Chapter 2

When the cold wind hit me, I realized I was shaking all over.

My phone chimed.

A message from Ethan.

“Nora Bennett, what exactly was that supposed to mean?”

I gave a bitter little laugh and blocked him.

Taking a deep breath, I noticed a faint ache in my abdomen.

I remembered the doctor warning me that I could miscarry at any time, and fear crept in.

After all, this baby was my own flesh and blood.

Only after calming myself down did I take out my phone and message my doctor.

“Hello. I’d like to schedule a checkup.”

For seven years, Ethan had told me marriage could wait.

For a while, I’d waited quietly.

But all that waiting had brought me was another birthday, then another.

It had brought me to my grandmother’s deathbed, where the person who loved me most passed away without seeing me married.

Then this baby came along, and I finally made up my mind.

I started asking him outright.

And became the woman everyone mocked for wanting a man who didn’t want her.

Now, none of it mattered.

I turned off my phone and let the tears run down my face.

“Nora…”

Someone called my name softly.

Chloe had followed me outside. She reached up and gently wiped away my tears.

I stared blankly at her hand, then pressed my lips together.

“Why would you do this to me?”

I fought the pain twisting inside me.

I could have imagined anyone betraying me.

Anyone but her.

My closest friend.

The friend who used to poke my forehead and tease me for being hopelessly in love.

We’d gone to school together, graduated together, even applied for the same job.

There were two of us competing for one opening.

But just before the interview, I happened to see a debt collection notice on her phone.

Her mother had jumped from a building after finding out her father was cheating.

She’d survived, but instead of escaping her misery, she’d been left with a mountain of medical bills.

Three hundred thousand dollars.

So I withdrew my application.

Chloe asked me why.

“You need this high-paying job more than I do.”

I smiled, then added a joke so she wouldn’t feel guilty.

“Besides, my boyfriend will take care of me.”

That boyfriend was Ethan.

He was already making a name for himself as a self-made entrepreneur. He’d fallen for me at first sight.

Then he’d pursued me relentlessly for three years.

All I remembered was Chloe crying with gratitude, holding my hands, and promising we would be friends forever.

I hadn’t noticed the flash of jealousy in her eyes.

Chloe’s hand stopped.

She stared straight at me.

“Because I’m better than you in every way.”

It felt as though someone had grabbed my heart and squeezed until I couldn’t breathe.

Chloe went on.

“I have a good career. I’m capable.”

“You’re just a lovesick little parasite who depends on a man.”

“Why should someone like you get a better boyfriend than me?”

Every word drove another needle into my heart.

As she watched my face turn pale, she seemed pleased.

Then she smiled again.

“But I never meant to ruin your relationship.”

“I was going to have fun with Ethan for a few years and give him back.”

“You’re the one who couldn’t hold on to him…”

Smack.

I couldn’t listen anymore. I slapped her hard across the face.

She pressed a hand to her reddening cheek and stared at me in disbelief.

“Nora Bennett, after all these years of friendship, you’re hitting me over a man?”

She sounded so righteous, as though she wasn’t the one who’d slept with her best friend’s boyfriend.

I simply looked at her.

“Yes. We’ve been friends for years.”

“That’s why I’m giving you one chance to end things with Ethan.”

“Otherwise, I’ll make sure your mother knows you’re the other woman.”

Chloe shook her head desperately, but I felt no satisfaction.

Pushing through the ache in my chest, I continued.

“Take my advice…”

“Don’t become the kind of woman your mother hates most.”