Chapter 2

"Stoop this low?"

I rolled the words around in my mouth. They almost made me laugh.

"Think whatever you want."

I was done arguing. An Uber pulled up at the curb. I went straight for it.

I yanked the door open. Slid into the back seat. One hand cradling my belly.

Liam slammed his palm against the door before I could close it.

"Which hospital? I'll drive you."

He stared down at me — every inch the entitled Fox heir.

"I want to see for myself which broke loser you hired to play house with you."

I stared at his hand on the door.

"Let go."

"Emily. Don't push it." His patience was gone. He yanked open the front passenger door and got in.

I sighed and gave the driver the address of a private OB clinic in Midtown.

The driver glanced from me to Liam. Hesitated.

Liam tossed a handful of hundreds onto the dashboard.

" Drive."

The car merged into traffic. The silence was suffocating.

Liam leaned back against the headrest, head tilted toward me.

"You used to flinch at a flu shot." His gaze settled on my stomach, sharp and assessing. "And now you're walking around with a fake bump just to spite me?"

"Take it off. Aren't you boiling in there?"

I zipped my coat all the way up to my chin. Closed my eyes. Stopped answering him.

Thirty minutes later, the car stopped at the hospital.

I got out. Liam followed.

The lobby was hushed — the kind of quiet that only money could buy. I walked straight to the self check-in kiosk and tapped my insurance card.

Liam stood at my shoulder, eyes on the screen.

Obstetrics – Follow-up. 20 weeks.

A muscle twitched at the corner of his jaw. Then he composed himself.

"Quite a commitment to the bit." A cold little laugh.

I took my slip and walked toward the elevators. He stayed glued to my side.

On the third floor, I found an empty seat in the waiting area.

I'd barely settled in when the elevator chimed again.

Chloe Sinclair stepped out in red-soled stilettos, cradling a bouquet of white roses against her camel cashmere coat.

She spotted us instantly and made a beeline over.

"Liam, Em."

She thrust the bouquet at me, all wide-eyed innocence.

"I heard you were pregnant. I just had to come and congratulate you."

The pollen hit me like a slap. I jerked my head away and sneezed hard.

Liam frowned at her.

"She's allergic to pollen. Keep them away from her."

Chloe bit her lower lip. Her eyes welled up on cue.

"Oh — Em, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot."

She pressed a hand to her chest, eyes wide.

"I was just so excited for you."

Then she dropped the bouquet on the empty chair beside her and slid right down next to Liam, settling in like she belonged there.

"But Em…" Her gaze drifted theatrically across my belly. "Isn't this all a little fast, though?"

She covered her mouth with her fingertips and giggled.

"The baby's already this big. You didn't just marry the first guy who looked at you to get back at Liam, did you?"

"And on such an important day — where is your husband, anyway? Did he leave you here all by yourself?"

Liam didn't stop her. Didn't even glance her way.

He was watching me. Waiting. Almost curious to see how I'd react.

"Her husband's too busy to bother," he supplied for me, the sneer curling under the words. "What kind of paid actor takes a gig like this seriously?"

I sat there listening to the two of them play off each other.

Something cold and clear settled behind my ribs.

This was the man I had loved for seven years.

He could stand in a hospital waiting room and watch a woman humiliate his pregnant ex — and pile right on for sport.

"Excuse me — is Mrs. Lockwood here?"

A nurse appeared in the doorway of the exam suite, chart in hand.

"That's me."

I stood up.

The nurse's eyes flicked from me to Liam, then to Chloe.

"For your appointment today, I'll need your spouse to sign some consent forms. Which one of you is the husband?"

Liam stepped forward without thinking.

"I am."

I turned. My voice cut between us — flat, final.

" He's not."