Chapter 3

When I woke up again, I was lying in an ER observation room.

The air was sharp with disinfectant.

A female doctor in light blue scrubs stood beside my bed, sympathy in her eyes.

"Ms. Jones, I'm so sorry."

"You had heavy bleeding after the injury. You were pregnant, but we weren't able to save the baby."

"You also have soft-tissue bruising and a mild concussion. You'll need to rest for the next several days, and you should get in touch with someone who can take care of you as soon as possible."

I tried to speak through my stiff lips.

No sound came out.

The only person who could have taken care of me was the same person who'd caused the miscarriage.

Darian had once whispered to me, countless times, that he wanted a real home with me.

He wanted a daughter who looked like me.

Or a son who looked like him.

Then, all of a sudden, he'd stopped bringing up kids at all.

Only now did I understand.

By then, Josie was already pregnant.

A few nurses drifted past my door, chatting quietly.

Their voices pulled me back.

"That couple next door is so sweet."

"She lost the baby after that fall, and he hasn't left her side once."

"He just told her that once she's better, he's taking her to buy that necklace she's been wanting."

I only had to hear that much to know exactly who they were talking about.

"That man is my fiancé," I said quietly.

Both nurses froze.

Awkward, startled looks crossed their faces.

I braced my aching body against the mattress and tried to sit up.

I wanted to go next door.

One of the nurses immediately stopped me.

"Ms. Jones, you can't be out of bed right now."

They helped me lie back down.

Then, probably to head off a scene, they moved me to a quieter observation room on the other side of the unit.

Maybe that was for the best.

Because even I couldn't say what I might do if I actually saw the two of them together.

On the day I was discharged, I ran into Darian and Josie anyway.

The second Josie spotted me outside the hospital lobby, tears started streaming down her face.

"Amelia, you psycho!"

"You pushed me down the stairs and killed my baby!"

She lunged at me, hand raised, ready to claw at my face.

I instinctively lifted my arms to shield myself.

Darian caught my wrist in a crushing grip.

There wasn't a trace of warmth in his eyes.

Only dark, tightly leashed anger.

"Amelia, you owe her this."

"She's a wreck right now. Just take a few hits and stop making it worse."

I ripped my wrist out of his hand and glared at him, my eyes burning.

My voice shook.

"I don't owe her anything!"

"She threw herself down those stairs to set me up! She cornered me first!"

"And she pushed me. My baby—"

Something like confusion flickered in Darian's eyes.

But before I could finish, Josie screamed over me.

"Amelia, you won't stop chasing after Darian, you killed my baby, and now you're trying to blame me?"

"Darian, call the police! She has to pay for this!"

People passing through the lobby stopped in their tracks.

Disgusted, judgmental stares swung toward me.

"Oh my God. And she looks so harmless too."

"If she really pushed a pregnant woman, someone needs to call the cops."

Josie clutched Darian's sleeve so tightly her fingertips went white.

"Darian, that was our baby…"

The hesitation in his eyes vanished in an instant.

When he looked at me again, there was nothing but ice.

"Amelia, apologize to Josie. Now."

I stared back at him in despair and shook my head.

"I didn't—"

But my voice was quickly drowned out by the swelling murmurs around us.

No one wanted to hear my side.

Then Darian pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

"Hello, I'd like to report an assault that caused a miscarriage."

My head snapped up.

I stared at Darian, standing several feet away.

The face I'd once loved more than anything looked like a stranger's.

Josie ducked her head as if wiping away tears.

Hidden behind the crowd, she shot me a vicious, twisted smile of victory.

"I didn't push her."

"I have proof—"

Darian cut me off coldly.

"Amelia, you were always good at making excuses for yourself."

"This time, save it for the police."

Then he stopped looking at me altogether.

He pulled Josie protectively into his arms and murmured soft reassurances.