You’d think by now I’d know what to do after a breakup. Buy some Ben and Jerry’s, watch sad movies, cry a while. Feel sorry for myself, definitely. I’d done all of that after I’d found out David was cheating on me.But this? This was a million times worse. This felt like my entire heart had been ripped out, stomped on, and thrown to the crows to eat.Worst of all, the world kept turning. I still had to go to work. I still had to act like I wasn’t completely dead inside, because then I’d have to admit to everyone how much I still loved my husband. Yet I was so angry with him that I wasn’t sure if I’d slap him or hug him if I saw him again.At the moment, I was staying with Dani and Jacob. When I’d shown up at their door that afternoon after my epic fight with Liam, bags in hand and sobbing, Dani hadn’t asked any questions. She’d bustled me inside, made me a cup of tea with a large shot of either brandy or whiskey, and had let me tell my story when I’d been ready.“Have you heard any

The following Monday, I went into work, entered Leslie’s office after a single knock, and handed her my letter of resignation.Too bad she didn’t even look up when I entered. She was just typing away on her computer. She waved a hand at me.“Sit down. I’ll be with you in a second.”I sat down. Five minutes passed in silence, Leslie ignoring me entirely. Two more minutes passed.Finally, I stood up and set the letter on her keyboard, forcing her to recognize my existence.“What is this?”“I’m quitting,” I said.Leslie picked up the letter, dangling it from her fingers like I’d handed her a dead bird.“Excuse me?”“I’m quitting.”Sighing, Leslie set the letter down, not even bothering to open it. She steepled her fingers and gestured for me to sit down.I didn’t sit again.After the conversations with my sisters and my mom, I’d realized that Liam had been right: I’d been playing it safe my entire life. I’d thought I could avoid a broken heart that way. I thought if I just did

When I exited the clinic three days later, I glared up at the sun. Why was it so happy and shiny? It should be raining because this damn city should always reflect my mood. It should be cold, rainy, gray, and sad.Okay, maybe not sad—just scared. When the nurse practitioner had told me in her cheery voice that I was pregnant and that they could do an ultrasound right then to check on the fetus, I’d wanted to scream and cry.Oh, and in case you were wondering, when the parasite is this small, you don’t get to have one of those “squirt goo on your belly” ultrasounds. You get the “giant wand shoved up your vagina” type of ultrasound.So after basically losing my virginity a second time to an ultrasound wand, I crossed the street to sit on a bench in a tiny park about a mile from campus. A few moms with their kids played on the playground; one toddler tried to climb onto a swing and subsequently face-planted into the ground. I had to cover my mouth to keep myself from laughing.It was

A coffee addict and cat lover, Iris Morland writes sexy and funny contemporary romances. If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.Stay in touch!irismorland.comIris Morland’s MermaidsNewsletter Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram