d. Her body ached, her chest was tight, but she had to do this. She dressed in a h

tarred restaurant that overlooked the frozen lake. She ha

screen. She had barely sat down when a familiar

turned her head, peering th

om him sat Daria, looking radiant in a fitted red dress that accentuated her pregnancy. Danial was cutting

she squeezed it as if she could shatter it with her bare hands. The o

d landed right on the crack in the screen. She locked eyes

ed loudly, pushing her plate away. "It's

uthoritative. "Take this back. Tell the chef if he can't follow a

, aching throb started in her chest. She couldn't sit here and watch this grote

ping her eyes straight ahead, a foo

She caught herself on the back of a chair, her ankle twistin

The surprise was quickly replaced by a flash of guilt, w

nded, his voice low and harsh. "Ar

n her ankle. She looked at him, her face a

uestion. He searched her face, his brain wo

in. "I just wanted a nice lunch. I didn't know

eidre. "Stop it. You're embarrassing yourself. If yo

She stared at her husband, the father of her dead child, and sp

" Deidre said. "Today is

anger vanished, replaced by a sudden, sickening p

harp cry. She doubled over, clutching he

round, gathering Daria into his arms. "What's wron

ting her over a fake pain while the memory of their real daughter hung in the air

aurant. She didn't feel the cold. She di

e steady on the wheel. She pulled into a private cemetery in Westchester. The

nching in the snow. She stopped in fr

y O

her trousers, biting into her skin. She reached out with bare,

been holding back all day finally broke free. They fell hot and fast

're going to have a brother or sister. But Mommy is sick. Momm

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect yo

pulled out her phone. The screen was blank. No missed calls. No texts. D

able; it was seeping into her bones, slowing her heartbeat. A sharp, stabbi

spasming, struggling against the cold and the stress.

a final, instinctive cry f

y marble of the headstone. The snow continued to fall, covering her black