Chapter 3
Naomi's POV
At four in the afternoon, on our anniversary, I slid my prenatal test results, the ultrasound photos, and the wedding booking email into a folder—one page at a time. The restaurant confirmation text popped up right after, and I even touched up my lipstick in the mirror.
Tonight, I was going to tell him everything.
The doorbell rang just as Ian walked in. He shrugged off his coat, glanced at the folder on the table, and asked casually, “School stuff?”
I smiled. “Half of it is. The other half… I’ll tell you over dinner.”
He didn’t even get the chance to ask more—his phone rang first. The name on the screen made my smile freeze for a beat.
Sophie Vale.
Ian answered, and a second later her crying spilled through the speaker, raw and frantic. “Ian, my leg hurts again… I can’t— I really can’t… I’m by the stairs, I’m shaking…”
I heard every word.
A few months ago, she’d cried like that too—said I pushed her. That one time cost me the school mural project, and all Ian had said was, “Naomi, stop competing with her.”
Ian was already grabbing his car keys. “I’m going to check on her.”
“Now?” I stepped in front of the door. “We have an anniversary dinner at seven.”
“Her old injury’s acting up.”
I stared at him. “It’s always her.”
His brows pulled together. “Don’t do this.”
“Do what?” I let out a cold little laugh. “You don’t even ask what happened. You just assume she’s more urgent, more important—worth you running out the door for.”
“Naomi.” His voice dropped, warning. “Sophie’s alone over there.”
“And what am I?” I pointed at the folder on the table. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been getting today ready?”
He didn’t even look. “We’ll talk when I get back.”
“You always say that.” I followed him into the hallway. “When the stair thing happened, you said the same exact thing. And then what? I became the jealous, nasty one. The girl who would push someone. Did you ever check the security footage? Did you ever ask me once?”
He stopped. His face went cold in an instant. “Are you really bringing that up again?”
“Again?” I almost laughed from sheer anger. “You say that like you ever settled it.”
The hallway was suffocatingly quiet. The elevator doors opened, then closed.
Ian clenched his keys like he was trying to keep his temper on a leash. “She’s in a really bad state right now.”
“She’s in a bad state and you put me last. Every time.”
“Can you stop making everything about you?”
My throat tightened, but I still forced the words out. “What if I told you tonight isn’t just a normal anniversary dinner?”
He looked at me—yet he still didn’t stay. “When I get back.”
“You don’t want to hear it, do you?” My voice shook. “Because the second she cries, you’ll always have a reason to leave.”
Something dark settled in his eyes. “Don’t dress up your jealousy like it’s something noble.”
I went completely still.
In that second, everything I’d been holding in got stuck behind my teeth. The baby. The wedding. The future. Like his words had crushed them right in front of me.
“Fine.” I nodded. “Go.”
It looked like he wanted to say something else. In the end, he just turned and stepped into the elevator.
The moment the doors slid shut, I hugged the folder tighter, my knuckles going white. A few minutes later, I grabbed my purse and decided I’d go to the restaurant and say it to his face. Just this once, I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for him to come back.
But before I even made it downstairs, a text came in from an unknown number.
Just one line.
Ian is at the harbor warehouse with Sophie. If you want to know what he really chooses, come to Pier 14—Blue Warehouse 7B.
Under it was a live location pin.
