Chapter 1

Nigel Delgado and I loved each other with a kind of madness. The whole circle knew our story, the tale of two people, a lunatic and an obsessive.

Some woman asked him for his number, so I smashed his phone.

A stranger sent me flowers, and he gripped my throat and told me I would have only one man for the rest of my life, and that man was him.

We slapped each other, we cut each other, and in the end we still walked down the aisle.

On our seventh wedding anniversary, I sat clutching a fresh pregnancy test result, waiting for Nigel to come home.

By the next morning, he still hadn't shown up.

Instead, the call that came in was from the hospital, the obstetrics department.

"Am I speaking with a family member of Mr. Nigel Delgado?"

"Would you mind coming down to obstetrics when you have a moment? Mr. Delgado came in yesterday with his partner to register for prenatal care and left her maternity handbook here. The family contact number from his earlier physical is yours, so please remember to come pick it up."

My fingers tightened hard around the test result.

I didn't cry. I didn't call Nigel to demand an explanation.

I shoved the result into the back of a drawer, then sent a message to my lawyer:

"Pull together all of Nigel's private transfer records from the past year and send them to me."

How interesting.

He set up a prenatal file for his mistress and filled in my phone number.

Then I'd better make sure the cleanup is done properly.

1

I grabbed my car keys and headed out.

My best friend's call came through, her voice frantic.

"Alma Pruitt, Nigel taking his mistress in to register a prenatal file is all over the circle! Do you know how far along she is? Twelve weeks! Three whole months!"

"He was so insanely in love with you back then. I never would've guessed a man like that would cheat too. You really do live and learn. Men are all the same after all!"

I started the car. The wipers dragged across the glass.

"Just found out."

"Go tear that woman's face off right now! A slut like that needs to be taught a lesson!"

I pressed the gas, my voice level.

"Tear her up? That's letting her off too easy."

She went quiet a beat.

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Seven years ago I could pull him back from the gates of death. Now I can send him straight down to the deepest pit of hell."

When I got to the hospital, the nurse handed the things over, still chattering.

"Mr. Delgado called specifically to tell us he and his partner would come get it themselves. How come it's you instead?"

I took the bag and said nothing.

I opened to the first page.

Name: Paige Fox.

Twelve weeks pregnant.

Family signature: Nigel Delgado.

Relationship: Spouse.

My fingertip traced those two words, and I let out a short laugh.

Twelve weeks.

Count the days, and that landed exactly three months back, the month he knelt in front of me, slapped his own face, and swore up and down that there was nothing between them.

I put the things away and turned to leave.

I'd barely reached the hospital entrance when I walked straight into Nigel.

He was holding a black umbrella, Paige pressed close against his side.

The girl wore a white dress, one hand cradling her belly, like a white lotus that would shatter at a touch.

The moment she saw me, Paige panicked and shrank behind him.

Nigel froze too, his brow snapping into a knot.

"What are you doing here?"

I lifted the things in my hand, my tone flat.

"Picking up what you and your partner left behind. The hospital's very considerate, even knew to call the family member."

Paige went white in an instant and tugged at Nigel's sleeve.

"Nigel, I'm sorry, it's all my fault for being careless..."

Nigel shielded her behind him, a naked warning in his eyes.

"We'll talk about this at home. Don't make a scene here."

I smiled.

"When you were cheating, setting up a prenatal file for your mistress and writing down my phone number, you didn't feel like it was making a scene?"

People were drifting over now, gathering to watch.

Nigel's face darkened. He reached out and clamped my wrist.

"You're coming with me. Don't lose your mind out here!"

I shook his hand off and stepped back.

"Don't touch me. You're filthy."