She rescued the business. The price was three more years as the perfect Mrs. Weiss.
Today, that debt was paid.
She settled into her chair with a sigh. "Three years, Michelle. Haven't you reconsidered? This life—most people would kill for it."
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. "It's not the life I want."
I had abandoned everything—my career, my city—to follow John to Harbor City. I had loved him. But that man was gone. The stranger downstairs had taken his place.
She turned away, disappointment settling over her features. "If that's your choice, then go."
I stepped into the hallway. A violent crash rang out from the master bedroom below.
My pulse spiked. I rushed downstairs and found my White Magnolia Award shattered across the floor—reduced to glittering debris.
John knelt among the shards. But he wasn't mourning my trophy. He was cradling Faith's hand, examining a tiny scratch on her finger with frantic concern.
I froze in the doorway. The scene blurred, merging with this morning's nightmare.
I had collapsed in the café. Agony had torn through my abdomen as blood soaked my dress. I'd gripped John's sleeve, told him I was pregnant, begged him to get me to a hospital.