Chapter 1
The glass slipped from Madison Walker’s hand and shattered across the kitchen floor.
Water spread under her bare feet.
One hand clutched the edge of the counter.
The other pressed hard against her stomach as another contraction ripped through her body.
She bent forward with a cry she could not hold back.
In the living room, Ethan’s family went quiet for half a second.
Then his mother sighed.
Ethan stood near the doorway in a tailored black suit, car keys in one hand, phone in the other.
He looked annoyed.
Not scared.
Not worried.
Annoyed.
Madison lifted her face, pale and sweating.
“Ethan,” she breathed. “Something’s wrong.”
His mother stepped into the kitchen behind him, wearing a silver birthday dress and a look of pure irritation.
“Of course,” she said. “Tonight of all nights.”
Madison’s eyes filled.
She was thirty-eight weeks pregnant.
Her hospital bag was by the stairs.
The doctor had warned them that the baby’s heart rate had been unstable at the last appointment.
Ethan knew that.
He had been sitting beside her when the doctor said, “If the pain is sharp or the movement changes, don’t wait.”
But now Ethan only glanced at his watch.
“We’re already late,” he said.
Madison stared at him.
Another pain tightened through her body, lower and sharper than before.
She gasped and grabbed the table.
“Please,” she whispered. “I need to go to the hospital.”
Ethan’s sister appeared in the doorway and rolled her eyes.
“She always does this when Mom gets attention.”
Madison looked at her, stunned.
“I’m not doing anything.”
Ethan stepped over the broken glass like it was an inconvenience.
He adjusted his cuff links.
Then he picked up his keys again.
“Quit acting dramatic,” he said. “My mother comes first tonight.”
May you like
The words landed colder than the tile beneath her feet.
👉 But Madison was about to realize Ethan had not just ignored her pain — he had chosen to walk away from his own child.
