Chapter 1: The Plus Sign and the Storm

The day I found out I was pregnant, it hit me: I was the main character in one of those tragic stories—the kind where you already know the ending, even before it happens.

The shock slammed into me, a punch straight to the gut. For a moment, I just stood there in the bathroom, staring at the little blue plus sign. My mind was spinning. The world outside my window looked bright and ordinary, but inside, everything had tilted—like the floor just disappeared beneath me. Suddenly, I could hear every tiny sound in the house: the hum of the fridge, distant traffic, the hollow quiet of a life about to change.

I walked out and asked for a divorce.

I’ll never forget the look on Ryan’s face—like I’d just suggested we move to Mars. He laughed, quick and sharp, shaking his head like I was being ridiculous. "Autumn, what about the baby?"

I rested my hand on my belly, gentle but distant. "It's only six weeks. It's early."

My hand lingered there, feeling nothing but the outline of a future I wasn’t sure I wanted. The words tasted bitter, but I forced myself to say them. The kitchen light flickered above us, throwing long shadows across the tile.

"How can you... how can you be so heartless?"

Because I care. That's why I can't bring him into this world.

He would be a boy named Ethan Miller.

Sweet, beautiful, smart, and loving.

But if I stay... I know how this ends. Only heartbreak. Only death.

Why should I trade my life for Ryan Miller's regret? For his version of love?

I wandered in the rain until late at night. I didn't want to go home. Not yet.

The rain that night wasn’t just a drizzle—it was the kind that soaks through your coat and makes your shoes squelch with every step. I walked beneath the streetlights, watching the water run in rivers along the curb. I felt invisible in the city’s hush. When I finally reached our front porch, I fumbled with my keys, hands trembling from cold and nerves. My hands shook. From the cold. From everything.

Water dripped from my soaked clothes onto the hardwood floor. Each drop felt heavy, the cold seeping through my skin.

The sound echoed. Every drop reminded me where I’d just been. My teeth chattered, my hair stuck to my cheeks. The air inside was warmer, but I couldn’t stop shivering.

Ryan heard the noise, hurried over, and draped a blanket over me. He hesitated. "I'm sorry," he said. "Dr. Wallace just called... he told me you're pregnant."

He tucked the blanket around my shoulders, his hands lingering a second too long, searching my face for something I couldn’t give. The familiar scent of his cologne tangled with the smell of rain. For a moment, it almost felt like comfort, but it wasn’t.

"Autumn, I didn't mean to leave you on the bridge."

His voice was earnest, but his eyes darted away, unable to meet mine. I could see the guilt flickering there, fighting with his pride. He was always like that—caught between caring and pretending not to care.

"But that investor call was really important. I couldn't get distracted." Of course. The meeting.

I threw up in the car. Right in the middle of Ryan's big investor call.

I remembered the taste of bile, the way my stomach twisted as I tried to hold it together, the phone screen glowing with faces I didn’t know. I mumbled an apology. Ryan just pressed his finger to his lips. Told me to be quiet.

So he left me on a bridge in the middle of a stormy night. I stood there, rain soaking through, and watched his car disappear.

Not the first time. Not even close.

For work. Always for work. He once left me doubled over in pain in the ER.

Not anymore.

He asked again, his voice laced with concern, "Are you still cold?"

I looked up at him. For a second, I wondered if he could see how far away I felt.

Cold? Of course I'm cold.

The late spring rain was so bitterly cold it seeped into my bones. Made me ache all over.

I'm barely holding it together, fighting not to shiver.

Ryan kept talking. "If you had told me... if I'd known you were pregnant... I wouldn't have—"

Classic Ryan. Always turning things around.

"Ryan, you were on your call the whole time. You kept telling me not to interrupt."

He rubbed the back of his neck, shifting awkwardly, trying to change the subject. "Autumn, the funding deal went through. Apex just closed its first round."

So that was worth it? Being left out in the rain?

Expressionless, I pulled the blanket tighter. Looked at him. "Ryan, let's get a divorce."

He froze, as if I'd just told him a joke, and laughed in disbelief. "Autumn, don't joke around."

He thought I was joking. Of course he did.

Why would he believe me?

I loved him for six years. Married him just because he said, "Let's give it a try."

He sighed helplessly, his voice low. "Autumn, what about the baby?"

I gently touched my belly. "It's only six weeks. It's early."

He frowned, already blaming me. "How can you be so heartless?"

"You're the one who left your pregnant wife—on a bridge. In the pouring rain."

He grabbed my hand, trying to explain, his words tumbling out. "I told you, I didn't know. That meeting was really important."

My voice was low and steady. "Ryan, what's your bright future got to do with me?"

In the future, when he made lots of money, he'd only throw it in my face whenever I didn't measure up: "Autumn, I work so hard to make money. Why can't you do better?"

Ryan stared at me. Stunned. I'd never spoken to him like that before.

I turned away. Walked toward the bedroom.

The truth is, because I care, I can't bring this child into the world.

He would be a boy named Ethan Miller.

Sweet, beautiful, smart, and loving.

An angel who would love me.

But I’m the main character in one of those stories—the kind where the ending’s already written.

If I stay in this marriage, it will only guarantee my death and heartbreak.