A Wife's Bitter Reckoning

e, childless because of a rare genetic condition he claimed would kill any woman who carrie

e. Suddenly, Bennett was always busy, supporting her through "diff

confessed to his friends that his love for me was a "deep c

her in Lake Como, at the same villa

denied me, using a lie about a deadly genetic condition as his e

about a business trip, I smiled an

ow I'd heard

was planning his new life, I

made a call to a service that specialize

pte

se overlooking Central Park, a name that opened any door, and a love story that started in prep school. They looked perf

d giving birth to him. A rare, hereditary genetic condition, he called it. A ticking time b

say, his voice strained, his hand

her own deep-seated desire for a family. She poured her maternal instinct

e the ul

ess empire, was dying. From his hospital bed, surrounded by the s

line doesn't end with you. Get it don

ing. That night, Bennett cam

his voice carefully neut

hope, felt a flicker of it i

. Our embryo, her womb. You'd be the mother in ever

e everything. A week later, h

me high cheekbones, the same shade of emerald green in her eyes. She was younger, maybe a decade

a strange light in his eyes. "The agency

down, murmuring her responses. She seemed overwh

to her later that night, pulling her close. "She is just a vessel

han half her life, and she chose to believe him. She had to. I

started almos

to be at the clinic. He started mi

night. "The hormones are making her emotional. The docto

m with Bennett. She bought soft blankets and comfortable clothe

d a weekend in the Hamptons, just the two

said over the phone, his voice rushed. "I have to b

single slice of cake from the bakery,

He didn't even call. A text m

the clinic. D

e baby. It's a stressful process. He's just as invested as I am. She clung to the explanatio

slammed into the side of her car. The impact was jarring, a violent shudd

d rang, then clic

her voice trembling. "I'm okay, I think, but my

r arrange a tow truck and drove her to the emergency room to get chec

, her phone silent in her hand. She calle

chest. The apartment was dark and empty. She turned on the lights and saw a half-empty w

pped by. Maybe he had a meeting. But the seed of doubt, on

tners and friends at a private club downtown. Kelsey, still nursing her spra

roached the private room, she heard the low murmur of conversatio

oice, clear and unburdened,

was light, full of a passion she hadn't heard in years. "With Kelsey, it's... it

hovering over the doork

re you sure this is a good idea, Bennett? Jugg

ade Kelsey's stomach turn. "Kelsey will have her baby, and she'll be

She leaned against the wall, the cool wood a

he final, k

dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "A secret one. Just us and a few of her friends. I've alr

sed to take Kelsey to for t

ocking a decorative vase off a pedestal in the hallway.

or flew open, and Bennett stood there,

t are you do

nd him, their faces a m

n't know she possessed. She looked at her husband, the man who was

d, her voice steady. "I w

loud, forced conversation about the stock market.

kay? You l

ke a brand. She p

. "Long day." She looked past him, into

A final, desperate plea

se not. Why would she be here? She's just

ve ease that it stole the breath from her

lowly. "Righ

the shocked faces of his frien

he said over her shoulder

erate. The icy calm was spreading through her veins, fre

a notification lit up the tablet Bennett had l

you to get here and get me out of these clothes. The shoppi

was going to Boston for

through a film of tears she refused to let fall

dress. A sleek, discreet office building in Midtown. The s

r resolve absolute. The life she kne