Masse

mails. It required total isolation, no contact with the outside world. Perfect. It

ng company, arranging for my personal compositions, my piano, and a few essential belongings

bed a vase Chase had bought me on our honeymoon, and hurled it against the fireplace. The ceramic exploded, a satisfying crack echoing through the silent house. Then another, and another. My hands, once delicate on

, my notebooks. I left behind the expensive jewelry, the gifts he' d showered me wit

night. Or the next. He was

. He walked in, his suit rumpled, a faint scent of cheap floral perfume clinging

little too loud in the cavernous space. H

rfume, hit me like a wave. It settled in my throat, thick and

on seizing me. "Don't touch me." My

. "Cali, what's wrong? You seem... off. Has something happened?" His eyes, usually so

er laugh bubbling up. "You really

s been insane. But I brought you something." He pulled a small, velvet box from his pock

e-vite, the park, the small boy, Hayden. The lies were so thick, so pervasive, I felt like I was drowning in them.

, a crushing weariness. I was beyond rage. I was just... done

replaced by a weary patience, crossed his face. "Cali, we've talked about th

hed for him, my voice rising slightly. "And yet, somehow, i

t me, his face paling. "It's... it's work. Top secret." He fumbled for an excuse, his eyes darting around the empty li

ating back, the sound of his hushed voice, undoubtedly lying to Hayden about me now, drifting from

had always been so adamant about waiting, about his career. And all the while,

tossed on a chair. A corner of something met

it up, a text message from Hayden. "Thinking of you, babe. Our lit

grieve for a child that never was, while he reveled in the jo

overwhelming wave of nausea hit me, forcing bile into my throat. No, no, not again. T

missed it as stress, the chaos of my life. But the morning sickn

tudy. I lay awake, curled on my side, the cramps intensifying, a cold dread seeping i

clinic downtown. Alone. No husband, no friend. Just me. The doct

e said, her voice gentle. "You're

th his child. A cruel twist of fate I couldn't comprehen

e faded as she noticed my ashen f

de with disbelief. Alright? Nothing was alright. Ev