Chapter 1

Six years. I had given six years of my life to Ethan. I put my own dreams on hold, the blueprints for skyscrapers collecting dust in my portfolio, so he could chase his. I worked two jobs to support us through his medical school, another during his residency. I believed in the future we were building, a future symbolized by the antique locket he gave me, a custom design I had sketched myself. It was our promise of eternal devotion.

Now, he was back from a prestigious fellowship, a rising star at the clinic, and I barely recognized him.

He was late again. I sat in the living room we had painstakingly decorated together, the silence pressing down on me. I traced the lines of a new building design on my tablet, but my focus wasn't there. It was on the clock, ticking past nine.

I remembered the early days, him poring over medical textbooks at this very table while I sketched beside him, the comfortable silence filled with shared ambition. He would kiss my temple and whisper, "Just a little longer, Ava. Then it's your turn. We'll build your dream house, and you'll build your own skyline."

Those whispers felt like a lifetime ago.

The front door finally clicked open. Ethan walked in, shrugging off his doctor's coat. He looked tired, but there was a different kind of energy around him, a buzzing excitement I hadn't seen in months.

"Long day?" I asked, keeping my voice even.

"You have no idea," he said, running a hand through his hair. "Tiffany is a lifesaver, though. She's a new intern, incredibly sharp. Reorganized the entire patient filing system in an afternoon. I don't know what I'd do without her."

Tiffany. He'd mentioned her every day for the past two weeks.

I stood up and walked over to him, intending to hug him. As I got closer, I smelled it. A sweet, floral perfume that wasn't mine. It was light, almost cloying.

I stopped. "Who's perfume is that?"

Ethan stiffened, taking a step back. "What are you talking about? It's probably just from the clinic. A patient, maybe."

He wouldn't meet my eyes. He was a terrible liar.

"It's strong, Ethan."

"You're being paranoid, Ava," he snapped, his voice suddenly cold. "I'm exhausted. I don't have time for this."

He brushed past me and went upstairs. I stood frozen in the hallway, the foreign scent hanging in the air, a thick, suffocating cloud. The promise of our shared future felt like a lie.

Later that night, unable to sleep, I went into my small home office. Pinned to a corkboard was the original sketch for our dream house, the one we were supposed to build after he finished his fellowship. I looked at the sweeping lines, the open spaces, the studio I'd designed for myself overlooking a garden. It was a picture of a life that no longer felt possible.

My hands trembled as I took the drawing down. I stared at it, at all the hope and love I had poured into those lines. Then, with a surge of cold, clear pain, I slowly crumpled the thick paper in my fists, the sound of it crackling in the quiet room. I squeezed until my knuckles were white, destroying the dream with my own hands.

The next afternoon, the doorbell rang. I opened it to find Ethan standing there, a bright, triumphant smile on his face. And next to him was a young woman with wide, innocent eyes and a cascade of blonde hair.

Tiffany.

"Ava, honey, look who I brought home for dinner!" Ethan announced, stepping inside.

Tiffany gave me a shy smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Hayes. Ethan talks about you all the time."

My eyes weren't on her face. They were on her neck. Around it, resting against her skin, was my locket. The antique gold, the custom design I'd drawn, the symbol of my six years of sacrifice. It was a part of me. And she was wearing it.

The air left my lungs. The world tilted, the colors of the room seeming to drain away.

"What is she doing with my locket?" My voice was a choked whisper.

Ethan's smile faltered. He looked from me to Tiffany, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. "Ava, don't make a scene. Tiffany admired it, so I let her wear it. It's just a piece of jewelry."

"Just a piece of jewelry?" I repeated, disbelief making my voice shake. "You gave that to me. It was our promise."

Tiffany's eyes welled up with tears. She clutched the locket protectively. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was so important. Ethan just said it was an old thing he had."

"It's fine, Tiffany," Ethan said, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. He glared at me. "See? You're upsetting her. It's not a big deal."

"Get it off her," I said, my voice low and dangerous. I took a step toward them. "Take it off, now."

"Ava, stop it. You're being hysterical," Ethan warned.

I ignored him. I reached for Tiffany, my hand closing around the locket. "It's mine."

Tiffany yelped as I tugged. The delicate chain snapped. The locket fell from my grasp, clattering onto the hardwood floor.

"Look what you did!" Ethan shouted, his face contorted with rage.

He shoved me. Hard. My foot slipped on the top step of the staircase behind me. There was a moment of weightlessness, a flash of his furious face, and then a sickening jolt as I tumbled backward.

I landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, a blinding, white-hot pain shooting through my abdomen and back. I tried to push myself up, but my body wouldn't respond.

Then I felt a warm wetness spreading beneath me. I looked down. Blood was soaking through my dress.

My baby. Our baby. A secret I had been holding for seven weeks, a tiny spark of hope I was waiting for the right moment to share.

As my vision blurred and the darkness closed in, the last thing I heard was Ethan's cold, detached voice floating down the stairs. "Don't worry, Tiffany. It was an accident. She gets like this sometimes. This will teach her to control herself."