Chapter 3

Stephen never cared for plays. He wouldn't even sit through a movie with me at the theater.

But his rules stopped being rules the moment Delia was involved.

The thought pulled a bitter little laugh out of me.

"Sure. Have fun, you two."

Once they left, I started packing.

There was almost nothing to pack from five years with Stephen. Pitifully little.

Apart from the handmade ring I'd forced him to make with me back when we first got together, there was nothing to prove we'd ever been serious.

Even on my phone there were only a handful of photos of us, because he'd always said he didn't like being photographed.

When I finished, I headed to the office.

I'd come to this city for Stephen in the first place.

Now that I'd decided to leave, I handed in my resignation.

People at the company had always liked me, and my boss signed off without any fuss, telling me I could go in three days.

After work, I bought myself a small old-fashioned cake.

I sat alone at the table and ate it, quietly, all of it.

By the time Stephen came home, I was almost asleep.

He looked at me with something complicated in his face.

"Sorry. By the time the play ended, all the bakeries were closed."

I gave a soft laugh.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Three hours earlier, I'd seen Delia's post on her feed.

After the play, the two of them had gone up to Ridgecrest Summit to watch a meteor shower, and there'd been fireworks too.

The words came out before I could stop them.

"Stephen, were the meteor shower and the fireworks nice?"

His voice went cold.

"Do you have to be so snide about it?"

"Delia and I finished the play, someone nearby happened to mention there'd be a meteor shower and fireworks tonight, so we decided on the spot to go."

He turned and went into the study.

The study light stayed on. His phone kept buzzing with messages.

In the middle of the night, I went downstairs for water and my foot slipped.

I went down the whole staircase, tumbling over several steps.

Pain tore through my belly, and the scrapes on my knees burned.

I tried to call out, but my throat was raw and no sound came.

I grabbed my phone and called Stephen. Busy.

I tried a voice call. He hung up on it.

I'd fallen into the corner by the wall, a spot tucked away where no one would notice easily.

I was about to call 911 when everything went black, and I passed out completely.

When I woke the next day, Stephen was already gone.

I dragged myself to the hospital alone.

The doctor told me, regret in her voice,

"Ma'am, you've had a miscarriage."

I pressed a hand to my empty belly, and something in my chest twisted hard as the tears spilled over.

Right then, my phone buzzed.

A message from Stephen.

"Delia wants to have dinner with you tonight, to make up for last night."

I thought about it, then typed back a single word. "Okay."

I was leaving anyway. Better to get everything out in the open sooner.

That evening I went to the steakhouse Delia had booked.

When I pushed open the door to the private room, Stephen and Delia were leaning against each other, playing a game on their phones.

He never let himself look that relaxed around me. With her, he was like a different man.

I didn't say much. I sat down.

The two of them, side by side, really did look like a match.

Stephen saw me and spoke, his tone a little stiff.

"Delia said you must be upset that I didn't bring you a cake last night."

"Think of this dinner as making it up to you."

Delia propped her chin in her hand and blinked at me.

"Sis, I just noticed your smile lines are so deep. You really have to keep up with the cosmetic treatments."

"Once a woman gets older, she really does age off a cliff."

I let out a soft laugh.

"Then I suppose I should thank you for the reminder."

I ate that dinner in silence.

Delia chattered on the whole time about the little happenings in her life, and Stephen listened, laughing now and then.

The way he looked at her was a tenderness I'd never once seen.

Then Delia suddenly cried out, phone in hand.

"Oh no, I ordered bubble tea but picked the wrong delivery option. I set it to store pickup. I'll go get it."

Stephen jumped in at once.

"Alberta, Delia had appendix surgery a while back, she shouldn't be walking around much. You go get it."

"Perfect timing anyway, I have a few work emails to reply to."

I looked at him for a few seconds, then stood, turned, and walked out of the restaurant.

I hadn't expected the bubble tea shop to be two miles away.

It took me a full forty minutes to get there.

A body fresh off a miscarriage couldn't take it for long.

I was drenched in sweat, my face pale, not a trace of color in my lips.

By the time I'd picked up the bubble tea and started back, my legs had gone weak and my whole body was shaking.

I set the drinks on the table and sat down, gasping for breath.

Smiling, Delia lifted one of the cups out of my hand and took a few sips.

Then her face flushed red, her breathing turned ragged, and she pitched forward hard.