Chapter 3

That afternoon I went to the bridal shop downtown.

This was a shop you had to book half a year in advance. The gown was made from sketches I'd drawn myself, hand-tailored by a French designer.

It had only been flown in from Paris last month.

I pushed open the glass door and caught the flicker of unease across the manager's face.

"Miss Harding, what brings you here?"

Her eyes darted away, and without meaning to, she stepped into the path leading to the VIP fitting room.

I ignored the way she blocked me and walked straight in.

"I'm here to cancel the order."

Just as I reached the fitting room, the curtain was pulled back.

Kathy Gomez stood in front of the full-length mirror, wearing the gown that belonged to me.

The gown had clearly been let out; the waist hung loose, hiding the slight swell of her belly.

"Kerry, this gown is gorgeous. It's just a little tight here at the waist."

Kathy touched her stomach.

"I've already had them work on it overnight. It'll fit perfectly by tomorrow."

Kerry Dotson's voice was full of indulgence.

He raised his head, and in the mirror his eyes met mine.

Panic flashed at the bottom of his gaze, and his hand slipped off Kathy's waist on instinct.

"Sophia?"

He took a step forward, as though he wanted to explain something, then stopped just as quickly.

The panic on his face hardened into righteousness.

"What are you doing here?"

I looked at the gown, altered beyond recognition.

The little diamonds along the hem were ones I'd picked out one by one, and now they were on another woman's body.

"Here to cancel the order."

My voice was flat, without a ripple.

Kathy seemed startled by my appearance, shrinking back behind Kerry.

"Sophia, please don't get the wrong idea."

She pinched at the skirt, her eyes reddening in an instant.

"I just… I've just never worn a gown this beautiful, so I wanted to try it on."

"If it upsets you, I'll take it off right now."

"Kathy, don't move."

Kerry pressed a hand to her shoulder and turned to me, his brow furrowed.

"Sophia, can't you be a little more gracious about this?"

"Kathy's never worn a wedding gown. She's pregnant, her emotions are all over the place. I was only giving her one small wish."

He looked at me, blame in his tone.

"You're not wearing this gown next week anyway. What's the harm in letting her try it on? Did you really need to come all the way here and make a scene?"

Watching him, I found it almost funny.

"Kerry, this is a gown custom-made to my measurements."

"You didn't just cancel our shoot. You had my gown resized and put it on another woman."

I looked him in the eyes.

"And you think I'm the one making a scene?"

Kerry was stung by my even tone, his face going ugly.

"I told you, she's only borrowing it for a minute."

"After she has the baby, I'll order you an even better one. Is that not enough?"

He came over and tried to take my hand.

"Stop being so aggressive all the time. Kathy's fragile. She can't take being frightened."

I stepped clear of his hand and looked at the manager beside us.

"The cancellation agreement?"

The manager wiped away a bead of cold sweat and quickly handed over a document.

I took the pen and signed my name cleanly on the line.

"Sophia!"

Kerry's voice dropped, carrying a warning.

"What do you think you're doing, signing that? This gown is for our wedding!"

I set the pen down and pushed the agreement back to the manager.

"Not anymore."

I turned my head to him, my gaze calm.

"Kerry, the engagement is off."

"Consider this gown my wedding gift to your child."

With that I didn't spare either of them another glance, turning to walk out.

"Sophia, stop right there!"

Kerry called after me, an edge of temper in his voice.

He seemed unable to believe that the Sophia who always gave in had, this time, actually gone through with calling off the wedding.

I didn't slow my steps.

The moment I stepped out the door of the bridal shop, a gust of cold wind swept past.

A dragging pain shot through my lower belly.

My vision went black, my face drained white as I braced myself against the glass wall beside me.

Cold sweat slid down my forehead.

I bit down on my lower lip, fished the phone out of my bag, and with trembling hands dialed the hospital.