Chapter 4

The next day was the seventh-day memorial for my baby.

I put on a black dress and waited quietly for Grayson.

I wanted the two of us to see our child off ourselves, one last time.

The agreed hour came and went. Grayson never showed.

A dozen calls, and no one picked up.

He'd taken the forty-five hundred in hourly pay.

But the three hours we'd agreed on, he forgot.

I got in the car and drove straight to Sophie's place.

Grayson rented it for her. Thirteen hundred a month, and he never once brought up splitting anything fifty-fifty.

The room was loud with noise. Sophie saw me first.

"Well, look who it is. What brings Aria all the way here?"

"Mochi had three sons, safe and sound. Grayson said we absolutely had to celebrate."

Grayson stood in the middle of the crowd, holding Mochi, positively glowing.

He saw me and froze for a beat, then raised an eyebrow.

"Since you're here, join the fun. Don't forget to chip in a gift for Mochi."

"Oh, right. Whatever you eat and drink is billed separately. Just pay Sophie directly."

I stood in the doorway, cold all over.

Today was the seventh day since my baby died.

And the baby's own father was here, throwing a birthday party for a dog.

Someone nearby snickered.

I stood where I was, a punchline.

"I'm not here for the party."

"You promised me. Three hours this morning. You'd come with me."

Something flickered in Grayson's eyes.

"It's just that I can't get away. Mochi only just gave birth, and Sophie can't manage it all on her own."

"I'm not breaking my word on purpose. Why don't you wait outside a bit? I'll go with you once I'm done here."

Fine. I'd wait.

Wait for this last time.

Wait for him to say a proper goodbye to our child.

I turned and went to wait in the stairwell. I don't know how long it was before Sophie came out carrying a glass of red wine.

"Aria, you're actually waiting?"

"You don't really think Grayson loves you, do you?"

"Let me spell it out. You're a stand-in. I left, and he grabbed the first replacement he could find. That was you."

"The one in his heart has always been me."

When I didn't react, her eyes rolled and she leaned close to my ear.

"You know why he insisted on splitting everything with you?"

"Because he promised me. He'd never spend a cent keeping another woman."

Something in my chest lurched. Eight years of marriage. The equality and respect I thought I had were nothing but a promise he'd made to another woman.

Sophie watched the color drain from my face, and her mouth curled into something vicious.

"Oh, and the car crash last time? That wasn't an accident either."

"Grayson lost a bet with me. I told him to give you a real scare."

"I figured he'd back out, since you were carrying his child. Turns out he didn't hesitate for a second."

My ears rang. The blood rushed to my head all at once.

So the crash wasn't an accident. He did it on purpose.

With his own hands, he'd killed our child.

I couldn't stop shaking.

"Aren't the two of you afraid of what's coming to you?"

Sophie laughed out loud. "Afraid of what? Even if there's a reckoning, Grayson will protect me."

"Don't believe me? Want to test it?"

The words had barely left her mouth when she smashed the wine glass against the floor and slapped herself hard across the face.

Then she dropped to a crouch, cradling her cheek, and started crying pitifully.

"Aria, I know you resent Grayson for taking care of me."

"But you can't hurt Mochi's babies. They were only born a few days ago..."

Still sobbing, she threw herself into Grayson's arms.

"Grayson, my puppies are gone..."

Grayson looked at the three newborn pups lying motionless in the dog bed, and he looked ready to tear me apart limb from limb.

"Aria, how could you be so vicious!"

"Puppies never did anything to anyone. How could you bring yourself to do it?"

"It wasn't me."

"If not you, then who? These pups go for a hundred grand at market rate. You're paying!"

Sophie sobbed against his chest until she could barely breathe.

"Grayson, I don't want money. Those were three little lives. Life is priceless."

"I want her to wear mourning for my puppies and keep vigil three days and three nights to atone."

Grayson didn't find a thing wrong with it.

"Aria, you're the one in the wrong. Sophie's asking for nothing unreasonable."

"Keep vigil for the dogs three days, apologize, and we'll call it even."

My stomach heaved, and I brought up a mouthful of blood before I could stop it.

"Aria, what's wrong with you?"

Sophie sniffled. "Is she... is she faking sick so she can weasel out of it?"

Grayson stayed where he was, brows knit, glaring at me in displeasure.

I pulled the corners of my mouth into a smile.

"Three precious dog lives. Mourning clothes, vigil for three days. How could that ever be enough!"

"Grayson, would it settle the debt if I paid her with my child's life?"

I flung the miscarriage certificate hard into his face.

Grayson stared blankly at the words on it, the color bleeding out of his face bit by bit.

"A-Aria..."

"What did you do to my baby?"