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It’s obvious from the way she seems to be avoiding me that this is now worse than I thought. I’ll just have to accept that this is the end for us. Even though she seems to want to do anything but talk with me, I will speak to her when we get home.

“Everything okay there?” says my grandfather, slapping me on the back. “You and Amber have not had a fight, have you?”

Of course other people would notice my wife across the other side of the room actively avoiding me. Of course it would be my grandfather. Perfectly in keeping with my current luck, it seems.

“No, she’s just had a bad day at the office,” I lie.

I’m not going to tell him or anyone else that things are worse than I could have imagined. It’s hard enough to even admit to myself.

35

AMBER

The garden party is an opulent festival of affluent faces, blending with the glow of fairylands, elegantly lined buffets and even an illuminated dance floor. The night is dark but clear, cool but comfortable. It gives me space to breathe as we climb out of the car, my canary yellow dress blowing in the soft wind.

Kaden takes me by the hand, a habit if anything. I feel a swarm of guilt inside me for being so distant, but then I recall his confession about not liking children. What else would seal the deal but something so affirming as that?

He gazes down at me as we walk toward the back of the massive mansion. The grass is bright emerald and carefully curated beneath our feet, even a little damp with dew. I can hear crickets beginning to test themselves, tentatively making music in the evening air.

His eyes are like knives cutting through me, leaving me breathless and, as always, torn.

“You look so stunning, Amber,” he says, touching my face. “I hope you know how special you are to me.”

I feel my stomach drop, a sensation akin to the nausea but this time pleasant. I open my mouth to say something, hell, even to spill the beans on my secret. Just then, Rust, Kaden's grandfather, interrupts our tender moment.

“My boy!” he bellows, clapping Kaden on the shoulder. “So glad you two could crawl out of your love nest to pay us a visit!”

Rust takes him by the arm, and our hands part. I feel instantly hollow.

“Come, come, there are a few people I want you to meet,” Rust says.

“I’ll find you,” Kaden says, widening his eyes sarcastically.

I am used to occasions such as these where it is important to show my face. It has also been rumored that his grandfather is going to announce his retirement at this particular event. When he’s in the building, Kaden is often pulled away from me to talk to Rust’s prospective clients these days, to show off that smoldering smile to win them over.

It surely has won me over.

I lift up the skirt of my dress and move toward one of the billowing tents. I make eye contact with Melanie, who already has a drink in her hand and is leaning up against the neon blue glow of the bar.

“How are you tonight, honey?” she asks as I stand next to her.

I give her a nonchalant shrug, leaning my elbow on the bar.

“I’m okay. Frankly, not really in the mood for one of these tonight.”

Melanie cocks an eyebrow as she mouths the straw of her drink. I have no idea why that honest confession poured out of me.

“Oh? Any particular reason?”

I scramble in my mind, not wanting to tell Melanie about the pregnancy but wanting to come up with something believable, something that won’t make her suspicious.

So I go for a half truth.

“I haven’t been feeling like myself lately,” I say into the night air. “And I’m afraid I have been taking it out on Kaden a little bit.”

Melanie nods without judgment. “It’s a lot to cope with, isn’t it?” she says, tilting her head thoughtfully. “All this money, all this status and prestige, people would assume that it makes things go smoother. But I think it can sometimes be the opposite.”

I turn away from the bar, and spot Kaden a few yards away from me. He is nodding along to his grandfather, but there is someone clinging to his arm. A gorgeous woman with long black hair, confident and lean in her magnificent presence.

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