room, but her presence seeped into every corner of the house. My sanctuar

ckers that were the only things that soothed my morning sickness. They were gone. In their place

e table, scroll

hing?" she asked w

And the c

t. I threw it out. The doctor said you need more calcium and folic acid.

wants. The baby's health. She was positioning herself as th

a fact Mark knew better than anyone. One evening, Chloe prepared a beautiful shrimp sca

he said, her eyes wide. "You should have some,

er, just sighed. "Sarah, don't be

om doorway, watching me with a look of detached concern. "You seem to be having

and powerless. I wanted to fight, to scream, to throw her out of my house, but I barely had the energy to get out

begin. He' d kiss my forehead, his lips cool and brie

d ask, placing a hand on my stomach. His to

an I married. One evening, he came into the bedroom

swollen," he said

eet. His touch was firm and confident. For a crazy, desperate

thing's going to be okay.

e living room downstairs. Chloe was on the sofa, bathed in the warm glow of a lamp, reading a book. She

, then the low murmur of their voices. A moment

host in my own life, watching my husband build a new family with another woman, right in front of my eyes. He was pl

ng. He wasn't just cheating

phone lit up with a message. It was from Chloe. I knew

that he can't wait for the baby to be born. H

od ran

sage was the

is protected, no matter what. And to start the paperwork. He's going to file for divorce t

ed into my mind. He wasn't just going to take