Back then, to bankroll Mark Delgado's dream when he had nothing, I'd washed dishes at a night market through the dead of winter, my hands cracked and peeling from the icy water.
He used to cradle those hands in his, eyes rimmed red, swearing he'd be good to me and only me for the rest of his life, that he'd never let me suffer again.
Now he stood by while strangers belittled and mocked me, and not a single word came to my defense.
I forced down the storm rising in my chest and stepped forward.
Lucretia Monroe saw me, and her smile froze on her face.
"Take it off once you've tried it on. Ava, come look and see if you like it."
Mark gestured for Lucretia to remove the ring, and she froze a moment before fumbling to slip it off, head bowed.
"It's such a hassle, taking it off and putting it back on. You like it, so keep it."
Mark's face darkened all at once, and he snapped at me for making a scene.
He'd just reached for my hand to push the ring onto my finger when the glass display case in the store shattered with a violent crash.
Jagged shards sprayed everywhere, screams breaking out all around.
A splinter slashed across Lucretia's cheek, and a thin line of blood welled up instantly.
She shrieked in terror, and Mark immediately shielded her, checking her wound.
Then he wrapped her tight in his suit jacket and rushed her away to somewhere safe.
I was knocked to the floor by the panicked crowd, my knees throbbing where they hit, my palm cut open by the glass.
I was about to cry out for help when a vicious cramp tore through my lower belly, like something was peeling away inside me, piece by piece.
I watched their backs disappear, watched the diamond ring lying abandoned on the floor not far off, and a hollow laugh escaped me.
The chaos slowly settled. A clerk helped me up off the floor, apologizing over and over.
She said some rich man's kept canary had dropped millions in the store, and when the wife found out, she'd lost it and come to smash the place.
The pain in my belly surged harder.
Before the last thread of consciousness slipped away, I felt a broad, strong arm scoop me up, holding me tight, calling my name in a frantic rush.
Was it Mark?
Didn't his heart belong only to Lucretia?
The thought drifted through me. If it really was him, then somehow I felt I could forgive all of it.
When I opened my eyes again, a sickly white hospital ceiling stared back.
The smell of disinfectant made me wince before I could stop myself.
"Such a shame. If she'd been brought in sooner, the baby might have been saved..."
The nurse's face was full of pity. Seeing the color drain further from my face, she couldn't help but offer comfort.
"Don't grieve. You're so young. You'll have more children."
Tears slid down without a sound and struck the pillow.
This was my second child with Mark Delgado. And I couldn't keep this one either?
Three years ago, when Mark was just starting out in the art world and beginning to make a name, he'd snatched a rival's resources and earned their hatred.
They hired men to corner him in an alley, set on breaking his hands and destroying his future.
In that critical moment, I threw myself in front of him without a second thought, and a heavy iron bar came down hard across my body.
What fell with me was the ultrasound printout clutched in my hand.
That tiny embryo on the page dissolved into wreckage on the ground.
Mark knelt and held me, his hands trembling almost beyond control, his eyes red as he roared out his vows.
He said he'd spend his whole life making it up to me, that he'd never let me suffer the slightest hurt again.
He said we'd have a houseful of children, grandkids gathered at our knees.
But it seemed even heaven wouldn't allow it.
The door creaked open. I closed my eyes, not wanting to look.
"Mark Delgado, I don't want to see you right now."
A long silence. Then he set a cup of water down by my bedside.
"Um... Ava, it's me."
I opened my eyes.
It was Dana Barnes.
His eyes were threaded with red, the clear sign he'd kept watch over me all night.
I gave a self-mocking little laugh and sent him an apologetic look.
