Page 129 of The Wright Man

She laughed. "More like clumsy. But yeah...hoping for a girl this time so we can be done."

That twist in my gut sharpened. I remembered hoping like that, once. Remembered rubbing my own belly, imagining little feet in socks and tiny fingers wrapped around mine. I shoved the memory down before it could swallow me.

Boyd strolled over like he was the main character in a bad rom-com.

"Well, well, well," he smirked. "Thought I heard two hens clucking."

I fought the urge to throw the Chick-fil-A bag at his face. "Go play in traffic, Boyd."

"Still spicy, I see." He let his gaze linger a second too long on Jasmine's bump, laid a casual, definitely inappropriate hand across her belly, and gave her a wink.

Disgusting.

"Is Gavin in?" I asked, holding up the bag. "Thought I'd surprise him with lunch before I head to the salon."

Boyd's smile twisted into something oily. "Aw, look at you. Being all wifely. Didn't think there was anything left of that sweet little wife after your demon possession the other night."

I deadpanned. "Let me see my damn husband, Boyd."

He laughed like I was joking. I wasn't.

"Fine, Mrs. Riddle." He pointed toward the back. I brushed past him, ignoring the smugness oozing from his pores.

"It's Reed," I said under my breath, more to myself than to him.

The hallway felt colder than the front. Too quiet. Too pristine. I glanced at the display cases as I passed—rows of diamond solitaires, clustered halos, princess cuts that looked like they weighed more than my mortgage. One caught my eye, just long enough to make me look down at my own ring.

Simple gold band. Tiny, tired-looking diamond that sat a little too crooked in its setting. Gavin had a jewelry empire at his disposal and still picked the cheapest thing he could find. He'd said it was "timeless." I was starting to think it was just lazy.

Even the memory of that engagement led me right back to Maleek.

I remembered the day I told him.

It wasn't the final straw. But it was the second-to-last domino. The moment I realized how wide the chasm between us had grown.

And I'd been trying to cross it ever since. Even now, with a bag of lukewarm waffle fries and a marriage I was trying to revive like a dying plant—I still wasn't sure if I wanted Gavin to open the door...

Or Maleek to knock on it instead.

* * *

Angelica

Four Years Ago

I'd done it.

Four years of nonstop grinding—late-night studying, daytime classes, back-to-back salon shifts, beauty school coursework, a full internship—and I finally had a damn diploma in my hand to show for it.

A Bachelor's degree. A cosmetology license. A stack of credentials and exhaustion heavy enough to fill a moving truck. And every ounce of it, earned.

It wasn't easy. Not being five hours from home. Not doing it without Daddy. Not while Maleek was oceans away, dodging God only knew what in countries I could barely pronounce. The Sister Sunday calls helped. So did his letters, care packages, and FaceTime check-ins whenever we could both catch a signal. But none of it ever fully made up for the hollow, lonely quiet that settled over me at night.

Especially not with Gavin.

Ugh. Gavin.

He was supposed to be my reason for choosing that school. My "why." Instead, he spent most of our two years there acting like the prince of campus—skipping class, throwing parties, flexing for frat boys he wasn't even pledging with.