Secret Baby: The Jilted Wife's Final Goodbye

ink l

the plastic stick in her hand until her vision blurred. The silence in the apartment was usually suffocating,

as pr

g instantly into a sob. She pressed a hand over her m

er at a charity gala when she was just the charity case, the orphan girl Arthur Sterling had

more importantly, a piece of them both. Maybe this was the brid

face was pale, her eyes wide and wet. She practiced a smile. J

ic lock beeping downstair

m the office for another hour. Their anniversary di

be. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She to

he glittering Manhattan skyline. Julian stood by the glass. He was still in his suit,

lled out softly. "

hug him, to kiss his cheek, to start t

asn't a subtle move. It was

, touching nothing but cold AC air. The

y. He looked at her not with affection, not even with the polite indifference he usually

he marble coffee table. It la

said. His vo

The logo of his family's law f

Her voice was

Julian walked over to the bar cart and poured himself a scot

e a physical blow to

ers shook so badly she could barely undo

OF MARRIAG

r ears, drowning out the hum of the

He looked at the window, at the reflection of the life he wanted, which apparently didn't in

to her pocket, clutching the har

oice cracking. "Today is.

the expiration date of a business deal, Nan

use of her legs because of me. Because of that accident. I owe he

was the morning sickness, triggered by the stress

ith pure exhaustion. "If the alimony isn't enough, tell the lawyers. I tol

ng out for money. He tho

f she pulled out that st

Julian believed was a saint. If Julian knew about the baby, he wouldn't love her. He would take the child. He would g

ness washed over her. It

Not now. Not while he looke

blanc pen lying next to the papers. She didn't look at

vering, before adding Sterling in a smaller, cramped scrip

and pushed the pape

ish," she

p the papers, scanning the signature as if checking for a trick. When h

ove-out date," he said. "You can stay her

fine,"

once, cur

n't look back. He didn't say Happy Anniv

the latch echoed th

test out of her pocket. She curled around it, her forehead touching