Chapter 2

The next morning, I walked into the Miami Women's Health Center.

Yesterday's diagnosis at Miami General Hospital still felt surreal—pregnancy and cancer, like some cosmic joke. I needed a second opinion. I needed someone to tell me the blood work was wrong, that there was still hope for both me and this baby.

The waiting area buzzed with chaos—pregnant women in various stages, some glowing with joy, others looking as shell-shocked as I felt. I found a corner seat and settled down, clutching the referral papers from yesterday.

Dr. Martinez at the General had been thorough but clinical. Here, they specialized in high-risk pregnancies. Maybe they'd have different answers. Better answers.

Then I heard that voice.

"Raven Black, prenatal appointment, 10 AM."

Knox's voice—that deep tone I could recognize with my eyes closed.

I carefully poked my head out and saw them.

Knox stood at the front desk, one hand resting on the counter, the other gently stroking the back of the woman beside him. She was young, at least five years younger than me, with long black hair and wearing a loose white dress.

Was this Raven? The woman who called last night?

"Knox, I'm a little nervous," she said with a coquettish tone, her voice carrying a vulnerability I'd never heard in my own. "First time getting an ultrasound."

Knox turned to face her, placing both hands gently on her shoulders.

"Don't worry, baby. I'm here," his voice was smooth as honey, "everything will go smoothly."

Knox had never spoken to me in that tone. Even last night, when I told him about my pregnancy, his reaction was cold as ice.

"Miss Raven Black? Please come this way."

The nurse called her number. I watched Knox escort Raven toward the examination room, his hand steadily supporting her waist like he was protecting the most precious thing in the world.

My heart was pounding. This wasn't the Knox I knew—at least not the version he showed me.

"Next, Miss Serenity Hale?"

I'd almost forgotten my own appointment. Mechanically standing up, I followed another nurse toward the adjacent examination room, my hands shaking as I gripped yesterday's test results.

Sometimes fate is that cruel—making you hear exactly what you don't want to hear at the worst possible moment.

"Congratulations, Miss Raven," I stood by the door as the doctor's clear voice came from next door, "you're five weeks pregnant, and the fetus is developing very healthily."

Five weeks.

The exact same timeline as mine.

The papers in my hand crumpled as my fist clenched involuntarily.

"Really? Knox, did you hear that? Our baby is healthy!" Raven's excited voice pierced through the thin walls, every word stabbing into my ears like needles.

"Of course it's healthy," Knox replied, his voice filled with pride and tenderness I'd never heard before, "you're so strong, how could the baby not be healthy?"

My world was collapsing, piece by piece.

Five weeks ago. That was the weekend Knox returned from his business trip. We made love twice—once at his apartment, once at mine. I still remembered him saying he wanted to make up for the time apart.

Now it seemed he was indeed "making up"—just not with me alone.

"Miss Hale?" My own doctor entered, but I could barely focus on her words about hormone levels and treatment options. All I could hear was Knox's laughter through the wall, the sound of pure happiness I'd never inspired in him.

After my appointment—which confirmed yesterday's devastating news—I walked toward the parking lot like a zombie, my legs weak as cotton. The second opinion had been the same: cancer, pregnancy, impossible choices.

Then I saw them again.

Knox was carefully helping Raven fasten her seatbelt, his movements as gentle as handling fine porcelain. He also pulled out prenatal vitamins from a pharmacy bag and tenderly placed them in her purse.

Top-shelf vitamins. I'd been taking drugstore generics with coupons.

"Do you think it's a boy or girl?" Raven's voice drifted over.

"As long as it's healthy," Knox replied, "just like you—strong as hell."

I watched them and dialed Knox's number with trembling fingers. Knox's phone rang. He pulled it out, saw my number, and hung up without expression.

"Work call," he told Raven, "nothing important."

Nothing important.

I sat in my car watching them leave, watching Knox drive away in his black Mercedes with his other pregnant woman, disappearing from view.

I was the unimportant one. The sick one. The inconvenient one.

I spent the entire afternoon wandering around my apartment like a walking corpse, the second set of test results scattered on my kitchen table like evidence of my double betrayal—by my body and by Knox.

At six o'clock, Knox came home right on time.

He brought my favorite takeout and a bouquet of pink roses. He wore workout clothes, his hair slightly damp, looking exactly like someone who'd just come from the gym.

"Hey, beautiful," he came over to kiss my cheek, "miss me?"

I forced myself to smile. "Of course. How was your day?"

"Spent a few hours at the gym, then dealt with some business trouble," he lied smoothly while unpacking the takeout, "some partners had issues, took quite a while to mediate."

His performance was flawless. If I hadn't witnessed everything today, I would have believed every word.

"That sounds exhausting." My voice sounded calmer than expected.

Knox sat beside me, his hand gently stroking my belly. "How was your day? Any morning sickness?"

His concerned tone almost made me believe it was all real, that he truly cared about me and our child.

"Not bad," I answered, "just a little tired."

"That's normal," he said, "early pregnancy is like that. We need to take good care of you and the baby."

'We.' 'Baby.' These words came from his mouth, but I knew he'd said the same things to another woman today.

"Knox," I asked tentatively, "do you love me?"

He stopped chewing, turned to look at me, something flashing in his eyes—surprise? Guilt? But it was quickly replaced by tenderness.

"Of course I love you, Serenity. Why would you ask that?"

"Just... sometimes I feel like there's something between us."

Knox put down his chopsticks and cupped my face with both hands. "Listen, I know work has been distracting me lately. But now that you're pregnant, everything will be different. I'll work harder, for our future."

He kissed my forehead, that kiss warm and sincere.

"For our future, all of this is worth it," he whispered.

I closed my eyes and let him hold me, breathing in his familiar scent while my heart shattered into pieces.

But I knew the truth. I knew that somewhere else, another woman was receiving the same embrace, the same promises, the same lies. A healthy woman carrying his healthy baby, while I sat here dying with his unwanted child.

And now I faced a choice: expose it all, or keep playing along?

I looked at Knox's profile as he focused on eating, remembering the tender scene of him caring for Raven today.