trash, along with all the matching things we'd bought over the years.

Memories that had once seemed so sweet now felt humiliating and painfully ironic.

But the most pathetic part was that after living with Liam for five years, I couldn't even fill a small suitcase with my belongings.

Looking back, maybe he'd never loved me that much. He'd just been good at saying all the right things, and I'd been stupid enough to believe him every time.

But I wasn't going to fall for it anymore.

By the time I finished packing, my back was aching. I was about to lie down on the couch and scroll through my phone when I saw a new post from Victoria.

The photo showed a huge box packed with more than five pounds of cherries. Beside it, Liam sat next to Victoria, feeding her cherries and carefully tucking the blanket around her.