Chapter 7

His eyes rimmed red, he took a hesitant step forward. "She's pregnant… I couldn't upset her."

I closed my eyes, swallowing back the bitter ache in my throat. "So you'd rather sacrifice me..."

"It's not like that, Emily, it's not…" He stammered, losing himself in a mess of words. "I saw the things you threw out at home—the tiny tiger shoes you'd prepared for the baby. I kept them. I picked everything back up."

"It's fine, Emily. We can try again… however many children you want, or none, if you'd rather—"

I took a step closer, meeting his hopeful gaze for a fleeting second.

"Emily…" he breathed, his voice laced with desperation.

But I walked right past him, halting only briefly at his side. A cold smile tugged at my lips. "Tristan, do remember to mop up the mess. I don't keep trash around here."

I paused. "Including you."

*

For the next two weeks, I returned to my hometown.

Spring had painted the fields in shades of fresh green, with wild grasses swaying in the breeze,