Chapter 1 - The Ring He Thought I Would Never RemoveDaniel stared at his mother's palm.
The diamond ring sat there beneath the ballroom lights.
His grandmother's ring.
The ring he had placed on my finger seven years earlier.
His face slowly lost its color.
"What did she say?"
Margaret looked at him.
"She said she finally chose peace."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
His voice was barely audible.
"She wouldn't."
Vanessa stepped closer.
"What happened?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Where is Amy?"
Margaret didn't answer.
"Mom."
"She left."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"She was here."
"Yes."
"She saw us?"
Margaret's expression hardened.
"Everyone saw you."
Vanessa suddenly looked uncomfortable.
Daniel turned toward her.
"Did you know she was coming?"
"No."
"Did you know she was here?"
Vanessa hesitated.
"I saw her."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You were dancing."
The music continued behind them.
Guests laughed.
Cameras flashed.
But Daniel couldn't hear any of it anymore.
He stared at the empty space where I'd been standing.
Then he remembered something.
The way I'd looked at him.
Not angry.
Not crying.
Just calm.
Terrifyingly calm.
He reached for his phone.
No answer.
Again.
Voicemail.
He sent a message.
Amy, where are you?
Nothing.
Another.
Please answer me.
Still nothing.
Then he noticed the envelope on the table beside Margaret.
His mother's fingers tightened around it.
"What's that?"
Margaret looked at him.
"I don't know."
Daniel took it.
He opened it.
An ultrasound photograph slid onto the table.
His eyes froze.
A tiny profile.
A tiny hand.
A tiny body.
Seventeen weeks.
Daniel stopped breathing.
"What is this?"
Margaret stared.
Then she looked at him.
"Your child."
The ballroom seemed to disappear.
"What?"
Margaret's voice trembled.
"Amy is pregnant."
Daniel's fingers began shaking.
"No."
"Yes."
"She would've told me."
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"She tried."
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
The baby was real.
His baby.
The child he hadn't known existed.
He remembered the mornings I'd looked sick.
The canceled dinners.
The way I'd held my stomach sometimes.
He had asked if I was okay.
She had said yes.
And he had accepted the answer because it was easier than asking again.
Vanessa whispered,
"Daniel..."
He turned toward her.
For the first time, there was anger in his eyes.
"How long have you known?"
"I didn't."
"Then what did you mean by that message?"
She froze.
"What message?"
"The one where you asked if she had no idea."
Vanessa's face changed.
"You saw that?"
"Answer me."
She looked away.
Daniel stepped closer.
"Vanessa."
She finally whispered,
"I knew she didn't know about us."
Silence.
Margaret covered her mouth.
Daniel stared at Vanessa.
"You knew?"
"I knew you were unhappy."
"That wasn't my question."
Vanessa swallowed.
"I knew."
Daniel looked at the dance floor.
Then at the ultrasound.
Then at the door.
He suddenly ran.
Outside, I was already gone.
My driver accelerated into Manhattan traffic.
I sat in the back seat with one hand resting protectively over my stomach.
The city blurred outside the window.
I had spent seven years trying to make Daniel notice me.
Tonight, he finally would.
But not because I was standing beside him.
Because I wasn't.
I looked down at my bare finger.
May you like
It felt strangely light.
And for the first time in years, so did I.
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