Chapter 2

　　The minutes stretch. I sit on the edge of the tub, staring at the small plastic stick on the counter. My mind churns through possibilities. If it is positive, everything changes. If it is negative, nothing changes. I am not sure which terrifies me more.

　　I think about the last three years. The cold shoulders at dinner. The galas where Celeste clung to his arm while I stood alone. The night I overheard him tell her I was just a placeholder. The way his mother, Patricia, looks at me like I am dirt beneath her heels. The way Celeste's schemes always work, always land, always leave me bleeding.

　　I think about my career. The surgical fellowship I gave up because Nathaniel wanted a wife who stayed home. The research papers I published under his name because he said it would help the family brand. The respect I used to have before I became Mrs. Nathaniel Preston.

　　I think about my brother, Marcus. He warned me. He said Nathaniel would never change, that Celeste would always be in the picture, that I was too good for this life. I did not listen. I was in love. Or I thought I was. Maybe I was just young and blind and desperate to be chosen.

　　The timer on my phone buzzes.

　　I stand. I walk to the counter. I pick up the stick.

　　Two lines.

　　Pregnant.

　　I stare at the lines. They do not blur. They do not disappear. They are clear, unmistakable. There is a life inside me. A life that is half his.

　　I place the test on the counter and sit back down. My legs feel weak. My chest feels tight. I press my hands to my stomach, flat and unchanged, but I know now that something is growing there. Something that will change everything.

　　I should tell him. That is the first thought that surfaces. I should tell Nathaniel. Maybe this will fix things. Maybe he will finally see me. Maybe he will send Celeste away. Maybe his mother will stop her schemes. Maybe this baby will be the thing that makes him love me.

　　The thought curdles in my chest.

　　I remember the way he looked at me last week when I tried to tell him about the promotion I was offered at the hospital. He did not even look up from his phone. He said we would discuss it later. We never did.

　　I remember the way Celeste smiled at me tonight, wearing my dress, sitting in my chair, drinking my champagne. She is not going anywhere. And Nathaniel will not send her away. He never has. He never will.

　　A baby will not fix him. A baby will not make him love me. A baby will only give them another way to hurt me.

　　I stand up. I walk to the bedroom. I pull out the small suitcase I keep in the back of my closet. I pack light. A few clothes. My passport. The savings account information Lena helped me set up last year. The folder with my medical credentials, the ones I earned before I became Mrs. Preston.

　　I am not going to tell him.

　　The thought comes clear and sharp. I am not going to tell Nathaniel about this baby. I am going to leave. I am going to disappear. I am going to be Dr. Victoria Preston again, the surgeon who was supposed to save lives, not the wife who could not save her marriage.

　　My phone buzzes again. A message from Nathaniel. He says he will be home late. Do not wait up.

　　I do not reply.

　　I finish packing. I change into jeans and a sweater. I leave the emerald dress on the floor where it fell. Let him see it. Let him wonder.

　　I take one last look around the bedroom. The bed we barely shared. The empty side where he should have been. The wedding photo on the nightstand, two smiling strangers who did not know what was coming.

　　I walk out of the room. I walk down the stairs. I walk through the foyer and out the front door. I do not look back.

　　I call Lena. She answers on the first ring. I tell her I am leaving tonight. She asks if I am sure. I say yes. She says she will meet me at the airport.

　　I call Marcus next. His voice is rough with sleep, but he is awake the second he hears mine. I tell him I need a place to stay. Somewhere no one can find me. He says he will have everything ready by morning.

　　The cab arrives. I give the driver the address Lena sent. I lean my head against the window and press my hand to my stomach again.

　　I do not know what comes next. I do not know how I will build a life from nothing. I do not know how I will raise a child alone. But I know I will not raise them in that house. I will not let them grow up watching their father choose someone else. I will not let Celeste smile at them the way she smiled at me tonight.

　　I will be a surgeon again. I will be the woman I was before I lost myself. I will be a mother.

　　And Nathaniel Preston will never know what he lost.

　　The cab pulls onto the highway. The city lights fade behind me. I let my eyes close. For the first time in three years, I breathe.

　　I am leaving.

　　I am not coming back.