Chapter 1

Three months pregnant, I took a part-time job at a bar.

On my first night, I found my husband drinking with his friends in a private room.

Ethan Grant leaned back on the couch and lifted his vape.

“Is four hundred and fifty thousand a month too little to give your wife?”

His friend jumped up. “That's not enough? What the hell is she spending it on?”

“Maybe she's keeping another guy on the side.”

The room went quiet. Ethan's expression hardened.

“She said she was broke last night, so I sent her another hundred and fifty thousand. This morning she asked for a divorce. Said if I couldn't afford to support her, I shouldn't bother.”

I stood outside the door, shaking with anger. Then I looked down at the small swell of my stomach.

I shoved the door open and went straight at him. Before he could react, I slapped him.

“Tell me. How many wives do you have?”

His eyes were bloodshot. He answered through clenched teeth.

“Just you.”

I stared at him. “Then why do I only get a hundred and twenty dollars a month?”

——————————

It had started when my period was a month late. I'd finally made myself go to the drugstore and buy the cheapest pregnancy test on the shelf.

Two lines appeared. For a moment, I thought I might pass out.

I took a picture and sent it to my best friend, Megan.

“What am I going to do, Meg? I'm broke, and now I'm pregnant.”

Her reply came immediately.

“That asshole. Ethan won't give you money, but he'll give you the one thing you can't afford.”

Once she'd finished with him, she turned on me.

“Didn't you keep condoms? What were you thinking? Why didn't you use one?”

I could feel her anger through the screen.

It wasn't that I hadn't wanted to. I'd run out of money to buy them.

The hundred and twenty dollars I received each month didn't even cover food. Replacing the condoms hadn't made it onto the list.

And Ethan wanted a baby so badly. He was delighted when I didn't have any.

Once. That was all it had taken.

My stomach growled, pulling me out of my thoughts. With the thirty dollars Megan had lent me, I went down to the store and bought bread and milk close to their sell-by dates.

They were half price. That was why I'd chosen them.

I leaned against a wall, eating the bread and taking sips of milk, and almost laughed.

I was married to the CEO of Grant Group. I lived in a million-and-a-half-dollar home. And I timed my trips to the grocery store around the markdowns.

After swallowing the last bite, I called Ethan.

As usual, his assistant answered.

Claire Bennett handled his schedule—and the money I was supposed to live on.

“Ms. Parker. Unless I'm mistaken, your allowance has already been transferred this month.”

I tried to keep my voice from shaking.

“I'm pregnant. Could you send a little more this month?”

She paused. When she spoke again, she sounded contemptuous.

“Last time, you claimed your blood sugar was low, and I made an exception and sent you an extra fifteen dollars. Now you're pregnant? Is that the new excuse?”

“Ethan works for his money. Try showing some restraint.”

She hung up before I could explain.

He was the one who'd told me I wouldn't need to work after we got married. He'd promised to take care of me. All I had to do was stay home and enjoy being his wife.

But a hundred and twenty dollars a month wasn't enough.

I'd tried getting a part-time job at a coffee shop to earn some spending money. When Ethan found out, he bought the entire place.

“Do I look broke to you? My wife shouldn't have to work shifts in a coffee shop.”

He wasn't broke. He still hadn't given me another cent.

I kept thinking about the question Megan had asked: “Are you keeping the baby?”

Honestly, I didn't know.

Maybe once Ethan knew, he'd give me a little more. For the baby's sake, if nothing else.

I scheduled an appointment at the hospital's prenatal clinic. The doctor said I was a little over two months along and the pregnancy was developing normally.