Chapter 2
For a moment, the parking lot disappeared around me.
Cars.
Voices.
The stranger kneeling beside me.
Ryan.
Vanessa.
All of it faded beneath the pounding of my heartbeat.
“You’re pregnant?”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
Not softer.
Almost satisfied.
“Four months.”
My stomach tightened again.
This time the pain wrapped around my back.
I gasped.
The woman beside me grabbed my hand.
“Stay with me. The ambulance is almost here.”
I kept looking at Ryan.
Four months.
Four months meant this wasn’t some old affair that had ended before he begged me to forgive him.
Four months meant he had been lying during prenatal appointments.
During nursery shopping.
During the night he rubbed my swollen feet and told me our daughter was going to change everything.
“You knew?”
My voice barely worked.
Ryan stepped toward me.
“Emily—”
“Did you know she was pregnant?”
His silence answered.
I started crying.
The pain was horrible.
But not as horrible as watching my husband stand between two women carrying his children and knowing he had already chosen which one deserved protection.
Vanessa squeezed his arm.
“Ryan.”
He glanced at her.
That was all I needed to see.
The ambulance pulled into the parking lot.
Paramedics rushed over.
One asked how far along I was.
“Thirty-four weeks.”
“Did you hit your stomach?”
“My side.”
“Any bleeding?”
“I don’t know.”
They helped me onto a stretcher.
Ryan moved closer.
“I’m riding with her.”
Vanessa grabbed his sleeve.
“You said we were leaving.”
I looked at him.
Even now, he hesitated.
The paramedic stared at him.
“Sir, are you the husband?”
“Yes.”
“Then decide.”
Ryan looked from Vanessa to me.
And somehow the fact that he needed to decide destroyed the last piece of hope I had left.
I turned away.
“I don’t want him.”
“Emily.”
“Don’t come with me.”
“Please.”
“You had your chance.”
The paramedic closed the ambulance doors.
The last thing I saw was Ryan standing beside Vanessa.
He didn’t follow.
At the hospital, everything moved quickly.
Monitor.
Blood pressure.
Ultrasound.
Questions.
The baby’s heartbeat was strong, but I was having contractions.
A doctor named Dr. Harris examined me.
“We need to keep you here for observation.”
“Is my baby okay?”
“Right now, yes.”
Right now.
Two words that terrified every pregnant woman.
My phone kept buzzing on the bedside table.
Ryan.
Again.
Again.
Again.
I didn’t answer.
Then my older sister, Claire, called.
I broke the second I heard her voice.
“Emily?”
I started sobbing.
“What happened?”
“I’m at the hospital.”
“What?”
“The baby is okay. I think.”
“Why are you there?”
I closed my eyes.
“Ryan’s mistress pushed me.”
Silence.
Then Claire’s voice changed completely.
“His what?”
“And she’s pregnant.”
Another silence.
Longer.
“Where are you?”
I told her.
“I’m coming.”
She arrived twenty-five minutes later looking ready to destroy somebody.
Her hair was still wet from the shower.
She wore jeans, slippers, and one of her husband’s jackets.
She walked straight to my bed and hugged me carefully.
“I’m here.”
That made me cry harder.
Claire waited until I could breathe again.
Then she asked quietly, “Where is Ryan?”
“I don’t know.”
“He didn’t come?”
“No.”
Her jaw tightened.
“He stayed with her?”
“I told him not to come.”
“After he hesitated between his pregnant wife and the woman who pushed her?”
I nodded.
Claire closed her eyes.
“Okay.”
That “okay” sounded dangerous.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Claire.”
“I’m trying very hard not to drive back to that parking lot.”
Despite everything, I almost laughed.
Then my phone buzzed.
A text from Ryan.
Please answer. Vanessa is upset and I’m trying to get her home.
I stared at it.
Claire read over my shoulder.
“She’s upset?”
I couldn’t believe it.
Another message arrived.
I’m coming to the hospital after I know she’s safe.
Claire took my phone before I could throw it.
“No.”
“Give it back.”
“You’re not responding while you’re hurt.”
“I need to tell him—”
“You don’t need to tell him anything.”
She placed the phone on the far side of the room.
“Your blood pressure is already high.”
I covered my face.
“How did I become this stupid?”
Claire’s expression softened instantly.
“You aren’t stupid.”
“I knew about Vanessa.”
“You knew he had an affair.”
“He swore it ended.”
“You believed your husband.”
“I should have left.”
“You were pregnant. He cried. He promised counseling. He said what you wanted to hear.”
“I still should’ve known.”
Claire sat beside me.
“Knowing someone lied once doesn’t automatically teach you every future lie.”
I stared at the ceiling.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
“You take care of yourself.”
“And tomorrow?”
“We handle tomorrow tomorrow.”
A nurse entered.
She checked the monitor.
Then she looked concerned.
“What?”
“Your contractions are still coming regularly.”
My panic surged.
“Am I in labor?”
“Not necessarily.”
Dr. Harris returned.
He checked me again.
“You’re not progressing significantly, which is good. But because of the fall and contractions, I want to keep you overnight.”
“Could the baby come tonight?”
“It’s possible, but we’re trying to avoid that.”
Claire took my hand.
The door opened.
Ryan walked in.
I froze.
He looked terrible.
Hair messy.
Shirt untucked.
Face pale.
Then I noticed something else.
A faint red mark on his cheek.
Claire stood immediately.
“You have some nerve.”
