Chapter 2

I was about to retreat to my room when my mom stopped me.

"Vivian, grab that tin of tea for Patricia — let her husband try some too."

By the time I'd dug out the tea tin, my mom and Patricia were already at the elevator.

Jason sighed and walked over to me.

He crouched down, gently took hold of my ankle, and rested my foot on his knee.

His hands were warm. They slid across my skin, and I shivered.

"When did they take the cast off?"

"Are you recovering okay?"

He examined my ankle with quiet focus.

He didn't know he was holding the wrong foot — the one that had never been injured.

I could tell he was reaching out, trying to mend something between us.

But what was there left to mend?

He was going to be a father.

The front door was wide open. My mom and Patricia were outside, still talking. One glance back and they'd see us.

I pulled my foot away in a rush and reached for my shoes.

"Don't worry about it."

He put both hands on my shoulders and made me face him.

"I had a lot of flights that week. The next morning I flew to Brussels..."

I pushed his hands off.

"Don't do this. If someone sees us, they'll get the wrong idea."

His voice dropped. "What are you saying, Vivian?"

I slipped my shoes on quickly.

"We're broken up. There's no point letting people get confused."

"Especially now that you have a... new status."

"What new status?" He sounded impatient.

I watched him pretend not to know, and the words came up to my throat — then I swallowed them back down.

It was almost funny.

Jason had not a single photo of us together on his phone. No trace of me anywhere on his social media. On every trip we took together, he'd forbidden me to post. He used to say our families were too close — we'd go public when the timing was right.

It wasn't until the breakup, until I heard what he said, that I understood: he'd always thought I wasn't worth showing off.

Jason frowned and tried to keep his voice steady. "Vivian, I flew back from an international flight yesterday. I was at the pharmacy first thing this morning buying you calcium supplements."

"You're at a stage where it's easy to get deficient—"

His phone rang.

He pulled it out. Natalie Sterling's name lit up the screen.

My voice came out flat. "Answer it. Don't keep her waiting."

He looked at me — then deliberately picked up and put it on speaker.

A woman's laughter spilled out first.

"Jason." Her voice was bright and teasing. "Why did you leave so suddenly yesterday?"

"Your co-pilot got my number. He's been texting me all night."

"He wants to take me to a bar tonight — come with us?"

Jason said nothing. He just watched me with that same amused, measuring look.

"Why are you looking at me? What does this have to do with me?"

A quiet laugh.

"You're the one who said it had nothing to do with you. Don't come crying to me later."