Chapter 3

Henry stared at her for a long moment. "Kenna—"

"The ring you designed yourself." Her grip tightened. "The one you had made. I want that one."

His jaw clenched. "That ring is for Judy."

"So I'm not even worth a ring?" Her voice rose, sharp now. "Fine. If you won't even do this one thing for me, then get off me right now. We're done."

She moved to push him away.

Henry grabbed her wrist, his breathing heavy. He was silent for several seconds.

"I'll buy you a new one," he said finally. He sounded strained. "A better one. That ring's already been used for one proposal. It's not good enough for you."

Kenna's eyes lit up. She pulled him back down toward her. "Really? You promise?"

"I promise." His hands were already moving again, pulling at fabric. "Now stop talking."

She laughed, triumphant, and tilted her head back.

That's when her eyes locked on something behind Henry.

On me.

She screamed.

Henry whipped around.

I stood in the doorway. I didn't move, didn't blink. Just stared at them.

Henry's face went white. "Judy—"

I turned.

"Judy, wait—" He lunged toward me, but his pants were still undone and he stumbled.

I took one step into the hallway.

Everything went dark.

I woke up to morning light coming through the curtains.

For one blissful second, I didn't remember anything. Just warmth behind me, arms wrapped around my waist.

Then everything came crashing back.

The study. Kenna's scream.

I went very still.

Henry's chest pressed against my back, rising and falling in steady rhythm. His breath was warm on my neck. One of his hands splayed across my stomach, possessive even in sleep.

This used to make me feel safe.

Now I couldn't breathe.

"Judy."

I caught it, that tiny note of caution.

I made a sleepy sound and shifted, playing the part he expected.

"Morning," I mumbled.

I felt him relax behind me. The hand on my stomach stroked once, twice.

"Morning, baby." He kissed my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and turned to look at him. That's when I saw his neck.

A dark bruise just above his collarbone that looked suspiciously like teeth marks.

I widened my eyes. "Oh my god, what happened?"

Henry actually grinned. The audacity of it made my stomach turn.

"You happened," he said, running a finger down my cheek. "Look what you did to me."

"I—I did that?"

"Don't you remember?" He pulled me closer, nuzzling into my hair. "You couldn't get enough of me."

Bile rose in my throat. I swallowed it down and dropped my gaze.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be." His hand tilted my chin up. "I loved every second of it."

He kissed me then.

When he pulled back, he was smiling. "I have to head out for a bit. Business."

"Okay."

He got dressed, pressed one more kiss to my forehead, and left.

I sat in bed and watched the door close behind him.

Then I counted to sixty.

Once I was sure he was gone, I stumbled to the bathroom and threw up violently. He made me sick. I had to get out of here. I had to leave him.

That evening, a text came through: Caught up with work. Need to go out of town for a day. Love you.

I stared at those two words. Love you.

I didn't reply.

The next day, I emptied the apartment.

Every framed photo of us came off the wall. Every gift he'd given me, every shared trinket and memento, I stuffed them all into garbage bags and dragged them to the trash chute.

The apartment echoed when I walked through it now. Bare walls. Empty shelves. It looked like no one had ever lived here.

Good.

I pulled my suitcase from the closet and started packing. I'd already booked a flight for tomorrow at five p.m. Out of this city. Away from him.

I was zipping up the suitcase when my phone buzzed.

An unknown number. A text message.

[Tomorrow, 3 p.m., Grand Luxe Hotel ballroom. Don't miss the show.]

I knew who sent it. Had to be Kenna. She wanted me to see something.

The smart thing would be to ignore it. To stick to my plan, go straight to the airport, and never look back.

But I went.

I arrived at 2:55 p.m., wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low.

The ballroom doors were open. I slipped in and pressed myself against the back wall, behind a cluster of Henry's friends and associates.

The room was decorated. Flowers everywhere. A small stage at the front.

And there, standing center stage in a pristine black suit, was Henry.

He held a small velvet box in his hands.

My heart stopped.

Kenna stood across from him in a white cocktail dress, her hands clasped in front of her mouth like she was surprised.

"Kenna Hayes." Henry dropped to one knee. Opened the box.

"Will you marry me?"

Kenna's hands flew to her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Yes! Yes, of course!"

He slipped the ring onto her finger. Stood up. Pulled her into his arms and kissed her while everyone around them applauded and cheered.

I watched from the back of the room.

That ring's already been used for one proposal, he'd said in the study. It's not good enough for you.

How many times had he done this? How many women had he proposed to while I slept at home, none the wiser?

There was nothing left for me here.

Nothing to forgive.

As I turned to leave, I looked back one last time.

He was smiling, his arms around Kenna, accepting congratulations from the men clapping him on the back. He looked happy.

I walked out, the sunlight outside was blinding.

And I didn't look back.

Henry's POV

I got home around nine that evening, still riding the high of pulling off the proposal without a hitch. Kenna had been thrilled, and more importantly, she'd finally stop pestering me about commitment.

"Judy?" I called out as I opened the door. "Baby, I'm home."

Nothing.

I flicked on the lights.

The living room looked... wrong. It took me a second to figure out why.

The bookshelf was empty. The photos that used to hang on the walls were gone.

"Judy?"

I walked faster now, heading for the bedroom. Maybe she was redecorating or decided to reorganize.

I pushed open the bedroom door.

Her side of the closet was empty.

"Judy!"

My heart pounded. That's when my phone rang.

I grabbed it without looking at the screen. "Judy?"

"Mr. Parker?" An unfamiliar voice.

"Who is this?"

"Dr. Morrison, from General Hospital. I'm calling to check on Judy. She missed her follow-up appointment this afternoon."

I gripped the phone tighter. "What follow-up appointment?"

A pause. "For the car accident three days ago. The baby is only three months along, so we wanted to monitor—"

"The what?"

"The... baby?" The doctor sounded confused now. "Mr. Parker, your fiancée is pregnant. Approximately twelve weeks. We discovered it during her post-accident examination."

Pregnant?

"And there's more good news," The doctor continued, his tone brightening. "The impact from the accident seems to have reversed her condition. Her memory's completely restored. She was very excited about it, said she wanted to surprise you!"