Chapter 4

When I woke up, the room was quiet.

The curtains were half closed.

My hand went straight to my stomach.

Flatter now.

Empty, too.

I didn't cry.

I'd cried out everything on that mountain.

Raul sat on the couch.

When he saw I was awake, he got up and poured me water.

"The doctor said the surgery went well."

I took the glass.

"Thank you."

He watched me for a second.

"Does it hurt?"

I shook my head.

It did.

It hurt so bad even breathing felt heavy.

But I didn't want to say that.

Raul didn't call me on it.

He just set an orange candy on the bedside table.

"Your mom always got you one of these after a shot."

I stared at the candy.

Just a basic orange hard candy.

My chest tightened.

After my parents died, nobody remembered I was scared of pain.

Adrian knew.

He'd just say, "You're an adult. Stop being so sensitive."

My phone buzzed.

Jenna had sent screenshots.

The internet was losing it again.

Celeste had gone live.

She sat in a campground cabin, eyes red from crying.

"I don't know how it got this bad. I just wanted a fresh start. Summer Shafer is famous. One word from her can ruin someone like me. I never meant to hurt her."

The comments came for me fast.

[So being pregnant means she gets to bully someone who isn't even famous?]

[She's divorced and trying to start over. Do you know how hard that is?]

[Maybe that beauty influencer messed up her own face with some product and blamed someone else.]

I stared at the screen.

Then it clicked.

Celeste wasn't scared I'd ruin her.

She was scared Adrian would come back to me.

So she had to ruin me first.

She needed everyone to see me as jealous, cruel, and greedy.

Adrian posted too.

One sentence.

[This has gone far enough.]

The photo showed him and Celeste outside the campground.

She was wrapped in his jacket.

He looked at her like he'd protect her from anything.

Jenna slammed her palm on the table.

"I'm posting the evidence right now."

I stopped her.

"Not yet."

She frowned.

"What are we waiting for?"

I looked at Raul.

"Is Mr. Carter almost ready?"

Raul nodded.

"The notice was served. If Adrian doesn't pay the debt today, foreclosure officially starts."

I opened my laptop and logged in.

Then I posted.

No long explanation.

Just three photos.

The first: my hospital diagnosis. Food poisoning. A severe allergic reaction. Threatened miscarriage.

The second: Adrian's mortgage agreement, backing an $800,000 loan.

Creditor: Summer Shafer.

The third: my pants soaked in blood as the park ranger loaded me into an ambulance.

One caption.

[On Valentine's Day, I lost my child... and the ability to love the man I trusted.]

Less than ten minutes later, the comments went feral.

[Wait. Is this actually real??]

[Five months pregnant and he left her stranded on a mountain in a storm???]

[This is not couple drama. This is attempted murder.]

[Celeste's on live crying for what, exactly?]

[And Adrian's post? Is he seriously threatening the victim?]

Adrian called again.

I let it ring.

Then the texts started.

[Did you really end the pregnancy?]

[Summer, how could you?]

[That was my baby too.]

[Where are you? I need to see you.]

I read every word and felt nothing.

Now he knew what pain felt like.

But he wasn't hurting because our baby was gone.

He was hurting because he finally realized he couldn't control me anymore.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Carter called.

"Ms. Shafer, Mr. Weldon wants to settle. He can pay $200,000 now and the rest over time."

I looked out the window.

"No deal. Move forward with the foreclosure."

Mr. Carter gave a quiet laugh.

"Understood."

***

That night, Adrian showed up at my hospital room.

This time, he didn't barge in.

He stood in the doorway with a bouquet of roses.

The wrapper still had a Valentine's Day sticker on it.

The irony was almost funny.

"Summer." His voice was rough. "I didn't know the baby was really gone."

I looked up at him.

"Now you do. Leave."

His face went pale. "I know I messed up on that mountain. But you shouldn't have ended the pregnancy. We were supposed to get married."

I set down my water. "Adrian, I didn't kill our baby."

He froze.

I looked him dead in the eye. "You did."

His lips parted.

Nothing came out.

Then Celeste's voice floated in from outside.

"Adrian? What are you doing here?"

She stepped into the room in a white dress, eyes red.

The second she saw me, she bit her lip. "Summer, I just wanted to apologize."

I smiled. "Apologize?"

Celeste nodded, tears dropping right on cue.

"I swear, I didn't know the soup would hurt you. If you can forgive me, I'll do whatever it takes to fix this."

She took one shaky step toward me.

Adrian reached out to steady her instantly. "Celeste!"

I watched them.

One putting on a show.

The other actually worried about her.

Perfect match.

I picked up my phone and hit record.

Celeste's face changed.

I smiled.

"Celeste Vane, want to say that again while I'm recording? That you accidentally served me that soup?"

Her eyes flicked away.

"What are you implying?"

The hospital door opened.

Raul walked in and dropped a lab report on the table. "The leftover ingredients from the campground kitchen were tested.

"That mushroom soup had wild mushrooms pregnant women shouldn't eat. And the sample from Summer's bowl had a high concentration of powdered nut allergen."

Celeste went pale.

So did Adrian.

I looked at him. "Still think she's innocent?"

Adrian slowly turned to Celeste.

She shook her head, tears spilling. "It wasn't me... Adrian, you have to believe me..."

Then police showed up at the door.

"Celeste Vane, we've received a report accusing you of intentionally causing bodily harm. Come with us for questioning."

Celeste's knees gave out.

Adrian lurched forward.

Raul's voice went ice-cold. "Obstructing the police can get you arrested too."

Adrian's hand froze midair.

As they led Celeste away, she kept screaming his name.

"Adrian! Save me!"

He didn't move. Doubt flickered in his eyes, along with a truth that hit way too late.

I didn't care anymore.

I picked up the orange candy from my nightstand and slowly unwrapped it.

Sweetness spread across my tongue as Adrian spoke.

"Summer, can we start over?"

I tossed the wrapper in the trash.

"I haven't even had time to mourn my child. How can you stand there and ask me that?"