Home / While He Held Her Twins, I Disappeared / Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

All Chapters of While He Held Her Twins, I Disappeared: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

7 Chapters

Chapter 1

When I opened my eyes, Dante was holding my hand so tightly his knuckles had gone white. “Ivy, look at me.” He bent over the bed, his voice rough. “Does anything hurt? Are you still dizzy?”I remembered leaving the maternity ward and catching the stairwell railing before my knees gave out. After that, nothing.His jacket hung open, his tie crooked. A look from this man could silence every tough guy on the Boston docks. Now he barely seemed to trust himself to touch my face.“They said you were dehydrated. Your blood pressure tanked.” He pressed my fingers to his mouth, his eyes searching mine. “I called seventeen times. Seventeen, Ivy. Don’t scare me like that.”His phone lit up with the family lawyer’s name. He switched it off. “Nobody else matters tonight.”My fingers went cold in his. Two hours ago, he might have said the same thing to another woman.“What about Montreal?”“Someone else is handling it.” He stroked the hand with the IV. “You think I’d leave you here over a contract?”

Chapter 2

Dante slipped into bed just before dawn. I hadn’t slept. He waited for his hands to warm before wrapping himself around me; he’d never forgotten how easily I got cold.“I’m skipping the docks today.” He kissed behind my ear. “You’ve got me all to yourself.”I didn’t move. He reached for a leather folder on the nightstand and laid it in front of me. “Take a look.”Behind the closing documents were photographs of a redbrick estate in the Berkshires, with old stables out back and maple woods beyond the living room windows.Maple Creek. At sixteen, I’d cut its picture out of a restoration magazine and dreamed of having a studio there. I’d told Dante about the clipping years ago, never expecting him to remember the name, let alone find the house.“One last signature, and it’s yours.” He pointed to the east wing. “Best light for your worktable. The nursery can go next door. Plenty of space for a swing set.”He remembered the future I’d wanted. I could still picture my worktable under those w

Chapter 3

“Ivy?” Dante put the glass down and crouched in front of me, blocking Celeste’s view. His palm cupped the back of my neck. “You’re shaking. Let’s get you home.”I wanted to say yes, but the baby boy started crying on the patio.Celeste glanced at the stroller. “He already knows his daddy. Does that every time he leaves.”Dante’s jaw tightened. “Your nanny’s waiting outside.”“I was just talking about the baby—”“You should go.”He hadn’t raised his voice, but everyone fell quiet.Celeste looked from him to me. “Don’t take it the wrong way, Ivy. You’ve never had a newborn. You can’t really understand how exhausting it is.”Dante rose, pushing his chair aside. “Apologize to her.”Her smile faded. “What did I say?”“Now.”The manager had reached our table. Celeste’s eyes filled, and she forced out an apology before wheeling the stroller away.Maeve carefully changed the subject. Dante held my hand until the waiter cleared the appetizer plates. He was defending me, and all I could hear was

Chapter 4

On the third day, Nora set a tablet in front of me. The local news was showing footage from the search. Blackened beams were all that remained of the lodge. Dante stood at the cordon with ash smeared over his sleeves.The search coordinator said something. Dante shook his head and ducked under the tape. Two rescuers caught him before he got any farther. The camera couldn’t pick up his voice, but I knew what he was saying.“My wife’s still in there.”I stopped the video. He’d believed it. I’d been terrified he would follow me; now I couldn’t swallow a sip of water.“He’s had people checking every hospital along the route,” Nora said. “There’s a reward for witnesses. The road’s still closed, so he’s rented somewhere nearby.”“Has he opened the envelope?”“I don’t know.”I looked down at my stomach. “I hope he has.”That night, a new voice message appeared in the cloud account linked to my old phone. Dante. Sitting on the edge of a motel bed, I waited a long time before pressing play.At

Chapter 5

I didn’t do well at first. Every morning, a garbage truck came down our street. The engine would drag me out of sleep, and I’d sit up in bed, convinced Dante had found me.Nora bought a new chain for the door and thicker curtains for the windows. I still got up in the middle of the night to check the lock. Even after I’d checked it, I’d lie awake listening for footsteps on the stairs.Fear wasn’t the hardest part, though.At the grocery store one afternoon, I spotted a jar of pistachio spread. I took a picture to send Dante before I’d even thought about it. He always complained it was too sweet, then ate every bite of the toast I slathered it on.I opened my contacts and remembered I’d deleted his number. For a moment, I stood there with the picture on my screen, trying to work out what to do with it.“Need help finding something?” the cashier asked.I shook my head, paid for my groceries, and left the jar on the counter.At home, I made a list of the things Dante liked and taped it in

Chapter 6

Dante found me five days later. I was coming back from the clinic with a box of prenatal vitamins when I noticed a man at the foot of the apartment steps. Instinctively, I shifted the bag behind me.He turned, and I almost didn’t recognize him. He’d lost weight. Stubble covered his jaw. He took a step toward me, then stopped, his eyes dropping to my belly. His lips moved without making a sound.I let him find the words himself.“Ivy.” My name came out hoarse. “It’s really you.”“You shouldn’t be here.”He reached for me. I stepped back, and his hand stayed suspended between us. Someone passed on the sidewalk. He didn’t look away from me. When the sound of traffic faded, he said, “I stayed on that mountain for nineteen days.”I tightened my grip on my bag. “I saw the news.”“They said they couldn’t find you. I told them to keep looking. When they finally got to the car, the driver’s seat was empty. I started thinking maybe you hadn’t been there at all.” His eyes were red. “Nora wouldn’t

Chapter 7

For the next week, Dante stayed out of the apartment. His lawyer sent over the paperwork. Dante acknowledged Celeste and the twins, and withdrew the confidentiality clause I’d refused to sign.His own emails were shorter.[It’s raining. Be careful on the stone steps outside the clinic.][Nora said you’re not sleeping. I sent a pregnancy pillow to the studio, the one the doctor recommended. You don’t have to take it.]I didn’t answer, and I left the pillow at the studio. Sometimes, when I went to the corner bakery, I spotted his car across the street. He never rolled down the window. He’d wait until I’d gone, then slowly drive away.I told my lawyer to tell him to stop following me. After that, I didn’t see the car again.On Friday, at thirty-four weeks, Nora came with me to my checkup. The doctor looked at the monitor and called another nurse over. Their voices stayed calm, but neither told me to put on my coat and go home.“You’re showing signs of severe preeclampsia. We need to get y

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status