Chapter 1

On our third wedding anniversary, I planned to tell my husband I was pregnant.

Instead, I watched him get down on one knee and propose to another woman.

In the ensuing chaos, he shoved me down a flight of marble stairs.

I woke up in the hospital, losing our baby. The doctor called him, begging him to come.

"Tell her to stop this pathetic act," I heard my husband's voice say over the phone. "I don't have time for her games."

He hung up. He was at the same hospital, comforting his mistress over a minor burn while our child died.

After three years of lies and five broken promises, I finally woke up.

I left him a box with the ultrasound photos and my miscarriage diagnosis, signed the divorce papers, and disappeared from his life forever.

Chapter 1

Kiera POV:

On our third wedding anniversary, I watched my husband get down on one knee and propose to another woman.

The clinking of champagne glasses and the low hum of polite conversation filled the opulent ballroom of the St. Regis. It was a party Ethan had thrown, ostensibly to celebrate a new funding round for his tech company, but he' d whispered to me that morning, his breath warm against my ear, that it was truly for us. For our anniversary.

I believed him. I always did.

I stood near the grand entrance, my hand resting protectively on the gentle swell of my belly. Three months. Our secret. Our tiny miracle. I was waiting for the perfect moment to tell him, imagining the look of pure joy on his handsome face.

That's when the "dare" started.

A drunken venture capitalist, one of Ethan' s new partners, slapped him on the back. "Carlson! I dare you to prove you' ve still got it. Recreate the most epic moment of your youth! Propose to your high-school sweetheart, Chanel Simon!"

A wave of laughter rippled through the crowd. My smile froze.

Chanel Simon. The influencer. The one that got away. Her perfectly curated life was a constant, shimmering presence on the periphery of our marriage.

And there she was, standing just a few feet from Ethan, looking every bit the social media angel in a blush-pink dress, her expression a perfect blend of surprise and bashful delight.

"Oh, Mark, don' t be silly," Chanel said, her voice a sweet, breathy melody that I knew made men weak. "Ethan' s a married man."

But the crowd was roaring now, a chorus of "Do it! Do it!" fueled by expensive liquor and the thrill of a good show.

Ethan, ever the showman, flashed his charismatic, camera-ready smile. He caught my eye for a fleeting second, a silent apology in his gaze, but the pull of the spotlight was stronger. It always was.

He turned to Chanel. "A dare' s a dare," he said, his voice smooth as velvet.

And then he knelt.

The air was sucked from my lungs. The ballroom, moments before a warm, glittering space, suddenly felt cavernous and cold. All I could hear was the frantic pounding of my own heart, a frantic drumbeat against the silence in my head.

He took Chanel's hand. The crowd went wild. Flashes from phone cameras created a strobe effect, capturing the grotesque tableau. My husband. On one knee. For another woman.

I had just walked back into the main hall, a steaming cup of coffee in hand, intended for him. He always got a headache when he drank too much champagne. The cup felt heavy, a dead weight in my trembling fingers.

The crowd hadn't seen me yet. I was a ghost at my own anniversary party.

"Come on, Ethan!" someone shouted. "Kiss her! Seal the deal!"

Chanel giggled, tilting her head. "Ethan, you always said I was the one you regretted letting go," she murmured, just loud enough for those nearby to hear. Her eyes flickered towards me then, a glint of triumph in their depths. She knew I was there. She knew.

Then, her gaze dropped to my stomach, a subtle, deliberate motion. "Besides," she added, her voice laced with a cloying, false sweetness, "we can' t upset Kiera. Not in her... condition."

The whisper spread like wildfire. The "condition." My secret, now a prop in her twisted little play.

Ethan' s face was unreadable. He was about to lean in, to press his lips to hers as the crowd demanded. My feet were rooted to the spot. My throat was tight, a scream trapped inside.

This was it. The final, shattering blow.

"Ethan."

My voice was a croak, barely audible over the din, but it cut through the air like a shard of glass.

The noise died down. Heads turned. The sea of smiling faces parted, and suddenly, I was the one in the spotlight.

