My husband, the man I thought I knew, had
been playing me all along.
Liam killed our baby to make room for his
bastard son, the kid of my stepsister, the one
who stole eighteen years of my life. And then
⚫ he has the nerve to say I owe her?
Rage clawed at me.
The pain from the surgery was nothing
compared to the ache in my heart.
<
I must have shown something, because Liam pulled me into a tight hug, his voice soft.
“Natalie, I know we lost the baby, but I’ll be
here for you. Always. Sometimes, losing something means gaining something else.”
Liam kissed my forehead, his voice full of
tenderness. “You’re hurting so much, I’m
hurting ten thousand times more.”
I clenched my fists, blinking hard, trying to
hide the hatred that threatened to spill over.
“How much are you hurting, Liam?”
He looked down at me, eyes puffy and red
like he had been crying for days.
“More than you can imagine. When our baby
<
died, my world went black. Thank God, you’re
still here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to
live.”
What an actor.
No wonder I never realized he was in love
with Madison.
When I first got pregnant, Liam posted a
million things on social media about how
excited he was to be a dad.
Then, when I couldn’t keep anything down, he
learned to cook just for me.
Who would have guessed it was all a long
con, to benefit his bastard child?
Liam went downstairs to get some food,
leaving his backup phone behind.
My birthday didn’t work as the password. But
Madison’s did, and the messages nearly
knocked me off my feet.
“Liam, what we’re doing is wrong.”
During my eighth month, Liam was traveling
back and forth, barely here. I felt so bad for
him, so I didn’t tell him about all my morning
sickness.
Now I knew he was with Madison, going to
doctor’s appointments.
The messages were endless, every important
moment documented.
Liam rubbed oil on Madison’s belly, learned
<
Chinese medicine to massage her swollen
feet, and even cleaned up her poop when she
was constipated.
Then there were the fights about what to do
with the baby. Madison finally agreed to let
me raise him while she pursued her career
overseas.
I closed my eyes.
I remembered when our real identities were
revealed, Madison gave me a smile. “Sis, I
» don’t blame you for taking my parents. I want
to see the world.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t take Liam from you.”
She ran off to Europe to find herself.
<
My parents blamed me for her leaving, barely
showing up at my wedding.
And Liam killed my baby to make way for
Madison’s.
Everyone loves her. No one loves me…
Fine. I’m out of here.
Numb, I put down the phone and texted my
mentor, promising I’d be back in the
mountains in a month.
“I don’t trust hospital food, so I made you
something. See if you like it.”
Liam spoon–fed me, tears dripping into the
bowl
He wiped them away, teasing, “Hey, don’t
cry!”
