Chapter 1

The agreement was signed seven years ago.

Arthur Hayes Sr. had laid it out on his heavy mahogany desk.

His voice was like old leather, smooth but unyielding.

"My grandson Ethan needs a wife, Sarah."

"Someone to present a stable image for the family."

"Your sister Lily needs medical care, very expensive care."

I remember nodding, my hands clasped tight in my lap.

Lily was everything to me.

Her rare illness was a constant shadow.

The Hayes family foundation would cover all of it.

The condition was simple: I marry Ethan, I stay married, I uphold their image.

I was young, from rural Vermont, and I saw a lifeline.

I even hoped for love, for a real family with Ethan.

He was charming then, with grand gestures and whispered promises.

Seven years later, I was nine months pregnant with Ethan' s child.

The hope for love had long since withered.

Ethan's charm was a mask for cruelty, his promises empty.

His infidelities were a constant, brutal reminder of our sham marriage.

Today, I found new pictures on his phone, him and a blonde.

Tiffany Starr, a social media girl, always seeking attention.

My heart didn't break anymore, it just grew heavier.

I had a prenatal appointment, a routine check-up.

I drove myself, Ethan was "busy."

On a busy New York street, a flashy sports car cut me off.

It swerved recklessly, then slammed into my driver's side.

The world spun, metal shrieked.

Pain shot through my abdomen, sharp and terrifying.

Through the haze, I saw the driver of the other car.

Tiffany Starr, looking shocked, then annoyed.

Ethan' s car. She was driving Ethan' s car.

Then Ethan was there, pulling Tiffany from his car.

"Ethan, help me," I gasped, reaching out. "The baby."

He glanced at me, his face a mask of irritation.

"Stop being dramatic, Sarah."

"You're always looking for attention."

He turned his back, fussing over Tiffany who was crying theatrically.

"Are you okay, babe?" he cooed at her.

He didn't even look back as he led Tiffany away.

They left me there.

The delay in medical attention was critical.

I lost the baby, a little girl I had already named Hope.

The news about Lily came while I was still numb in the hospital bed.

The shock, the trauma of my accident, it had been too much for her fragile system.

A fatal crisis, the doctors said.

My Lily, my reason for enduring seven years of hell, was gone.

Everything was gone.

The baby. Lily. My last shreds of tolerance.

Ethan finally appeared at the hospital hours later, reeking of Tiffany's perfume.

He looked impatient, not concerned.

"So, what's the big drama now?"

Arthur Hayes Sr. was with him, his old face etched with a new kind of gravity.

I looked at Ethan, my voice flat, devoid of any emotion I once had.

"I want a divorce, Ethan."

He scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. What about the agreement?"

"Lily is dead," I said, the words like stones in my mouth.

"The agreement is void."

Arthur Sr. flinched, his gaze dropping.

Ethan just stared, his narcissism making him slow to comprehend.

"What? Lily? How?"

"It doesn't matter how," I said. "She's gone. And so is your child."

His eyes widened slightly at that, a flicker of something, but not grief.

"My child?"

"The baby died, Ethan. Because of the accident. Because you left me."

Arthur Sr. stepped forward, his voice raspy.

"Ethan, I saw the photos. The security footage from the street. You with that woman, while Sarah..."

He couldn't finish. He looked truly shaken.

He had seen Ethan with Tiffany, laughing, while I was bleeding, losing our child.

Ethan started to bluster. "It wasn't my fault! She crashed into Sarah!"

"She was driving your car, Ethan," Arthur Sr. said, his voice cold.

"And you abandoned your pregnant wife."

He looked at me, a deep weariness in his eyes.

"Sarah, you will have your divorce."

"I'm so sorry for what my family has put you through."

Relief, cold and vast, washed over me. Freedom.

"Thank you, Mr. Hayes," I said.

"The baby... Hope... she can be buried with your family, if you wish."

"But I'm taking Lily home."

I clutched the small, simple urn the hospital had given me for Lily' s ashes.

It was the only thing I would take from this life.

Lily was going back to Vermont.