Ava Peterson POV:
Brooke.
The name echoed in the silent apartment, a confirmation of a truth I hadn’t even known I was looking for. Brooke Shelton. The legend from his academy days. The woman he’d once called his “most important partner.”
Harrison was already moving, his face alight with a joy that was like a physical blow. He strode toward the bedroom, pulling off his jacket as he went.
A sharp, cramping pain shot through my lower abdomen. I gasped, my hand flying to my stomach as I leaned against the sofa for support. The color drained from my face.
“Harrison,” I called out, my voice a strained whisper. “I… my stomach hurts.”
From the bedroom, I heard the sound of hangers sliding on a rail. “It’s your period,” he called back, his voice distracted. “Take an Advil.” He was so used to dismissing my pain, so conditioned to see my needs as trivial inconveniences. Brooke’s call was an event; my agony was a chore.
The pain intensified, a vicious, twisting knot. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. “No,” I gasped, my knees threatening to buckle. “This is different. It really hurts.”
He finally reappeared in the doorway, a fresh shirt in his hands. He looked at me, but his eyes were filled with annoyance, as if I were a child throwing a tantrum to get his attention.
“Ava, don’t be so dramatic. I have a very important party tonight.”
I clutched my stomach, each breath a struggle. “What party… is more important than me?”
He tucked the shirt into his pants, his movements efficient and detached. “It’s a welcome-home party for Brooke. She just got back from a long-term overseas assignment. The whole department is going.”
The last bit of warmth left my body. The phone call. His happiness. It was all for her. It had always been for her.
I stumbled forward and grabbed his arm, my nails digging into the crisp fabric of his shirt. My voice was a raw plea. “Take me to the hospital, Harrison. Please. Something is wrong.”
The pain was a hot blade in my belly. I thought of the baby. A new, suffocating terror seized me.
He frowned, pulling his arm from my grasp with a sharp jerk. “Stop it, Ava. You know how much Brooke means to me.”
He reached into his wallet, pulled out his black American Express card, and tossed it onto the coffee table. It landed with a sharp, insulting clatter.
The sound sliced through me. He was paying me off. Dismissing me like a problem that could be solved with money.
I stared at the card, then back at his cold, handsome face. My heart felt like it was tearing in two.
He checked his reflection in the dark television screen, adjusting his cuffs. His tone was final, the voice of a man giving an order, not speaking to his wife. He glanced at his watch. He was already late. He wouldn't waste another second on me.
My lips trembled, but no sound came out. The pain in my body and the agony in my soul were strangling me. I watched him grab his keys from the bowl by the door, ready to walk out, ready to leave me.
Desperation gave me a final surge of strength. “Our baby,” I cried out, the words tearing from my throat. “Is our baby not more important than a party?”
His steps faltered for a fraction of a second. A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. He didn’t even turn around.
He just kept walking, leaving me with a single, devastatingly cold sentence.
The front door stood ajar, the cold night air seeping in and chilling me to the bone. I collapsed onto the floor, a wet warmth spreading beneath me.
I looked down in horror. On the light-colored fabric of my pants, a dark red stain was blooming, growing larger with every beat of my terrified heart.
The door was still open. But my calls for help were lost in the empty hallway.
A wave of dizziness washed over me as the pain and fear threatened to pull me under. But some primal instinct for survival fought back. I crawled toward the coffee table, my fingers fumbling for my phone.
With a trembling hand, I managed to dial 911. As I held the phone to my ear, waiting for a voice on the other end, my last conscious thought was a single, agonizing question.
How could he be so cruel?
“Call a car and go to the hospital yourself. Brooke's welcome party is important.”
