After three years of trying, Sophia Grant was finally pregnant.

She had no idea she had only thirty minutes left to be happy.

"Congratulations, Miss Grant," Dr. Taylor said. "You're pregnant."

Sophia just stared at her. Her ears were ringing.

"It's very early," the doctor said gently. "The baby is tiny. But it's real."

Sophia's eyes filled. She tried to hold it back. She couldn't. The tears ran down her face and she let them.

Dr. Taylor passed her a tissue. She was the only one who knew what this had cost. Three years of pills. Three years of shots. Every month, a new test. Every month, the same answer.

Sophia held the doctor's hand in both of hers. "Thank you. Thank you for not giving up on me."

"You did the hard part. Now take it easy. The first three months matter most. We'll do a full check when the baby's bigger."

Sophia nodded at everything. She would have agreed to anything.

She walked out of the hospital like she was floating.

In the car, she read the report again. And again. She put one hand on her stomach.

"Hi, baby," she whispered. "I've been waiting for you."

She laughed. A tear hit the paper. She wiped it off fast, like it might wash away the word pregnant.

She and Alexander had just celebrated their third anniversary. On the flight home, he had held her and said, "Even if we never have a kid, I'll still love you." She knew he meant it. She also knew how badly he wanted one.

Now she finally had good news.

She didn't text him. This was too big for a text. She wanted to see his face.

Sophia headed straight for Alexander's company.

The receptionist greeted her with a smile and waved her toward the private elevator.

"Mr. Reed is in his office, Mrs. Reed."

Sophia smiled back.

She loved hearing that.

She pushed open the door.

"Alex, I have a..."

The words died in her throat.

Alexander Reed sat behind his desk. A woman stood in front of it. She was young, with long dark hair and a white dress.

Sophia knew that face. Olivia Bailey. A small-time actress.

Last week, Sophia had seen her in the news. A blurry photo. A man in a suit. He was visiting Olivia on set.

Some commenters had speculated that the man looked like Alexander.

Sophia had dismissed the rumor without a second thought. Alexander had never given her a reason to doubt him.

But why was Olivia here, alone in his office?

Alexander looked up. The moment he saw Sophia, his expression changed. His eyes flicked toward the papers on his desk, and he instinctively reached to gather them.

"Don't," Sophia said.

She crossed the room and pulled the paper out from under his hand. He didn't stop her.

It was a medical report. Olivia Bailey. Seven weeks. Fetal heartbeat detected.

The words blurred. She read them again.

Please, she thought. Let me be wrong. They had known each other for eighteen years. He loved her. He couldn't do this. Not Alexander.

"Sophia," Olivia said quickly. "It's not what you think. If you're upset, be mad at me. Don't blame Alexander, he..."

Slap.

Olivia's head snapped to the side. She pressed a hand to her cheek.

Sophia's eyes were full, but she wouldn't let the tears fall. Her voice shook. "You knew he was my husband. You did it anyway. You had that coming."

Alexander didn't say a word for Olivia. He stood up and gave her one cold look. "You should leave."

Olivia's mouth opened. Nothing came out. She grabbed her bag and ran. The door clicked shut.

Sophia let her go. She wasn't a woman who screamed in hallways. And she knew where the real fault lay — a door doesn't open from the outside.

Olivia was nasty, sure. But Olivia had never made a promise. Alexander had.

She looked at him.

Same sharp face. Same dark eyes.

For eighteen years, Alexander had been her best friend, her first love, and the person she trusted most in the world.

They had grown up together in the slums. He was the top student in a faded uniform. She was the girl with the pretty face, and that face got her into showbiz.

She took every brutal job she could find to pay for his dream. When she hurt her uterus on set, he proposed the minute she woke up. Then she became a star, and his company took off.

She quit the day she won. She hid their marriage and stayed in his shadow. She really thought their love could survive anything.

Then they got rich, and he cheated.

So he was just like every other man.

Tears slid down her face. Alexander pulled a folder from his drawer and pushed it across the desk. He was talking before she could ask.

"Sophia, the baby is mine. But I never touched her. I swear. Just read this. Please. You'll understand."

It was a contract. Olivia would give birth to his child. In return, she would get twenty million dollars and career help.

"It's IVF," he said. "I only gave a sample. I picked her because she looks a little like you."

Sophia stared at him. "Like me?"

"I thought about using your eggs. I did. But your body is too weak. Egg retrieval is brutal. And with your uterus, even if the embryo took, you could miscarry. You'd go through all that pain and still lose the baby." His voice cracked. "I couldn't watch you suffer like that."

It sounded so reasonable. That was the worst part.

Alexander came around the desk and took her hand. His touch was gentle. Like nothing had changed. "Babe, it's just a business deal. When she delivers, she's gone. We raise the baby together. We go back to how we were. Okay?"

Sophia pulled her hand away. "Do you really think I can raise another woman's child like my own?"

"Sophia..."

"I told you when we got together. If you ever fall for someone else, just say it. I can handle that. I can't handle lies."

"I'm not cheating on you!" He looked panicked now. "I only love you. That day I went to her set, she said she was sick. I went to check on her. That's all."

"So for nine months, whenever she calls, you run?"

"It won't happen again. I swear. I just wanted a kid so badly."

Of course he did. She knew that better than anyone. It was why she had swallowed every pill. It was why she took every shot. And now, after three years, she was finally carrying his baby.

So was another woman.

She thought of last night. He had held her in the dark and asked, "If I ever mess up, would you forgive me?" She had joked, "You're not cheating on me, right?" And he had said, "I would never betray you."

Technically, he hadn't lied. She almost laughed.

Alexander pulled her into his arms. "I swear I never touched her. My body, my heart, it's all yours. Please forgive me."

Sophia closed her eyes. His shirt smelled like home. Her whole life was in this man.

Her hand slid into her bag. Her fingers found the hospital report.

"Alex," she said softly. "What if I asked you to get rid of her baby?"

He froze.

"If you love me. If you really want to save us. End this. Do it, and I'll pretend today never happened."

She meant it. That was the scary part. She still loved him. Eighteen years of love doesn't just switch off.

People make mistakes. She believed he could fix this. If he did, she would pull out this paper right now. She would say, Alexander, I'm pregnant too.

He didn't move.

One second.

Two.

Three.

His jaw tightened. His eyes dropped.

"Sophia," Alexander said slowly. "That baby means a lot to me."

She laughed. It came out broken. Tears ran down her face.

She stepped out of his arms. Her pride was all she had left. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, fast and messy.

"You can't have it both ways, Alexander. You won't give up that baby. I won't stay. So we're done." She twisted off her wedding ring. It left a pale line on her finger. She set it on the desk. "I want a divorce."

"No." He grabbed her wrist. "I'll never agree to that. Never."

She peeled his fingers off, one at a time.

"I gave you a chance."

She picked up Olivia's report and threw it in his face. A corner cut his cheek. A thin red line appeared. He didn't even blink.

She walked out.

Alexander chased her through the lobby, past the guards, all the way to the parking lot. He caught her at her car.

"Where are you going?" His voice was rough. "You can't go alone. Let me..."

"I'm not a kid. I won't do anything stupid."

"Sophia." He was begging now. "You promised. You said you would never leave me."

Her whole body leaned toward him. Any other day, she would have run straight into his arms.

She didn't turn around. She got in the car and shut the door.

She only made it a few blocks.

At a red light she stopped the car and pressed her forehead to the wheel. The tears came hard—ugly, soundless.

When the light turned green, Sophia put a hand on her stomach. Something conflicted flickered in her eyes.

Then she drove away.