"Hazel! Hazel, stop!"

The frantic shouts cut through the early morning fog. Heavy footsteps slapped against the wet pavement, closing the distance fast.

Jackson’s tall frame blocked my path. His trench coat hung open, his tie completely undone. He crashed into me, wrapping his arms tightly around my freezing shoulders.

"Where have you been?" he demanded, his voice thick with panic.

I stood rigid against his chest. His cologne smelled like cedar and lies.

"I went for a walk," I said, my tone entirely hollow.

"A walk? All night?" Jackson pulled back, his hands gripping my arms. "I came home completely trashed from that networking event. I passed out in the guest room. When I woke up, the house was empty. I nearly called the cops, Hazel!"

I stared directly into his eyes. They looked genuinely terrified. He played the panicked husband flawlessly.

"My phone broke," I murmured, glancing down at the street.

Jackson didn't follow my gaze. His hands dropped from my shoulders and hovered over my stomach. His fingers spread wide, pressing gently against the damp fabric of my coat.

"Dr. Miller called my cell," he whispered, a massive smile breaking across his face. "She couldn't reach you. Hazel... we're having a baby."

I flinched. "You spoke to her?"

"She told me everything." He leaned in, kissing my cold forehead. "This is it. The best gift our love could ever produce. I'm going to be a father."

*I want to fuck you until you scream.*

The memory of his voice echoing through the bedroom door clawed at my throat. I wanted to rip the truth open. I wanted to scream in his face and ask him how Daisy took his pounding.

But his hand stayed warm on my stomach.

"Do you mean that?" I asked, my voice cracking.

"I swear it," Jackson said, pulling me tight again. "I promise you, I'll be the best husband. I'll be the best dad. I'll do anything for this family."

I closed my eyes. I swallowed the poison rising in my throat. Maybe the baby would wake him up. Maybe the college intern was just a sick, twisted mistake that he would bury forever.

"Let's go home," he urged.

The morning sun burned through the bedroom blinds by the time I woke up again. I rolled over. The sheets next to me were cold.

"Jackson?" I called out.

Silence.

I dragged myself out of bed and walked into the kitchen. A plate of scrambled eggs and toast sat on the island counter. Next to the coffee mug, a yellow sticky note caught my eye.

*Early meeting. Eat for two now. Love you forever.*

I traced the ink with my thumb. A tiny spark of hope flared in my chest. He made breakfast. He left a note. Maybe the baby really did change things.

I grabbed my spare phone from the junk drawer and turned it on. I opened Instagram out of habit, navigating to my feed.

Daisy’s profile sat at the very top.

I tapped the photo.

My blood turned to ice.

Daisy smiled brightly at the camera, wearing a low-cut red dress. She leaned her head against a man’s shoulder. The man’s face was cropped out, but he wore a charcoal suit jacket. Jackson’s suit jacket.

But that wasn't what stopped my heart.

Around Daisy’s neck rested a thick, brilliant-cut diamond necklace.

*Someone finally bought me the one I wanted,* the caption read.

My knees buckled. I grabbed the edge of the marble counter to stay standing.

It was the Cartier limited edition. A week ago, I had pointed it out in a jewelry magazine. Jackson had laughed, kissed my cheek, and said our budget was too tight for a house down payment. He bought me the thin, cheaper bracelet from the same line instead.

He didn't lack the money. He just didn't want to spend his best on me. The best things were reserved for Daisy.

I dialed his number. He answered on the third ring.

"Hey, honey," Jackson said cheerfully. "Did you eat your eggs?"

"I saw the note," I said, staring at the diamond necklace on my screen. "Are you really at the office?"

"Of course. Back-to-back meetings all morning. The new merger is killing me."

"You're sure you aren't doing anything else?" I asked.

"What else would I be doing? Come on, Hazel. Don't stress. It's bad for the baby."

"Right. The baby."

"I'll be at the concert tonight," he promised. "Front row. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Front row," I echoed.

"I love you," he said.

I hung up the phone. My stomach violently contracted.

