Chapter 1

My boyfriend's childhood "sister" paid him a million bucks to be her Valentine — and when I show up at their hotel suite, she shoves me down the stairs and he covers her eyes so she won't see the blood.

"Don't look, baby! All that blood — it'll scare you!"

They walk away wrapped around each other. I'm left in a pool of my own blood, clutching the ultrasound photo of the baby I just lost. Nobody calls 911. Nobody comes back.

Then I open my eyes.

I'm in my apartment. It's two days before Valentine's Day.

I grab my phone with shaking hands. I scroll to the one name I swore I'd never text again — Killian Vance. The Don of the Vance family. Mob royalty. My ex-fiancé from the arranged marriage I ran away from six years ago.

I type fast.

"One million dollars. Be my Valentine's date. Deal?"

Three seconds. Three seconds and my phone buzzes.

"Wait for me. I'm flying back tonight."

---

I stare at the screen. My hands won't stop shaking.

This time, I'm going to burn their whole world down.

I book the earliest D&C appointment I can get.

Chris Hale and I have been together six years. We were supposed to get married in June. In my last life, this baby was our miracle. Our double blessing. The Valentine's gift I was going to surprise him with.

Now I know better. Now I know he was never mine.

In the hospital hallway, I run straight into him. And her.

Nina Lark is glued to Chris's side, her pale little face tilted up at him like a Disney princess. Then she sees me, and something ugly flickers behind her eyes before the innocent mask slides back on.

"Oh my God, Bella, I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I didn't know you were sick too. I've been so selfish, dragging Chris here with me."

Chris flicks her nose. His eyes are pure syrup.

"Don't say that, sweetheart. You're fragile. Of course I'm gonna take care of you." His voice hardens when he glances at me. "Bella's fine. She's always faking something for attention."

I don't answer. I just walk past them.

I've lost fifteen pounds since I got pregnant. I can't eat. I can't sleep. Chris hasn't noticed a thing — because he doesn't see me. Every ounce of his attention belongs to Nina.

Before I sign the paperwork, my doctor hesitates.

"Bella, sweetheart… you've been through hell trying to keep this baby. Are you absolutely sure? "

"Last visit, we were finally starting to get worried about the pregnancy again. The baby has been hanging on by a thread for months. If we wait much longer, you could lose the baby anyway, and it could put your life at risk."

She glances at the empty chair next to me.

"Where is he? Why isn't he here?"

I laugh, and it comes out broken.

"Oh, he's here. He's downstairs. Checking his childhood best friend into a private suite."

Her face changes.

"You said you were going to tell him the good news."

"I was."

I look down at the paperwork in my hands.

I fought like hell for this baby. Every time the doctors told me I might lose the pregnancy, I did whatever it took to hold on.

My fingers tighten around the pen.

"But I'm done fighting."

She doesn't try to stop me. She calls in a nurse to sit with me through the whole thing.

As they wheel me toward the OR, I hear her voice sharp in the hallway:

"That girl sneezes twice and he's here in an hour. His fiancée has been in and out of this hospital for months trying to keep their baby alive, and he hasn't asked one damn question."

I close my eyes.

Yeah. That's what love looks like. That's what not-love looks like. Turns out the difference is loud as hell once you stop covering your ears.

The procedure goes fine. I get dressed, discharge papers folded tight in my hand, ready to walk out and never look back.

Then a hand grabs my elbow from behind.

Chris.

"Bella. What the hell are you holding?"