“Claire, please.”
“Get out.”
“Emily is my wife.”
“That didn’t seem important in the parking lot.”
Ryan looked at me.
“Can I talk to you alone?”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I made a mistake.”
Claire laughed.
“One?”
“Stay out of this.”
“She called me from a hospital bed because your girlfriend shoved her onto concrete. I’m in it.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“Vanessa panicked.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“She didn’t mean for you to fall.”
Claire’s mouth dropped open.
“You’re defending her?”
“I’m explaining.”
I looked at the red mark on his cheek.
“What happened to your face?”
He touched it automatically.
“Nothing.”
“Did Vanessa hit you?”
His silence answered.
I almost laughed from disbelief.
The woman had shoved me.
Then apparently slapped him.
And somehow he still stayed with her.
“She got emotional,” Ryan said.
Claire stared at him.
“Apparently every woman in your life is emotional except you.”
“Claire.”
I interrupted.
“Why is she really here?”
Ryan looked at me.
“What?”
“Vanessa.”
“Emily—”
“She isn’t just pregnant.”
His expression changed.
Tiny.
But enough.
“What else?”
He looked away.
My stomach tightened.
“Ryan.”
He pulled a chair closer.
Claire stayed standing.
Ryan lowered his voice.
“Vanessa invested money in the company.”
I stared at him.
“What company?”
“My development firm.”
“I know what company.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because you told me she was your marketing consultant.”
“She was.”
“Was?”
“She put money into one of our projects.”
“How much?”
Ryan hesitated.
“Two hundred fifty thousand.”
Claire whistled quietly.
My chest tightened.
“You’re sleeping with your investor.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“It sounds exactly like that.”
“She invested after we became involved.”
“That makes it worse.”
Ryan rubbed his forehead.
“The project is having problems.”
“What problems?”
“We’re behind.”
“How far?”
He didn’t answer.
My pulse accelerated.
“How far behind?”
“Emily, this isn’t the time.”
“You brought it up.”
“I’m trying to explain why Vanessa is scared.”
“Why is her fear my problem?”
“Because she could lose everything.”
I stared at him.
Then suddenly understood why he had protected her first.
Not love.
Money.
Or maybe both.
“She threatened you.”
Ryan looked away.
“What did she say?”
“Nothing.”
“What did she say?”
Claire stepped closer.
“Answer her.”
Ryan exhaled.
“She said if I left her, she’d expose things.”
“What things?”
He looked toward the hospital door.
“Business things.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing illegal.”
That answer came too fast.
Claire noticed too.
“What did you do, Ryan?”
He stood.
“I’m not doing this here.”
I looked at him.
“You walked into my hospital room asking for another chance to explain.”
“I came because you’re carrying my daughter.”
“Then explain.”
He stared at me.
Finally, he said, “I moved some money.”
“From where?”
“Our accounts.”
My heart stopped.
“What accounts?”
“Emily.”
“What accounts?”
He swallowed.
“The home equity line.”
I stopped breathing.
We had opened a home equity line two years earlier for renovations.
We had barely used it.
“How much?”
“About one hundred eighty thousand.”
My hands started shaking.
“You borrowed one hundred eighty thousand dollars against our house?”
“I was going to repay it.”
“When?”
“After the project closed.”
“When was that supposed to happen?”
“June.”
It was September.
Claire sat down slowly.
“Does Emily have to sign for that kind of withdrawal?”
Ryan went silent.
My entire body went cold.
I looked at him.
“Did you forge my signature?”
“No.”
“Then how did you do it?”
“You signed paperwork last year.”
“For renovations.”
“It included future draws.”
“I never agreed to one hundred eighty thousand dollars going into your company.”
“Technically—”
“Do not technically me.”
My contractions monitor started beeping faster.
The nurse returned.
“Mrs. Walker, I need you to try to stay calm.”
Ryan stepped toward me.
I put up a hand.
“Don’t touch me.”
He stopped.
The nurse looked between us.
“Sir, if this conversation is upsetting her, you need to leave.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“This is my wife.”
“And she is my patient.”
Claire almost smiled.
The nurse was clearly not intimidated.
Ryan looked at me.
“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“No.”
“We need to talk.”
“Through a lawyer.”
His face changed.
“What?”
“I’m done.”
“Emily.”
“I’m done.”
He stared at me.
For the first time, I saw fear.
Real fear.
Not about losing his marriage.
About what I might discover once I started looking.
He stepped closer.
“You don’t want to involve lawyers.”
“That sounds like exactly what I want.”
“Think about the baby.”
“I am.”
“Think about Noah.”
My chest tightened.
Our six-year-old son was at my mother’s house for the weekend.
Thank God.
He hadn’t seen any of this.
“What about Noah?”
Ryan looked at Claire.
Then back at me.
“This could get ugly.”
Claire stood.
“It already is.”
Ryan ignored her.
“Emily, I can fix the money.”
“I don’t care.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I care that my husband has another pregnant woman and secretly borrowed against our home.”
“You have no idea how connected those things are.”
I froze.
“What does that mean?”
Ryan’s face changed again.
He had said too much.
“Nothing.”
“No. What does that mean?”
He moved toward the door.
“Ryan.”
Then Claire’s phone buzzed.
She glanced down.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She turned the screen toward me.
It was a message from Mom.
Police just came to the house asking for Ryan.
My heart stopped.
May you like
Ryan saw the message.
And went completely pale.