I sprinted to the sink and threw up everything left in my system. The dry heaves wracked my ribs. The morning sickness tangled with absolute, crushing heartbreak, making me deeply, thoroughly sick of the man I married.

"Love you forever," I choked out, staring at the yellow note.

I crumpled the paper and tossed it into the trash.

The backstage of the symphony hall buzzed with frantic energy that evening. Violinists tuned their strings. Cellists hauled their heavy cases down the narrow corridors.

"Five minutes to curtain, Hazel," the stage manager shouted, passing by my dressing room.

"I need two minutes!" I called back.

My friend and fellow cellist, Sarah, poked her head in. "You look like a ghost. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I lied, gripping the neck of my violin. "Just nervous."

"This is for the principal seat. You've earned this. Is Jackson out there?"

"He promised he'd be in the front row," I said.

*If he shows up,* I promised myself, staring at my pale reflection in the mirror. *If he sits in that front row alone, I will try to save this marriage. One last chance.*

"Then go play for him," Sarah smiled. "Places!"

I walked out of the dressing room, my shoes making no sound on the carpeted floor. I followed the line of musicians onto the grand stage.

The audience erupted into applause. The theater was packed to the brim.

I took my seat near the conductor’s podium. The harsh spotlights blinded me for a second. I blinked hard, adjusting to the glare, and scanned the VIP section in the front row.

Seat 1A. Jackson’s seat.

He was there.

My chest loosened. He came.

Then the woman next to him turned her head.

Daisy.

She wore the red dress from the photo. The diamond necklace sparkled brilliantly under the theater lights.

"No," I whispered. My bow trembled against the strings.

Jackson leaned toward her. He didn't look at the stage. He didn't look at me. He grabbed Daisy’s hand, interlacing his fingers with hers, and rested them on his thigh.

Daisy giggled, whispering something in his ear.

Jackson smiled. It wasn't his polite, public smile. It was a look of pure, unadulterated devotion. The kind of doting look he hadn't given me in years.

He tilted her chin up and kissed her right on the lips.

"Hey, Hazel, sit down," Sarah hissed from the chair next to me. "The conductor is raising his baton."

"I can't," I choked out.

"What are you doing? Sit!"

"He brought her," I muttered, my fingers going completely numb.

"Brought who? Hazel, people are staring!"

A deafening roar filled my ears, drowning out the conductor tapping his music stand. The noise grew louder, a rushing waterfall inside my skull.

The stage lights blurred into streaks of white fire.

The wooden floor rushed up to meet my face.

Chaos erupted around me. The harsh glare of the stage lights burned through my half-open eyelids. Voices overlapped into a deafening roar.

"Get a medic!" Sarah screamed somewhere to my left.

Footsteps pounded against the wooden floorboards. A familiar face broke through the blinding white light. Jackson.

My fingers twitched. I forced my heavy arm up, reaching toward him. He came for me. Despite everything, he rushed to the stage.

"Jackson," I rasped, my throat raw.

Before his fingers could brush mine, a figure in a red dress shoved past the stagehands. Daisy threw herself against Jackson’s chest, her hands gripping his lapels.

"Jackson, I'm so scared!" she wailed, her voice piercing the frantic noise. "The crowd, the shouting—my head is spinning. I can't stand up."

Jackson’s eyes darted from my pale face to Daisy’s trembling form. He didn't hesitate. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist, pulling her flush against him.

"I've got you," he murmured to her, kissing the top of her head. "You're safe."

My outstretched hand dropped to the cold floor.

He looked up at the stage manager. "Call an ambulance for my wife. Make sure she gets to the hospital."

"You aren't coming with her?" Sarah yelled, dropping to her knees beside me.

"Daisy is going into shock," Jackson snapped. "I need to get her out of this crowd."

He turned his back on me. He supported Daisy’s weight, guiding her gently down the side steps. I watched his broad shoulders disappear into the dark aisles. The piercing pain in my abdomen finally swallowed me whole.

I woke to the agonizing scent of antiseptic.

