Chapter One: Cracks In The Vows
Amelia woke up by herself again this morning. She reached out to Adrian’s side of the bed, but it was cold and empty, and her chest felt so heavy. Four years married, and look at them now, just two strangers sharing a house and the same last name.
She grabbed her phone. One text from him, sent hours earlier: Early meeting. No good morning, no mention of the doctor’s appointment that had been keeping her up at night, nothing. She let the phone drop. Once upon a time even his shortest message made her smile; all it did now was remind her of how far they’d drifted apart.
A few minutes later, Sarah the housekeeper poked her head in. “Mr. Knight asked me to remind you about today, ma’am.”
Her voice was kind, but the words felt like stone in Amelia’s gut.
Amelia told herself that everything would be alright. She forced a nod, wishing she could believe it.
By eleven she was sitting in the waiting room at Manhattan Reproductive Specialists, checking her phone every few seconds. No Adrian. When they finally called her name she lied and said he was on his way. Ten minutes into the appointment Adrian strolled in, still on a business call, looking polished and nonchalant and sat down without an apology.
Dr. Miller didn’t waste time. “The results show significant complications. Having a baby naturally is pretty much impossible without help” he said.
The room started spinning. Amelia sat there waiting for Adrian to say something, anything, but he just stared down at the floor, completely quiet. The doctor kept talking about options and chances and all that stuff, but the only word she could hear was unlikely, echoing louder and louder in her head.
On the silent drive home, she finally snapped. “Say something, Adrian. Please.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he muttered, eyes fixed on the road.
The casual tone broke something inside her. That evening they had to go to the Knight family estate for dinner, Victoria, Adrian’s mother, had insisted.
The moment they walked in, Victoria’s eyes dropped straight to Amelia’s stomach, then flicked away. Amelia pressed her lips together; she already had a clear idea of how this evening would unfold.
Victoria set her fork down midway through the meal. “So, how did the appointment go?” “She asks.”
The table went dead quiet. Amelia realized with a sick twist that Adrian had already told them, without asking her. When his grandmother pressed for details, Amelia answered through gritted teeth. “The news was not good.”
Victoria leaned in with all her cool smiles. “Treatments exist. Practical decisions need to be made. Family comes first.”
Amelia couldn’t bear it. Trying to catch her breath, she pulled back her chair and went outside to the balcony. Adrian followed. “They’re just concerned,” he said.
“Concerned?” Her voice cracked. “You told them my private medical news before I even processed it. You let people talk about me like I’m a worthless investment.”
When she asked him what would happen if she couldn’t have children, he hesitated, and that tiny pause said everything. Right then she understood: she was fighting for their marriage alone. He wasn’t sure she was worth the fight anymore.
Back inside, Victoria sipped her wine and gave her husband a small, satisfied smile. “Adrian is finally seeing reality,” she said, swirling the glass. “This family needs a future. It’s time for him to get to know Vanessa Sinclair.” And on the balcony, Amelia realized her marriage was already failing, and that she was the only one attempting to hold on.
