I stopped in the kitchen doorway and stared at their wrists.
Two watches. Same brand. Same limited-edition face with the blue enamel dial that cost more than most people's monthly rent. Zayne wore his on his left wrist. Poppy wore hers on her right. They stood together by the island, her hip tilted toward him, his hand resting on the small of her back.
Not passion. Not lust.
Just the easy, casual intimacy of two people who had long since stopped pretending in private.
My hands started to shake.
I turned back to the stove and gripped the handle of the pot. The water inside was boiling hard, steam rising in thick clouds. I focused on it. Counted the bubbles. Tried to make my breathing match the rhythm.
Behind me, Zayne laughed at something Poppy said. Low and warm. The kind of laugh I used to get.
I had hired Poppy six months ago. Live-in nanny, I'd told myself. Extra help around the house. Zayne traveled for work. I traveled for work. It made sense.
She was twenty-four. Bright smile. Small-town girl from somewhere in Pennsylvania. She'd arrived with one suitcase and a lot of enthusiasm. I'd given her the guest suite on the third floor, showed her the kitchen, the laundry, the schedule.
She'd thanked me so earnestly I'd felt guilty for not paying her more.
Now she was wearing a watch that matched my husband's.
I turned off the burner and set the pot aside. My reflection wavered in the dark window over the sink. I looked tired. I looked like someone who had been working very hard not to see something.
"Anna?" Poppy's voice was bright and helpful. "Do you need a hand?"
I turned. She was already crossing the kitchen toward me, all solicitous energy. Zayne had stepped back, phone in hand, scrolling.
"I'm fine," I said.
She reached past me for a dish towel, and her arm brushed mine. Just a nudge. Just enough to shift my balance.
My elbow knocked the pot.
Boiling water sloshed over the edge and splashed across my forearm.
The pain was immediate. Bright and sharp and so overwhelming I couldn't breathe. I screamed.
Zayne's head snapped up. "Anna!"
I cradled my arm against my chest. The skin was already blistering, angry red spreading across my wrist and up toward my elbow. I couldn't think. Couldn't speak.
Poppy stepped back, eyes wide. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry—"
"Move." Zayne pushed past her and grabbed my shoulders. "Let me see."
I held out my arm. The burn was bad. Really bad.
"We're going to the hospital," he said. His voice was tight. "Now."
He grabbed his keys and pulled me toward the door. I followed, dizzy with pain, my arm throbbing in time with my heartbeat.
Zayne drove fast. Too fast. The city blurred past the window — lights and snow and the dark shapes of buildings. I pressed my good hand against the door and tried to breathe through the pain.
"It's going to be okay," Zayne said. His jaw was set. His hands were tight on the wheel.
I believed him.
Twelve minutes in, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen. His expression changed.
"Poppy?" he said, answering on speaker. "What's wrong?"
Her voice came through, high and panicked. "Zayne, there's a fire! I smell smoke—oh God, I think it's coming from the basement—"
"What?" Zayne's foot hit the brake. The car jerked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" She was crying now. "I'm scared, Zayne, please—"
He pulled to the curb. We were somewhere in the East Thirties. Dark street. No hospital in sight.
Zayne turned to me. "The hospital's just a few blocks that way." He pointed vaguely down the street. "You can walk it."
I stared at him.
"I have to go back," he said. "Poppy's alone. If there's a fire—"
"Zayne—"
"Get out, Anna."
I looked at my burned arm. At the snow falling outside. At my husband's face.
He wasn't looking at me anymore. He was already turning the wheel.
I opened the door and stepped out onto the frozen sidewalk.
The car pulled away before I even closed the door.
I watched the taillights disappear into the snow.
Then I started walking.
The ER was four blocks away. I found it by following the signs. My arm was screaming. My coat was too thin. The snow was coming down harder now, thick and wet.
I kept walking.
Inside, the lights were too bright. A nurse took one look at my arm and pulled me into triage. Someone wrapped the burn. Someone else took my blood pressure. A doctor came in and asked questions I barely heard.
Then a different nurse came back with a clipboard.
"Mrs. Harrison," she said gently. "Your blood work came back. You're pregnant."
I looked at her.
She smiled. "About six weeks. Congratulations."
I looked down at the burn on my arm. At the hospital bracelet on my wrist. At the wedding ring I was still wearing.
Something inside me went very, very quiet.
I made a decision.
Clean. Irreversible. Entirely my own.
