Chapter 1

A sharp, twisting pain ripped through Ava' s abdomen, waking her from a dead sleep.

She reached for the other side of the bed. It was cold and empty.

Ethan wasn't home.

Panic tightened its grip around her chest. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand, her fingers fumbling as she dialed his number.

The phone rang once, twice, then someone picked up.

"Hello?"

It was a woman' s voice, soft and a little annoyed. Chloe Davis.

"Chloe? Where' s Ethan? I need to talk to him." Ava' s voice was tight with pain.

"He' s asleep," Chloe said, her tone dismissive. "He was up late helping with my mom. Whatever it is, it can wait. Call back tomorrow."

"No, I can' t wait. It' s an emergency. Please, wake him up." A wave of agony made her gasp.

"Ava, don' t be so dramatic. He' s exhausted. I' m not waking him up."

The line went dead.

Ava tried calling back, but the phone went straight to voicemail. She collapsed onto the floor, the pain so intense it stole her breath. This was it. She was dying. She thought of the baby they had wanted for so long, a dream turning into a nightmare inside her.

With the last of her strength, she crawled to her phone and dialed 911. She managed to unlock the front door before another wave of pain sent black spots dancing in her vision.

The paramedics found her moments later. At the hospital, the doctor' s words were a blur.

"Ectopic pregnancy. It' s ruptured. You' re bleeding internally. We need to operate immediately."

They handed her a consent form. Her hand shook as she looked for the line for next of kin.

"My husband... can you call my husband?"

A nurse tried his number again. "No answer, ma' am. We need your consent now."

Ava signed the form herself, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. She was alone.

She woke up in a sterile white room, the sharp scent of antiseptic filling her lungs. A dull ache had replaced the searing pain. The baby was gone. The doctor explained she had been lucky to survive.

Her phone was on the bedside table. One new voicemail. It was from Ethan.

She pressed play, desperate to hear his voice.

"Ava, what the hell? Chloe told me you called. Stop being so dramatic. I know you' re jealous of the time I' m spending with her, but her mom is sick. Chloe is like a sister to me. Can you stop making everything about you for once?"

The phone slipped from her hand, clattering to the floor. The empty space in her womb echoed the emptiness in her heart. Her despair was a vast, silent ocean, and she was drowning.