Liv POV
The gallery was awash in gallery white—unforgiving, sterile, and bright.
My black-and-white landscapes hung against the starkness, commanding the room.
They were images of isolation. Stark. Lonely. Hauntingly beautiful.
This was my first solo exhibition. By all metrics, it should have been the highlight of my career.
I wore a silk dress that draped over my body, carefully hiding the tiny bump that no one else could see yet.
I smiled at the guests. I shook hands. I tilted my head and laughed at the right moments, playing the part of the successful artist to perfection.
But my eyes kept darting to the door.
Michael walked in at 8:00 PM.
He was wearing his "apology suit." Navy blue. Crisp white shirt. The one he wore when he knew he’d screwed up.
He was holding a bouquet of white roses.
I hated white roses. They reminded me of funerals.
He walked straight to me, ignoring the art, ignoring the people who had come to see it.
"For the star of the evening," he said, his voice booming with forced cheer.
He handed me the flowers. The crowd applauded politely.
He leaned in to kiss my cheek. "You look beautiful, Liv."
That’s when I smelled her on him. Vanilla and musk. Cloying and sweet.
I took the flowers because I didn't want to make a scene. Not here. Not tonight.
"Thank you," I said. My voice was brittle.
"Daddy!"
The word cut through the polite chatter like a knife through silk.
The room went dead silent.
I turned toward the entrance.
A woman was standing there. She was beautiful in a sharp, predatory way.
It was Serena. The woman from the photos.
And holding her hand was the little boy. Jason.
He broke free from her grip and ran toward Michael.
"Daddy!" he yelled again, his voice innocent and damning. "Why are you holding that lady's flowers?"
Michael froze.
His face drained of color. He looked from me to the boy to the crowd, trapped in a nightmare of his own making.
He dropped his hand from my waist like I was on fire.
Jason grabbed Michael’s leg. "Up! Up!"
Michael instinctively reached down. He hesitated, looking at me with panic in his eyes, but the boy was already climbing him.
He picked him up.
The image was perfect. Framed like a twisted family portrait. The doting father. The beautiful son.
And the wife standing there holding funeral flowers.
Whispers started to ripple through the room like static.
"Is that his son?"
"I thought they didn't have kids."
"Who is that woman?"
Serena walked over. Her heels clicked loudly on the polished concrete floor, each step a deliberate strike.
She stopped in front of me. She looked me up and down with a sneer.
"Hello, Liv," she said.
She reached out and touched Michael’s arm. He didn't pull away.
"Please," Serena said, her voice pitched perfectly loud enough for everyone to hear. "Don't be mad at Michael. He's just trying to do the right thing by his family."
She put a possessive hand on Jason’s back.
"His *real* family."
The humiliation washed over me. It was hot and suffocating.
I felt naked. Everyone was looking at me. Pity. Curiosity. Amusement.
"Get out," I whispered.
"Now, Liv," Serena said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Don't be difficult. We just wanted to support your little... hobby."
She looked at my ring finger.
"Although," she said, "that ring really doesn't suit you anymore."
She reached out.
Before I could react, she grabbed my left hand.
She yanked.
It hurt. My knuckle scraped against the metal as she twisted it violently.
She pulled the diamond ring off my finger.
"Oops," she said.
She tossed the ring.
It clattered onto the floor. It spun dizzily and landed at my feet.
My marriage. My promises. My dignity. All lying on the dirty floor.
Something snapped inside me.
I lunged. Not for the ring, but for her.
"You bitch!" I screamed.
I stepped forward.
Serena’s eyes flashed. She stepped back and shoved me. Hard.
It wasn't a gentle push. It was a full-force shove to my chest.
I lost my balance. My heels slipped on the slick floor.
I fell backward.
I tried to catch myself, but I was too slow.
My lower back hit the corner of a display pedestal with a sickening crunch.
Pain exploded in my spine. It radiated down to my stomach like shattered glass.
A sharp, tearing cramp ripped through my abdomen.
"Liv!" someone screamed.
I lay on the floor. The gallery lights were blinding.
I curled into a ball, clutching my stomach.
"My baby," I gasped. "My baby."
No one heard me over the commotion.
I saw Michael. He looked at me. He took a step toward me.
But Serena grabbed his arm. She whispered something in his ear and pulled Jason close.
Michael looked at them. Then he looked at me.
And then, he made his choice.
He turned his back.
He let Serena pull him toward the exit. He was shielding them from the cameras.
He was leaving me on the floor.
I felt a wetness between my legs.
I looked down.
The white silk of my dress was turning dark red.
Panic, cold and absolute, seized my heart.
"Help," I whispered.
The room started to spin. The faces of the guests blurred into a kaleidoscope of judgment.
The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was my wedding ring, glittering on the floor, inches from the growing pool of blood.
