Chapter 2

The clinic in the neighboring state was quiet, sterile. Maya felt a dull ache deep inside, a hollowness that had nothing to do with the procedure.

She had told Ethan she was visiting her mother in Queens for the day. Another lie.

The abortion was her secret, her painful severing. She paid in cash, using money she'd carefully saved, money Ethan didn't know about.

As she rested in the small recovery room, her phone buzzed. A new, unknown number.

A picture message.

It was Chloe, laughing, draped over Ethan on a sun-drenched yacht. Ethan was smiling, his arm around her. Another picture followed: Chloe, Ethan, and the twin boys, looking like the perfect family.

Then a text: *"He'll always come back to us. You're just a temporary distraction, dear. A rather plain one at that."*

Rage, cold and sharp, cut through Maya's pain. Chloe was taunting her. Deliberately.

She deleted the messages, her fingers shaking.

That evening, back in their Manhattan penthouse, Ethan was waiting. He looked worried.

"Maya, where were you? I called your mom, she said you left hours ago. I was worried sick."

He tried to hug her. She stiffened.

"I just needed some air," she said, her voice flat.

"Are you okay? You look pale." He touched her forehead. "No fever."

She wanted to scream. She wanted to claw his handsome, deceitful face.

Instead, she forced a small smile. "Just tired. Long day."

He seemed to accept it. He started talking about a charity gala they were supposed to attend next week. "It's important we make an appearance, Maya. Old Man Hemingsworth will be there. He's a key investor."

His priorities. Always his priorities.

He was planning their future, oblivious. He talked about a trip to Italy, a second honeymoon. He talked about baby names, even though she hadn't officially told him about the pregnancy yet. He just assumed.

Maya felt like she was watching him from a great distance.

She feigned interest, nodding along. Inside, she was making her own plans.

She needed to see her family in Queens one last time. Her real family. Her mother, her cousins.

She needed to say goodbye, without saying goodbye.

"I think I'll spend tomorrow with Mom," Maya said casually a few days later.

"Oh? Okay. I have that investor dinner, but I can drop you off," Ethan offered.

"No, it's fine. I can take a cab." She needed to be alone.

But Ethan insisted. "Nonsense. I'll take you. We can have lunch together first, my treat."

His possessiveness, once endearing, now felt like a cage.

He drove her to Queens. He was charming with her mother, doting on Maya.

At a small family get-together her cousins threw that afternoon, everyone praised Ethan.

"He's so good to you, Maya!"

"You're so lucky!"

"He clearly adores you."

Maya smiled, a hollow ache in her chest. They saw the facade. The perfect husband.

If only they knew.

Later that evening, as they were about to leave, there was a commotion at the door.

Chloe Van Doren stood there.

She was dressed impeccably, a cool smile on her face. She held a lavish gift basket.

"Ethan, darling! I heard you were in the neighborhood visiting Maya's... family. I just had to drop this off for your mother-in-law."

Her eyes met Maya's, a glint of triumph in them.

Ethan looked flustered. "Chloe! What a surprise."

Maya felt the blood drain from her face.