yed my life, they d

his mother, Maria, sat me down at their cramped kitchen table. The air wa

eaf of papers across the table. It wasn' t a

, his voice smooth as honey. He reached for my hand, th

under my maternity shirt. I looked from his face to his mother'

' s future earnings as a musician. I had to sign over any claim to assets we might acquire t

use. The one that made

legally married af

ot a chi

asked, my voice

r eyes. "Ethan is on the verge of a breakthrough. We can't have

ought I knew. The sensitive artist who wrote songs about my eyes. "

. "We will, Gabby. This is just a for

a weapon against me. They saw my pregnancy not as a joy, but as le

were

had finally gone to a urologist. He' d been cagey about the results, saying everything

tor' s notes said natural concep

essing. Now, I saw it for what it was: a tool. A tool they thought the

cold and heavy. The devastation was a physical thing, a weight press

s back toward him.

meeting Maria's triumphan

o a relieved grin. "I kne

els like our real wedding vows. Can we wait and sign it on the day we have our little

for a trick. But my expression was one of pur

," she cooed. "W

their trap. They had no idea