Chapter 2

The next morning Earl carried a bowl of congee out of the kitchen.

"It's pouring outside. Let me drive you in a bit, it won't take me out of my way."

After the car accident, after I lost the baby, he'd said the same thing—that he would drive me to work every day.

A week later he broke that promise.

Because Doreen's parents claimed she'd come to them in a dream, asking for a bouquet of mimosa flowers laid at her grave every morning.

I used to wait for him every single day. Now there was nothing left to wait for.

"No need."

"Earl, let's get a divorce."

His hand froze over the bowl, and he lowered his voice to soothe me. "Still angry about yesterday? We agreed—work and home stay separate."

I stirred the shrimp congee with the spoon, mechanically.

"Three years, and you still don't remember I'm allergic to shrimp."

"Shrimp was Doreen's favorite."

"Earl, I'm tired."

Before he could say anything else, I grabbed my coat and headed for the door.

He came after me and pulled me into the car. "I don't agree to it!"

Then, ever thoughtful, he switched on the seat heater and pressed a hand warmer into my arms.

"You can't even take care of yourself. How would you manage without me?"

That one line nearly broke me.

The heart I'd just hardened went soft again, against my will.

But we'd been driving barely ten minutes when Cara called. "Earl, the rain's so heavy, our old place is leaking everywhere—could you come take a look?"

He agreed without a moment's hesitation.

At the same time he hit the brake and gave me an apologetic look.

Before he could speak, I opened the door myself and got out.

He was always like this.

He remembered how I lived, remembered my cycle, and still kept room in his heart for another woman.

A wave of dizziness slammed into me. I hadn't eaten breakfast, and my blood sugar had crashed.

I'd gotten this condition in the first place from starving myself to slim down and fit into the dress Earl bought me.

Now that I thought about it, the dress must have been sized for his late wife.

The ride app showed fifty-three people still ahead of me in line.

So I texted my manager to take the day off and started inching home, bracing myself against the wall.

Rain poured down my collar, and the wet clothes clung to me.

The wind cut through me until my teeth chattered, and my vision kept blacking out in waves from the low blood sugar.

By the time I finally reached the gate of the complex, a dull ache dragged low in my belly.

Like an invisible hand stirring, over and over, until my abdomen seized up again in a violent cramp.

My legs gave out and I went down hard into the standing water.

When I opened my eyes again, my mother was keeping watch beside the bed.

She held my hand and comforted me. "Rita, take it easy."

"As long as we get you healthy again, there'll be another baby someday—"

My mind went blank. "What baby?"

She pulled me into her arms, aching for me. "Silly girl. You were already a month along."

A month. A month, again.

Despair and regret flooded over me like the tide.

I held on to my mother and cried until I lost my voice, and told her everything from the last two days.

When she'd heard it all, she was shaking with rage. "That bastard Earl. How could he treat you like this."

"I came this time to buy back your father's last work, City in the Old Alley."

"Once I've got your father's belongings back in a week, I'm taking you away from here."