Prologue
Laura
I might be pregnant. I’m trapped in a marriage I want out of. And David, my husband, never stops watching me.
I sat across from Rose in her cramped office, trying to steady my breath. The faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, mixing with the floral hand lotion she always kept on her desk. She had her glasses perched on her nose, scribbling something on a chart. Rose had always been the calm, collected type—nothing ever seemed to rattle her. And yet, here I was, feeling like my entire world was teetering on the edge of a cliff.
“So,” she said, glancing up, her eyes soft but curious. “When was your last period?”
I hesitated. “A little over four weeks ago,” I murmured, trying to sound nonchalant.
Her pen stopped mid-air, and she tilted her head. “Have you tried a pregnancy test yet?”
I swallowed hard, shaking my head. “Why bother? I mean, we already work in a hospital, right?” I gave a nervous laugh, but it sounded hollow, even to me.
The truth was, I couldn’t risk David noticing. It wasn’t that he cared about me anymore—not in the way a husband should. But David… he was always watching, always suspicious. Maybe it was all those years at the FBI or the endless hours he now spent analyzing cases as a lawyer. Whatever the reason, he had a way of turning my every move into something calculated, something I needed to justify.
I could already imagine the questions. Why’d you buy a pregnancy test, Laura? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you hiding something? I wasn’t hiding anything—I just wanted out. Out of this marriage. Out of this life where I felt more like a shadow than a person.
“Laura?”
Rose’s voice pulled me back, and I realized I’d been staring blankly at the poster on her wall about prenatal vitamins.
She snapped her fingers. “Earth to Laura. Did you hear me?”
“Sorry,” I mumbled, heat rising to my cheeks. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you’ve had any symptoms,” she said, her eyes narrowing a little, probably wondering what the hell was wrong with me.
I cleared my throat. “I’ve had some… discomfort. Fullness, I guess. In my breasts.”
Rose raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Nothing else?”
I shrugged, avoiding her gaze. “Better safe than sorry.”
She didn’t look convinced. “Alright,” she said slowly, reaching for her laptop. “I’ll order a beta-hCG in the system—”
“No!” The word shot out of my mouth before I could stop it. Her hand froze, and I leaned forward, my voice dropping to a desperate whisper. “Rose, please don’t. I don’t want it in the system. Just grab one of those kits from storage. You must have one lying around.”
Rose’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she didn’t say anything. Then she leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“It’s nothing,” I lied, trying to keep my voice steady.
“It’s not nothing,” she shot back, her voice firm now. “You’re acting like this is some kind of covert operation. You’re agitated, you don’t want any record of this… Laura, talk to me.”
I could feel the tears pricking at the back of my eyes, but I blinked them away. “It’s just… complicated,” I said finally. “I don’t want any more ties to this marriage. I need to end it, Rose. I need to move on. But if I’m…” My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard. “If I’m pregnant, everything changes.”
Rose’s expression softened, but there was a flicker of frustration there too. She hated not being in control, not knowing how to help.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “We’ll do this your way. I’ll get the kit. But Laura, you can’t keep running from this. Whatever ‘this’ is, it’s eating you alive.”
She stood and walked to her cabinet, muttering under her breath, “What am I, your OB-GYN or your undercover accomplice?”
I let out a shaky laugh, but the truth was, she wasn’t wrong. And as I watched her pull the test from a drawer, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was already too far gone to fix any of this.
