Chapter 3

Sarah' s hand was steady as she held up the phone, the video playing again.

Mark' s recorded voice filled the small space between them. "...the spark just isn't the same with Sarah."

Chloe gasped softly, her eyes darting to Mark.

Mark' s face paled. He stared at the screen, then at Sarah, his expression unreadable.

"It's just talk, Sarah," he said, his voice low, urgent. "It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean I don't love you."

He reached for her arm, but she flinched away.

"Go home, Sarah," he said, his eyes pleading. "We'll talk about this later. Just... go home."

He still didn't know about the baby. The tiny, precious secret she carried.

The irony was a bitter pill.

She remembered their early dreams, whispered in the dark, of a house filled with children, a family.

Dreams fueled, in part, by his mother Eleanor' s constant, not-so-subtle pressure for grandchildren.

"The Thompson legacy," Eleanor would say, her gaze pointedly on Sarah' s flat stomach.

Sarah turned and walked away, leaving Mark and Chloe standing in the lobby.

Her legs felt like lead.

In the parking lot, she fumbled for her car keys, tears blurring her vision.

A kind voice startled her. "Excuse me, miss? Are you alright?"

She looked up. A man, tall, with concerned brown eyes, was standing a few feet away. He wore scrubs.

He held out a granola bar and a small bottle of water.

"You look like you could use this. I saw... well, I was in the lobby. Dr. Ethan Reed," he said, offering a gentle smile. "My vet clinic is in this complex."

Sarah stared at the offerings, then at his kind face.

She managed a weak, "Thank you," taking the water.

He nodded, his gaze sympathetic, then walked towards his own car.

The small gesture of kindness from a stranger felt like a lifeline in a raging sea.

She got into her car, the ultrasound picture still clutched in her hand, and finally let the tears fall.