Ethan' s smile vanished. He stood up abruptly, dropping Chanel' s hand as if it were on fire.

"Kiera," he said, his tone clipped. "What are you doing?"

"Just a bit of fun, Mrs. Carlson," the venture capitalist, Mark, slurred, trying to smooth things over. "No harm done."

I ignored him. My eyes were locked on my husband. "No harm done?" I repeated, my voice flat and dead. "Today is our third wedding anniversary."

A wave of awkward murmuring went through the crowd. People started to back away, their phones discreetly lowered. The party was over.

"Kiera, don' t make a scene," Ethan hissed, his jaw tight with anger. The charm was gone, replaced by the cold irritation I knew all too well.

"It was a game, that' s all," he said, striding towards me. "You' re being overly sensitive."

My hand found its way back to my belly, a desperate, instinctual gesture. I' d been so excited for tonight. I' d imagined us leaving the party early, curled up in bed, my head on his chest, as I finally told him we were going to be parents. The fantasy dissolved into bitter ash.

"Oh, Kiera, I' m so sorry." Chanel materialized at my side, her face a mask of concern. She reached for the coffee cup in my hand. "You look pale. Let me get you some water."

"I' m fine," I said, pulling back.

"It' s just what Mark said," she pressed on, her voice a stage whisper. "Everyone was saying how much Ethan still loves me, how we' re the perfect match. It must be so hard for you to hear."

Her words were a deliberate provocation. Malice dripped from every syllable.

And then it happened.

As she reached for the cup again, her hand "slipped." She let out a piercing shriek, stumbling backward. The hot coffee flew through the air, splashing not on me, but onto her own arm.

"Ah! You scalded me!" she cried, sinking to the floor, tears instantly welling in her eyes.

The scene was perfectly orchestrated. I was the jealous, hysterical wife, lashing out. She was the innocent victim.

Ethan didn't hesitate. He rushed past me, his shoulder shoving me aside, and knelt beside Chanel. "Chanel! Are you okay? Let me see."

He cradled her arm, his expression a storm of fury directed entirely at me. "Kiera, what the hell is wrong with you? Look what you did!"

"I didn' t..." I started, but my voice was drowned out by Chanel' s pathetic sobs.

"She did it on purpose, Ethan! She was angry!"

"She' s a monster!" Ethan snarled, his eyes blazing with a hatred that chilled me to the bone. He looked at me, at my hand still resting on my stomach, and his face twisted into a cruel sneer. "A monster like you doesn't deserve to have a child."

The words were a physical blow. The world tilted on its axis.

He scooped Chanel up into his arms, her head resting theatrically on his shoulder. "I' m taking you to the hospital."

He started for the exit, his path blocked by the grand, sweeping staircase that led down to the lobby.

"Ethan, wait," I pleaded, grabbing his arm. My heart was a frantic bird beating against my ribs. "It wasn' t me. She did it herself. Please, just listen to me."

"Get out of my way, Kiera," he growled, trying to shake me off.

"Please," I begged, my voice cracking. "Don' t leave me. Not tonight."

"I said, get out of my way!" he roared, his patience snapping. He had to get past me to get to the stairs.

I remembered all the other times. The missed dinners because Chanel was in town. The "business trips" that coincided with her influencer events. The lies. The excuses. I had given him chance after chance. Five chances. We' d agreed. This was the last one.

"It wasn' t my fault," I whispered, a final, desperate attempt to reach the man I once loved. "She' s lying. She' s always lying."

He looked at me, his face a mask of pure contempt.

"I don' t have time for your drama," he spat.

And then, with a violent shove, he pushed me.

He didn't mean to push me down the stairs. He was just trying to get me out of his way, to clear his path to get his precious Chanel to a doctor for a minor burn.

But I was already off-balance. Pregnant. Heartbroken.

My heel caught on the edge of the top step.

For a moment, I was suspended in air. Time seemed to stop. I saw his horrified face, the flicker of shock before it was replaced by annoyance.

Then the world became a dizzying, painful blur as I tumbled, end over end, down the cold, marble staircase.