Chapter 1

I spent seven years with Ethan Cole. He was firm about it — no marriage, no kids. That was just who he was.

I believed him.

Three months ago, I got pregnant.

Then I lost the baby. Alone in a hospital room, after what they called an "accident."

Until today.

I went with my best friend Lily to a high-end immersive parenting experience — one of those events for expectant couples. She was the pregnant one, not me.

On the stage, the host smiled and announced: "Please welcome the husband of Ms. Joanna Quinn to come up and experience labor contractions!"

The next second.

A man stood up, smiling, and walked onto the stage. It was my boyfriend. Ethan Cole.

The electrode pads had him sweating through his shirt, but he held another woman's hand tight the whole time. His voice was so tender it could melt: "Don't be scared. I'll go through the pain first so I'll know how to take care of you."

That was the moment I understood.

It wasn't that he didn't want children.

He just didn't want mine.