Chapter 4

The hallway of the city women's and children's hospital smelled of disinfectant.

I sat on a plastic chair, the registration slip crumpled in my hand, the dull ache low in my belly coming in waves.

"Number 45, Sophia Harding, please come to Exam Room Three."

The nurse's voice crackled through the speaker.

I braced myself against the wall and pushed to my feet.

I'd taken only two steps when laughter drifted from the VIP corridor ahead.

Kerry Dotson came out of the ultrasound room with his arm around Kathy Gomez's shoulders, a stack of test results in his hand.

"The doctor says the baby's perfectly healthy. What do you feel like eating? I'll take you."

His head was bent toward her, his voice gentle.

I stood where I was and watched them come toward me.

The hallway was narrow. I leaned weakly against the wall, trying to make room for them to pass.

Kerry looked up and saw me.

The tenderness on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by wariness and irritation.

"Sophia Harding?"

He strode over and planted himself in front of Kathy.

"What are you doing here?"

His eyes ran over me, settling on the awkward way I was standing, but there was nothing like concern in them.

"Are you following us?"

I hurt too much to speak. The cold sweat on my forehead had already dampened the loose strands of hair.

"Move."

I said it through my teeth, my voice thin.

"What exactly do you want?"

Kerry didn't move aside. He stepped closer instead, his tone sharp.

"I warned you. Kathy can't handle stress."

"Whatever grudge you've got, take it up with me. Don't cause a scene at the hospital!"

He thought I'd come to make trouble.

Kathy peeked out from behind him and clutched at the hem of his shirt, pretending to be afraid.

"Kerry, my stomach feels a little off."

Kerry's face changed the moment he heard it.

"Sophia Harding, you really have lost your mind!"

His hand shot out and shoved me aside.

"Get out of the way!"

I was already weak, and the shove knocked me off balance. I slammed hard into the wall behind me.

A dull pain spread through my back, and the ache low in my belly flared all at once.

I slid down the wall to the floor, my vision starting to blur.

Kerry didn't so much as glance back at me.

He bent, lifted Kathy into his arms, and strode off toward the elevator.

Kathy, draped over his shoulder, turned her head to look at me.

A cold little smile curved her mouth.

Her lips moved without a sound.

I read it.

She was calling me a hen that couldn't lay eggs.

I sat on the floor and watched them disappear behind the elevator doors.

And I felt, suddenly, at peace.

Five years.

Five years I'd spent trying to move him.

Now he'd finally shown me his true face, and it cut deep.

The doctor leaned out of the exam room.

"Number 45? Why are you sitting on the floor? Come in, quickly."

I pushed off the wall, got to my feet, and walked slowly into the room.

The results: only an unstable condition. I needed rest.

I took the medicine the doctor prescribed and walked out of the hospital alone.

Back at the apartment, I started to pack.

There wasn't much, really.

For five years I'd poured everything I had into Kerry Dotson; my own belongings were pitifully few.

A single suitcase held all of it.

Before I left, I went into the study.

Kerry had always liked to work at that mahogany desk.

I took the mystery box out of my bag.

That night, I'd meant to give him this surprise in front of our friends.

I set the box in the very center of the desk.

Beside it I laid a key to the apartment.

Kerry Dotson, your child already has a father.

Mine doesn't need one.

I dragged the suitcase out, pulled the door shut, and locked five years of my youth away behind it, along with the man himself.