chapter 1

Five years into our marriage, I still hadn't gotten pregnant.

But my husband, Charles Poole, had always wanted a child. He'd obsessed over it so many times that I'd lost count.

So when I finally found out I was pregnant, I decided to surprise him on our anniversary.

I waited for him the entire day at the mountain where we'd first met. He never showed up.

Then I saw a post on social media—from his first love, Dallas Olson.

It said, "Thank you for giving me the chance to be a mom."

In the photo, Charles was resting his cheek against her belly, his face lit up with joy.

As the sun sank behind the mountains, I knew our love story had reached its end.

Later, when I went to the clinic to terminate the pregnancy, I saw Dallas getting an ultrasound with another man by her side.*****

My husband's first love Dallas was pregnant.

On her social post, my husband was grinning ear to ear, pressing his head to her stomach.

His face said it all. He couldn't wait to be a dad.

My heart sank. I looked down at my own stomach and laughed bitterly.

When Charles finally called me—a rare occasion—I answered with one word, "Divorce."

"What are you making a fuss about now?"

His voice was filled with irritation.

"So I missed our anniversary. Big deal. It comes every year. Why are you so hung up on today? Dallas wasn't feeling well. I had to stay with her. Let's just skip this year."

Skip it?

And what about me?

We'd planned to spend the day on the same mountain where we first met.

But while I stood there shivering in the cold from sunrise to sunset, all I got was Dallas's post showing she was carrying his child.

Something inside me broke.

For five years, Charles had wanted a child.

I thought today would finally make him happy—that I'd tell him I was pregnant, that we were finally going to be parents.

I placed a hand on my belly, my voice trembling. "I'm still up on the mountain. There was a rockslide. The road's blocked."

The rocks had fallen ten minutes earlier. I'd called the police, and then tried to text Charles. But I accidentally opened social media instead.

Otherwise, how would I know that while I was trapped and helpless, my husband was at her side, waiting for their baby?

"Stay where you are," Charles said impatiently. "I'll come get you."

Four hours passed.

By the time the rescue team cleared the path, he still hadn't come.

So I made my way down on my own, stumbling through the dark until I finally reached home.

The streets were empty, and so was I.

When I stepped inside, relief washed over me, quickly replaced by exhaustion.

I took a quick shower and collapsed into bed.

The sound of the front door slamming woke me hours later.

My heart jumped violently in my chest.

Charles stormed in, anger radiating off him.

"I told you not to move!

"Do you have any idea how long Dallas and I looked for you? Two hours! You never listen!

"Get up and apologize to her."

His entitled tone made my skin crawl.

"Two hours, huh?" I said quietly. "From her place, to the mountain, and back home—that would take about two hours."

I held up my phone, showing him Dallas's post.

"Congratulations. You finally got what you wanted."

We'd been married five years, and I had never gotten pregnant.

He'd been dying for a kid. No wonder he was thrilled.

His expression shifted, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. "It was an accident. Don't overthink it. Besides, you can't have kids. Someone has to, right? You can't be that selfish."

The more he spoke, the more justified he sounded.

I gave a hollow laugh. Maybe I really had been blind.

As he saw that I stayed quiet, his face softened. He reached out to pull me into his arms.

"Okay. I messed up. I should've come for you sooner. Don't be mad, Libby, alright?"

The moment he leaned closer, a heavy wave of perfume hit me in the face.