A sharp, tearing cramp tore through my lower stomach. I gasped, curling into a tight ball on the stiff hospital bed.

The door pushed open. A doctor in pale blue scrubs walked in, his expression grim. He checked the chart at the end of my bed.

"Hazel," he said softly. "I'm Dr. Evans."

"The baby," I whispered.

He lowered the clipboard. "I am so sorry. The blunt force of the fall, combined with the severe emotional shock, triggered a massive hemorrhage. We couldn't save the pregnancy."

I stared up at the fluorescent ceiling lights. The buzzing hum of the electricity filled the quiet room. Tears slid from the corners of my eyes, pooling in my ears. I didn't sob. I just lay there, perfectly still.

The door swung open again.

Jackson strode into the room. He didn't look frantic anymore. He looked annoyed.

Right behind him, her hand firmly locked around his bicep, was Daisy.

She wore the same red dress. The Cartier diamond necklace caught the harsh hospital lighting, flashing a brilliant, mocking white.

"What is she doing here?" I asked, my voice entirely flat.

"She wanted to make sure you were okay," Jackson sighed, stopping at the foot of my bed. "The doctor said you lost it."

*It.*

Daisy stepped forward, resting her chin on Jackson’s shoulder. She offered me a wide, pitying smile.

"Jackson was with me all night," Daisy chirped. "I really had no idea you would collapse like that, Hazel. It's such a tragedy."

She reached up, running her manicured fingers over the thick diamonds at her throat.

"But honestly," Daisy continued, her tone dropping into a sickly sweet whisper. "A woman who can't even keep her husband's attention... how could she ever keep a child?"

My chest seized. I shifted my gaze to Jackson.

"Did you hear her?" I asked him.

Jackson dragged a hand down his face. "Hazel, stop making a fuss. You just went through a medical procedure."

"She just mocked our dead baby, Jackson. Kick her out."

"She's just young," he retorted, his jaw setting into a stubborn line. "She doesn't know how to filter her words yet. Don't pick a fight with a kid right now. You're being overly sensitive because of the hormones."

The last shred of my marriage dissolved into ash.

I didn't scream. I didn't cry. I reached over to my right hand. I gripped the platinum engagement ring he had given me five years ago. I pulled it over my knuckle.

I tossed it onto the metal bedside table. It landed with a sharp, final clink.

"Jackson," I said, my voice completely steady. "We are done."

He stared at the ring, then rolled his eyes. "Right. You're throwing a tantrum. I'll have my assistant handle the hospital bill. Call me when you're ready to act like an adult."

He turned on his heel. Daisy shot me a triumphant wink before clinging to his arm and following him out the door.

The latch clicked shut. The silence rushed back in, heavy and suffocating.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the grief to crush me.

The door handle turned again.

"I told you to leave," I snapped.

"I believe you were addressing the wrong man."

The voice was deep, resonant, and entirely unfamiliar.

I opened my eyes.

A man stood at the foot of my bed. He wore a masterfully tailored black suit that screamed generational wealth. His dark hair was swept back, and his sharp, calculating eyes locked onto mine.

He walked slowly to the side of my bed. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small object.

He placed it on the metal tray, right next to Jackson’s discarded engagement ring.

It was a simple gold band. Scratched. Covered in dried, rusty blood.

The wedding ring I lost on the street.

"Miss Hazel," the stranger said, his tone smooth and commanding. "We finally meet. I've looked for you for a very long time."

I pushed myself up against the pillows, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Who are you? Where did you find that?"

He ignored my second question. He pulled a thick, matte black card from his inner pocket and handed it to me.

The gold embossed letters caught the light.

*Andrew Wilson.*

The Wilson family. The untouchable titans of Washington's political and financial elite.

"Why are you looking for me?" I demanded, dropping the card onto the blanket.

Andrew leaned closer, resting his large hands on the metal bedrail. His gaze bored into my soul, stripping away every defense I had left.

"Because," Andrew stated softly, "before your father died, he entrusted you to me."