ra

nes. A thin, grey light filtered through the blinds of the hospi

foggy moment, I

emptiness in my womb sent the

en. It was flat. Devasta

by was

ther. And another. Soon, I was shaking with silent, wracking sobs,

e one I had loved with every fiber of my being fro

thought I wasn' t good enough for her brilliant son, and my "infertility" was just further proof. The c

baby, I had nothi

in, his face etched with sympathy. "Mr

ok my head, my hand still pre

iness that went beyond a long shift.

ch your husband again throughout the night. His phone was

he man who had pushed me down the stairs. The man who ha

gan to burn through

rprisingly steady. "The ba

, his expression confused. "But t

peated, the words tasting like

the pages. He was a kind man, but he was thorough. "I see here Mr

ad been there for the first one, his eyes glued to the grainy black-and-white im

nel had come

e twelve-week scan, the one where we heard the heartbeat for the first time. I we

a rooftop bar downtown, a man' s arm with a familiar watch draped

ooms booked for "meetings" that were never on his calendar. Each discovery was a small cut, ano

Five major betrayals. The public proposal was the fifth. The push, the p

e him a sixth c

said, the words clear an

quiet, old money that dwarfed Ethan's flashy tech fortune. But he' d been insecure about it, so I hid it. I became Mrs. Kiera Carlson, the supportive, unassumin

and smaller, hoping that if I took up less

fool' s

your insurance information isn' t on file. We need you to settle the bill

dled everything. And now, he was gone, and I w

ng position. Every muscle screamed in protest.

ry long time, I felt a flicker

s res