Chapter 3

It was pouring when Callum picked us up. Vivienne sat in the front seat. My seat. For five years, my seat. I climbed into the back without a word. She held his hand over the gearshift the whole drive. He let her. "You're quiet tonight, Wren," Vivienne sang. "Sad about something?" "Just tired." "Pregnant women get tired," she said lightly. My heart stopped. Callum laughed. "Wren? Don't be ridiculous." Vivienne's eyes found mine in the mirror. Smiling. Knowing. The highway was black glass. Rain hammered the windshield. Then headlights. A truck, swerving straight into our lane. "CALLUM—" Metal screamed. The world flipped. Once. Twice. Glass exploded around me. When everything stopped, we were upside down in a ditch. I couldn't feel my legs. Something warm ran down my face. Smoke. I smelled smoke. "Viv! VIV, talk to me!" Callum's voice. I heard his door kick open. Saw him crawl out. Saw him rip Vivienne's door off its hinges and pull her into his arms. "Callum!" I screamed. My seatbelt was jammed. My door was crushed. "Callum, I can't get out!" He looked back. For one second, our eyes met. "Hold on! Viv first!" And he ran. He carried her up the embankment toward the flashing lights on the road, cradling her like she was made of glass. "Callum, please! I'm pregnant! CALLUM!" Thunder swallowed my words. He didn't turn around. Then I felt it. A sharp, terrible cramp low in my belly. Wetness between my legs. No. No, no, no. "Not you," I sobbed, clawing at the seatbelt. "Please, not you. You're all I have left." Flames licked up from the hood. I thought, This is how I die. Upside down in a ditch while my husband carries another woman to safety. Glass shattered beside my head. A man's arm reached in. A knife sliced through my seatbelt. "I've got you. Look at me. I've got you." Theo Blackwell. He dragged me out through the broken window. Lifted me. Ran. Behind us, the car burst into flames. From the road, I saw an ambulance pull away. Callum was inside it. With her. He never looked for me. I woke up under fluorescent lights. A doctor stood by my bed with a clipboard. "Your baby is alive, Mrs. Hale." I burst into tears. "But it was very close. Threatened miscarriage. You need strict rest. No stress." No stress. I almost laughed. When she left, I pulled out my IV and limped down the hallway. I needed to know. The VIP floor was quiet. Flowers everywhere. Through a glass wall, I saw them. Vivienne sat up in bed with one tiny bandage on her forehead. One. Callum was on his knees beside her. Holding a ring. "I almost lost you tonight," he said. "I'm never waiting again. Marry me in thirty days." She screamed yes. He slid the diamond on her finger. I had been bleeding in a burning car while he picked out a proposal speech. I walked back to my room. I don't remember how. I lay down and stared at the ceiling. On the tray beside me sat the ultrasound printout the nurse had left. A tiny gray bean. A heartbeat. The only thing in the world that was still mine. The door opened. I turned my head. Callum stood in the doorway, his shirt still stained with rain and ash. In his hand was my ultrasound. His face had gone completely white. "Wren," he said, his voice cracking. "What is this?"