Chapter 4

The next morning, a photo landed in my inbox.

A pregnancy test. Two lines.

"Skye's pregnant. We should talk. Meet us at the shelter."

"In case you don't come, I picked up Biscuit's ashes ahead of time. You'll get them back after we talk."

It was Iris who'd sent it.

My hands shook with rage, but there was nothing I could do.

So I showed up in front of them, right on time.

Skye looked frail.

Iris watched her, eyes full of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Charity. I didn't know you and Cameron were that kind of couple."

Skye's eyes brimmed, and she said in a small voice,

"I'd never dare hope Cameron would marry me. But I really can't live without him."

"And I don't have any family left in this world. I truly want to keep this baby."

Iris chimed in too.

"Charity, think of Cameron for a second. This is his own flesh and blood."

"You're going to be Mrs. Sutton anyway. What would it hurt to accept Skye?"

I looked at her coldly and said nothing.

Then Skye stood up, choking on her words.

"If you won't agree, then this baby and I might as well die."

Suddenly she was frantic, and she bolted toward the second-floor balcony.

That was the scene Cameron walked in on.

"No, Skye!"

He lunged and caught her in his arms, terror all over his face.

"Charity, how could you be this kind of person?"

Iris glared at me too, eyes hot with hatred.

"You want to drive a pregnant woman to her death?"

She was beside herself. She grabbed whatever was at hand and hurled it at me.

In the blur of it, I saw it was a small urn.

Biscuit's ashes.

My heart jumped and I ran toward it on instinct, meaning to catch it.

But Cameron saw me rushing over and thought I was going for Skye.

He shoved me away on guard, with everything he had.

"Have you lost your mind? What are you doing?"

A dull thud, and my body slammed into the railing. I nearly went over the edge.

I curled up around the pain. Then something bright red seemed to be spreading, staining my white dress.

Several seconds passed before Cameron looked up, saw me lying there with a bloodless face, and dialed for an ambulance in a panic.

When I opened my eyes again, I was already in the hospital.

Cameron sat by my bed, his eyes red, like he'd been crying.

"Charity, I'm sorry. I panicked in the moment, and that's how you got hurt."

His voice was hoarse.

"Seeing you lying in a hospital bed, it kills me... I'm sorry. I promise you, once Skye has this baby, I swear I'll have nothing more to do with her. All right?"

Before I could say anything,

Iris knocked at the door, frantic.

"Cameron, Skye got a terrible scare. There are signs she's losing the baby. Go with her for the exam first."

Cameron gave me one guilty look, but he still turned and walked out of the room.

Not long after, a doctor came in and said, a little unwilling to be the one to tell me,

"Miss Fox, I'm sorry. We couldn't save the baby you were carrying."

"Where's your boyfriend? I tried to notify him just now, but... I couldn't find him."

So it turned out I'd been pregnant too.

I froze for a moment, forced the grief down, and answered softly,

"He's not my boyfriend anymore."

The next day, Cameron, who hadn't come home all night, left me a string of messages.

He said Skye was stable now and didn't need him to look after her, and that he could come home any minute.

Then he'd picked out several cute purebred cats and asked which one I liked, and a moment later he was asking what I thought about setting a wedding date.

But he didn't know.

I had already been discharged. I was on a flight to Switzerland, and I was never coming back.