Chapter 3

My mother-in-law choked on her words.

"He saved me, and I saved him."

I let my sleeve fall.

"I don't owe him my whole life."

I went upstairs to get my documents.

In the safe by the bed, my marriage certificate was still there, but my ID was gone.

Julian followed me up and stood in front of the safe door.

"You're not thinking straight right now. I'll hold on to it for you."

I looked at him.

"What gives you the right to take my documents?"

"Once you've thought it through, I'll give it back."

I dialed 911.

He grabbed my wrist.

I sucked in a breath at the pain.

The spot where the cup had hit me earlier had already swollen up.

When he saw the bruise, his hand suddenly let go.

Just then, a document envelope slid out of the open safe.

It was printed with the name of the hospital from four years ago.

He bent to pick it up, but I got to it first.

The first page was my pre-op exam report.

Fourteen weeks pregnant.

The last line of the findings said, clear as day:

Fetus viable. Recommend follow-up.

"Didn't you say we couldn't keep it?"

Julian reached out.

"That's not the full medical record."

I stepped back and took a picture of the report.

Under it were a payment receipt and a surgical consent form.

Procedure: Induced termination of pregnancy.

On the signature line was my name.

The letters were crooked.

I remembered now.

He'd held a stack of papers and told me it would be dangerous not to go through with it.

I'd asked him if we could try another hospital.

He said he'd already gotten the best specialist.

I had just barely made it out of a fire alive, and seeing him covered in burns, I felt guilty for even doubting him.

"Tomorrow I'll go to the hospital and request my records myself."

I put the papers in my bag.

Julian blocked the door completely.

"Nora, back then nobody could guarantee the baby would be healthy. I just picked the safest option for you."

"Then why did you try to grab it just now?"

He had no answer.

A child's crying came from downstairs.

Vanessa had come in with the twins.

The little girl stood at the foot of the stairs, looking up and calling for her daddy.

The moment Julian turned his head, I walked past him.

But Vanessa stopped me.

"Nora, don't blame Julian. I'm the one who begged him."

She glanced at my bag.

"What happened back then is in the past. Your body has healed, you'll have other chances..."

I raised my hand and slapped her.

The living room went silent.

She held her face as tears welled up.

Julian rushed down and grabbed my arm.

"Nora Hayes!"

I looked up at him.

"Go ahead, call the police."

He froze.

"Didn't you always love calling the cops for her?"

Vanessa was crying so hard she was shaking, and she leaned into his arms.

I turned to my mother-in-law, who had followed us down.

"You two, take the kids to their room."

My mother-in-law opened her mouth to snap at me.

"Are you sure you want your grandchildren to hear this?"

Her face changed, and she led the two kids away.

I looked back at Vanessa.

"All I said was that there was something wrong with the exam report. How did you know I was asking about what happened back then?"

Her crying stopped short.

"Julian told me..."

"Told you what? The day I had the surgery, weren't you busy giving birth?"

Julian's grip on my arm slowly tightened.

I took my phone out of my bag.

On the screen, the recording was still running.

I had hit start the moment I found the report.

His eyes landed on the screen, and his face darkened.

"Turn it off."

I didn't move.

He reached for it, and I held the phone behind my back.

"Touch me again and I'll go out front and scream. Nobody keeps their dignity tonight."

He finally stopped.

I walked to the entryway and changed my shoes.

Behind me, Vanessa suddenly cried out:

"But you can't blame it all on us! Back then she was ready to divorce you, and who knew after one fire she'd decide not to leave!"

"Shut up!"

Julian's voice exploded.

I held the doorknob and slowly turned around.

He had never yelled at Vanessa like that.

"Why can't she say it?"

I looked at Julian.

Every bit of color had drained from Vanessa's face.

He stood in front of her.

"She's upset. She doesn't know what she's saying."

"Then let her finish."

I took a step forward.

"What do you mean, after one fire I decided not to leave?"

Vanessa avoided my eyes.

Julian reached out to pull me back, lowering his voice.

"Stop making a scene in front of the kids."

The kids had been taken upstairs long ago.

He couldn't even be bothered to change his excuse.

Suddenly I felt very tired.