Chapter 4

The next morning, the city was blanketed in white. Deidre forced herself out of bed. Her body ached, her chest was tight, but she had to do this. She dressed in a heavy black cashmere sweater and dark trousers, covering every inch of her pale skin.

She took a cab to Central Park, walking into a Michelin-starred restaurant that overlooked the frozen lake. She had a reservation for one. She needed a quiet place to mourn.

She was led to a secluded booth behind a wooden screen. She had barely sat down when a familiar laugh cut through the quiet elegance of the room.

Deidre's blood ran cold. She turned her head, peering through the slats of the screen.

Danial was sitting at a prime window table. Sunlight streamed in, catching the gold in his hair. Across from him sat Daria, looking radiant in a fitted red dress that accentuated her pregnancy. Danial was cutting a steak on his plate. He carefully speared a perfect, medium-rare piece and transferred it to Daria's dish.

Deidre's grip on her water glass tightened. The glass was thick, but she squeezed it as if she could shatter it with her bare hands. The offshore account crisis. A lie. He was wining and dining his mistress.

Daria looked up. Her gaze drifted lazily across the room and landed right on the crack in the screen. She locked eyes with Deidre. A slow, malicious smile spread across her face.

"This steak is too rare," Daria complained loudly, pushing her plate away. "It's practically bleeding. I can't eat this."

Danial immediately signaled the manager. His voice was cold and authoritative. "Take this back. Tell the chef if he can't follow a simple instruction, I'll buy this restaurant and fire him myself."

Deidre watched her husband bully the staff just to please another woman. A dull, aching throb started in her chest. She couldn't sit here and watch this grotesque display. She threw a hundred-dollar bill on the table and stood up to leave.

As she walked past their table, keeping her eyes straight ahead, a foot shot out from under the tablecloth.

Deidre tripped. She stumbled forward, her arms pinwheeling. She caught herself on the back of a chair, her ankle twisting painfully in her high heel. She gasped, steadying herself.

Danial turned his head. His eyes widened when he saw her. The surprise was quickly replaced by a flash of guilt, which morphed instantly into defensive anger. He stood up.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, his voice low and harsh. "Are you following me? Making a scene?"

Deidre straightened up, ignoring the pain in her ankle. She looked at him, her face a mask of ice. "What day is it today, Danial?"

Danial frowned, clearly thrown off by the question. He searched her face, his brain working overtime. "What are you talking about?"

Daria sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. "I just wanted a nice lunch. I didn't know I was doing something wrong. I'm sorry, Deidre."

Danial's protective instincts flared. He glared at Deidre. "Stop it. You're embarrassing yourself. If you're here to throw a tantrum, do it somewhere else."

Deidre took a deep breath. The air felt like glass in her lungs. She stared at her husband, the father of her dead child, and spoke with a clarity that cut through the noise of the restaurant.

"It's Lily's anniversary," Deidre said. "Today is the day our daughter died."

Danial froze. The color drained from his face. The anger vanished, replaced by a sudden, sickening paleness. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Before he could speak, Daria let out a sharp cry. She doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Danial! The baby! It hurts!"

Danial's guilt evaporated in an instant. He spun around, gathering Daria into his arms. "What's wrong? Should I call an ambulance? Daria, talk to me!"

Deidre watched him. She watched him hold the woman who had stolen her life, comforting her over a fake pain while the memory of their real daughter hung in the air like a ghost. He didn't look back. He didn't apologize. He just held Daria tighter.

Deidre turned and walked out of the restaurant. She didn't feel the cold. She didn't feel the snow. She just felt empty.

By the afternoon, she was driving north. The roads were icy, but her hands were steady on the wheel. She pulled into a private cemetery in Westchester. The snow was falling heavily now, covering the gravestones in a thick white blanket.

She walked up the hill, her boots crunching in the snow. She stopped in front of a small, white marble headstone.

Lily Ortega

Deidre sank to her knees in the snow. The cold seeped through her trousers, biting into her skin. She reached out with bare, frozen fingers and brushed the snow off the engraved letters.

She placed a bouquet of white roses on the grave. The tears she had been holding back all day finally broke free. They fell hot and fast, hitting the snow and melting small, deep holes in the white powder.

"I'm pregnant, Lily," Deidre whispered, her voice hoarse. "You're going to have a brother or sister. But Mommy is sick. Mommy's heart is broken, and the doctors say I might not survive."

She pressed her forehead against the cold stone. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you, and I'm so sorry I couldn't protect this one."

The wind howled around her, a mournful sound that echoed her grief. She pulled out her phone. The screen was blank. No missed calls. No texts. Danial hadn't reached out. He had forgotten Lily, and he had forgotten her.

The temperature was dropping rapidly. The cold was no longer just uncomfortable; it was seeping into her bones, slowing her heartbeat. A sharp, stabbing pain lanced through her chest. She gasped, her hand flying to her heart.

It wasn't just grief. It was her heart. The muscle was spasming, struggling against the cold and the stress. Her vision blurred. The edges of the world went dark.

"Danial..." she breathed, a final, instinctive cry for the man who wasn't there.

Her body gave out. She slumped forward, her cheek pressing against the icy marble of the headstone. The snow continued to fall, covering her black sweater, hiding her from the world, as the darkness swallowed her whole.