Chapter 1 - THE NIGHT HE CHOSE ANOTHER WOMAN
“Alexander… I'm dizzy.”
Sophia's voice followed me down the hospital corridor.
I heard my husband's footsteps stop.
Of course they did.
For three years, I had watched him stop everything whenever Sophia Reynolds needed something.
A broken car.
A bad dream.
A canceled dinner reservation.
A headache.
A power outage.
Every inconvenience in Sophia's life became an emergency in Alexander's.
But when someone tried to break into our home while I was pregnant and alone, he told me to call the police.
I kept walking.
“Mrs. Moretti?”
A nurse hurried toward me.
“Your doctor wants you to remain under observation.”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
She glanced behind me.
“Would you like us to contact your husband?”
I looked toward the hallway.
Alexander was standing beside Sophia.
She leaned against him, one hand pressed dramatically to her forehead.
He was looking at me.
For one second, our eyes met.
I turned away.
“No,” I said.
The nurse hesitated.
“Is there someone else?”
I thought about my older brother, Michael Bennett, who lived in Milwaukee.
We hadn't spoken much since my marriage.
Alexander had never liked him.
Michael had never trusted Alexander.
Suddenly, I understood why.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“My brother.”
Twenty minutes later, Michael answered my call.
“Claire?”
His voice was sleepy.
Then concerned.
“What's wrong?”
I tried to speak.
Nothing came out.
“Claire?”
My eyes filled.
“Can you come get me?”
Silence.
Then he said, “Where are you?”
“St. Catherine's Hospital.”
“Are you hurt?”
I placed my hand over my stomach.
“I'm pregnant, Michael.”
He went silent.
Then whispered, “What?”
I swallowed.
“And I'm leaving Alexander.”
There was a long pause.
Then my brother said the words I hadn't heard in years.
“I'm coming. You don't have to explain anything right now.”
I closed my eyes.
For the first time that morning, I cried.
May you like
Not because my marriage was ending.
Because someone had finally chosen me without asking what it would cost.
