was our eighth wedding anniversary, and Liam had booked the best table, the one overlooking the ci

" he said, his voice low

e that reached my eyes.

me forever under a sky full of stars. I was a successful architect, he was expanding his family's busines

he said, pulling his hand back to cut

t?" I asked, thou

his eyes. "She's getting impatient,

ppointments. The fault, the doctors said, was mine. My body simply wouldn't cooperate, and the pressure from his traditional,

ange girl sitting in our living room. She was young, with wide, innocent eyes and a simple dress that look

eaving no room for argument. "She's from the countryside. A

im to the girl, Chloe, who gave me a small, nervous smile. I felt a stra

d Liam later, once his

g me in his arms. "Grandma is just being dra

er hurdle we would overcome together. Chloe was quiet and unassuming, always keeping to herself. She did chor

at Liam's grandmother's estate. The air was thick with polite chatter.

believe it?

d. She said Chloe i

ty. Pregnant. The word echoed in the empty space where my own hopes had lived. I looked across the room and s

ame home that night, I was sitting in the dark, the divorce

" I asked, m

, I'm so sorry. It was a mistake. I was drunk that night after the business dinner. I cam

ng at his face, the face I had loved for more than half my life, I saw a glim

leave me. We can get through this. I'll send her away

oe would be sent away with a generous sum of money to live her life elsewhere. I saw him making calls

sday afternoon. It was from a rival of Liam's in

an's voice crackled over the phone. "Two th

a dusty, abandoned warehouse. Chloe was there too, tied to a chair opposite me, cryin

e, Ava. And we have your other woman, Chloe, the one carrying your heir. You

I held my breath, my heart pounding against my ribs. I

need the child." Then his voice dropped, a frantic whisper directed at me. "Ava, I pro

ntied a sobbing Chloe and led her out of the warehouse.

g with love. The day we bought our first house, painting the walls ourselves, laughing until we were covered in blue paint

world spun, the concrete floor rushing up to meet me. Through the h

as of Liam's empty promise, echoing in the ru