Chapter 2

Julian came to stand beside my bed, panic flickering in his eyes. "Liv, I really did have company business yesterday. Driving Tessa to the hospital was an emergency. Don't read too much into it.

"Besides, it was only a minor procedure. You've already been through it three times. You should be able to handle it on your own by now. Stop sulking. Once things settle down at work, I'll take time off and stay home with you."

Tessa selected an apple from the basket, peeled it, and cut it in half. She naturally held one piece out to Julian. Without thinking, he leaned in and took it directly from her fingers, his lips brushing the back of her hand. She playfully punched his shoulder.

When they were done flirting, Tessa turned to me, linked her arm through mine, and brought the other half of the apple to my lips.

"Oh, Liv, Julian and I have been best friends forever. I'm practically one of the guys. With me keeping an eye on him, he'd never cheat. Relax."

The heavy perfume clinging to her made me gag. I instinctively pushed her hand away.

Juice seeped into the cut beneath her bandage. She hissed and let go, and the apple rolled across the floor.

I retched until my vision blurred. When I could finally see again, Julian was anxiously wiping Tessa's hand. "You can't get an open wound wet. Have the doctor rebandage it before it gets infected."

Tessa waved him off with practiced carelessness. "It's a scratch. You know me. I hate people who act delicate and make a production out of every little injury. It's embarrassing."

As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward me. I sat frozen.

"Julian, didn't you say you were allergic to every woman? Why can you touch her?"

Julian quickly released Tessa's hand. "Maybe it's because we grew up together. I've never really thought of her as a woman. I guess my brain doesn't register her that way, so I don't react."

Was that it? He thought of her as a man, so he booked a hotel room with her during my IVF procedure. He thought of her as a man, so he ignored me while panicking over a cut on her hand.

We had been married for three years. I had thought today would mark the beginning of our life with our first child. Instead, it marked the death of everything I had felt for him.

Numbness spread through me. I took out my phone and messaged my attorney. "Draft a divorce agreement for me."

Across the room, Tessa grimaced as her wound reopened. Pretending it was nothing, she said, "I'm going to the bathroom. Julian, stay here and make Liv feel better."

Julian frowned and grabbed her wrist. "You're going to act tough and change the bandage yourself again? Didn't that scar last time teach you anything? Stay here. I'll get a doctor."

He pressed both hands to her shoulders, firmly pushed her onto the couch, then strode out to find a physician.

Tessa sprawled comfortably across the couch and picked up the magazine Julian had been reading. When she caught me watching, she shrugged. "Sorry, Liv. I didn't know he was supposedly allergic to other women. Don't worry, though. We've always been like this. He doesn't react to anything I touch. But after three years of marriage, he doesn't make you keep your hands off everything, does he? Wow. That would be pathetic."

She raised an eyebrow and waved the magazine. "His female secretary brought this in, and he touched it without breaking out. He meets with women executives all the time too. Could Julian really be allergic to only you? That's extreme. It almost makes it seem like he thinks you're dirty. I'll give him a serious lecture later. He can't treat a woman like that..."

A deafening buzz filled my head. I could no longer hear the rest.