Chapter 1: The Day He Chose Her

The day Owen’s first love came back, he handed me divorce papers like it was nothing.

The words he spoke that day still ring in my ears, sharper than any slap. "Lila can’t wait any longer. All I can do is give you the divorce papers."

I forced myself to stand tall, chin up, my voice steady despite the ache in my chest. "Don’t worry. Divorce papers and a mutual separation aren’t any different." The lie tasted bitter on my tongue, but I refused to let him see me break.

It was as if my presence, my years in his life, had meant nothing. I was shipped back to Savannah, the city where I’d grown up in foster homes, while the daughter I’d carried for ten months was left behind with the Owen family—strangers to me now. The ache for Maddie hollowed me out. Every night, I reached for her in my dreams, only to wake up clutching empty sheets.

Everyone thought I’d lost everything.