The idea of Adam and Alice being together makes my skin crawl. Who knows what they’re saying to each other down in the hotel bar? From what Madeleine told me, I expect they’re reconciling.

The idea breaks my heart. Adam’s supposed to be mine.

My mind is in a tailspin. It’s our last night together. I still haven’t told him about the baby. I’m not sure if I should bother. If he doesn’t pick me, do I want him to even know?

There’s only one person I want to talk to when I’m in crisis. I video call Hannah, waiting anxiously for her to answer.

Seconds later, her pixelated, blurry face appears on the screen. She’s at her house. I can see her fiancé, Matt, puttering around in the kitchen in the background while Hannah leans over her laptop at the counter.

“Laura! How’s it going? Are you nearly back now? I can’t wait to see you. It feels like forever. I’m dying to hear about what happened to you.”

I glance at Matt’s shadowy figure moving about on the screen, and I lower my voice. “I’ve actually got something to tell you right now. Can we speak privately?”

Hannah’s eyebrows shoot up into her hairline. She looks back over her shoulder at Matt before nodding and discretely carrying the laptop into her bedroom. She closes the door behind her and sits cross-legged on the bed. Hannah leans down toward the screen, her hair half-obscuring the lens until she tucks it back behind her ear.

“It sounds like it’s something serious. Are you planning on staying away longer?”

I shake my head. “I’m still coming home.”

Hannah shifts her position, lying on her front with her legs kicking out behind her. She cocks her head to one side. “What’s all the secrecy about, then?” She frowns. “Tell me.”

My eyes start to overflow with tears. I’ve been holding my panic inside until now, but it starts to spill over, and I let out heavy, ugly sobs.

“Laura!” Hannah gasps. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m pregnant.”

She falls silent. Her face is frozen in an expression of shock. She takes a moment to process the news. “I wasn’t expecting that. What are you going to do?”

I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand and pull my legs to my chest on the hotel mattress. I hold the phone up to my tear-stained face. “I don’t know.”

“Have you told him already?”

My chest tightens. I shake my head.

“Laura!” Hannah scolds. “You have to.”

“I know. I haven’t found the right time to say anything.”

“How long have you known?”

I bow my head. “A while.”

“How long?”

I throw my hands up in the air. “I don’t know. Maybe five weeks?”

Hannah’s eyes widen. “Are you kidding me? That’s plenty of time to tell him. Laura, you can’t avoid this anymore. You have to woman up. Tonight.” She takes in a deep breath and shakes her head. “You’re not acting like yourself. First the marriage, and now you’re hiding things. Where’s all this coming from?”

I blink, and fresh tears spill down my cheeks. “I don’t know. Everything’s been a whirlwind. He’s not going to tell me what I want to hear.”

“What do you mean?”

I let my shoulders slump and release a slow breath. “He’s got a fiancée.”

“Now this is getting good.” Hannah sits up and leans back, running her hands through her hair. “He’s been cheating on her, then?”

“It’s complicated.” I put a hand to my head. “He’s downstairs in the bar talking to her right now. How am I supposed to tell him I’m pregnant? I’m in the middle of another couple’s relationship. I hate him for putting me in this position.”

“As soon as he comes back, spill everything. You don’t really have a choice.”

I sniffle. “What if he says he’s going back to her?”

Hannah’s expression is sympathetic. “I’ll be here for you no matter what.”

I hear the door opening and quickly say goodbye. “Adam’s back. I’ve got to go.”

“Good luck. Call me when you get a chance.”

I quickly end the call and slam the phone down on the bedside table, spinning on the mattress to face the door as Adam comes in. I try to read his expression for a sign of the results of his conversation with Alice.

He looks tired. His whole body is slumped and his sleeves rolled up. His hair is pushed back from running his hands through it so many times.

“How did it go?”

Adam sinks down onto the edge of the mattress beside me. His stare is blank and distant. Eventually, he offers a heavy shrug and a grimace.

“I don’t know,” he says. “I have a lot to think about.”

“Are you two back together?”

“Not exactly.”

I want to scream at him. I could take his face in my hands, make him look at me, and tell him I’d be his in a heartbeat. Instead, I hold my tongue. Should I come between two people and twelve years of history?

It’s time. “I’m glad you’re back. I have something to tell you.”

Adam looks exhausted, but he turns his head toward me and is listening.

My throat closes when I look at him. He has no idea about the news I’m about to drop on him. It’s going to change his life forever. My chest feels tight. My hands are clammy. I lick my dry lips and open my mouth to speak.

A knock at the door interrupts me.

Adam stands and goes to the door, looking through the peephole. He turns back over his shoulder to me. “It’s Alice.”

He says nothing more, simply staring at me. I get the feeling I’m an unwanted third-wheel in our interaction. I shake my head and move into the en-suite bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar out of curiosity. I listen as Adam opens the door.

“Alice, I thought you’d left already.”

“You forgot your phone downstairs.”

I hear her heels on the floor as she steps into the room. Through the gap in the bathroom door, I can see the full-length mirror on the wall. Alice is reflected perfectly in the panel.

She’s gorgeous.

Her body is lithe and toned in a tight little black dress. She sparkles with crystals. Her platinum blonde hair is in a flawless chignon bun. She looks like Grace Kelly.

“I wondered if you left it there on purpose. Did you want me to come to your room?”

She sits on the edge of the bed, putting her heels flat on the ground. She opens her legs slightly and looks up at Adam with hungry eyes.

In the mirror, I see Adam glance toward my hiding place. “I left it by mistake.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. This meeting was a chance for us to talk. I don’t think it’s a good idea to muddy the waters with anything else. You should go. We can speak again when I’m back in town.”

Alice draws in a sharp breath before snapping her legs closed and picking up her purse. She rises quickly, clearing her throat as she heads back toward the door.

“Fine. I’ll wait until you’re home.”

“That’s something we need to talk about too, Alice. I’m not sure we should be living together while we’re sorting things out.”

Alice scoffs. “Don’t be stupid. Of course, you’re coming home. I promise you, darling, everything’s going to be wonderful. As soon as you finish your trip, we can have a fresh start together. It’s going to be perfect.”

I can hear their lips meeting. It’s the faint smack of a kiss. The door swings shut, and I hear Adam letting out a long breath.

I push open the bathroom door.

He looks at me with a guilty expression. “I’m sorry about that.”

I sit back on the edge of my bed. “You didn’t tell her about what happened, then.”

“I didn’t know how.”

I can’t hold back my emotions anymore. I pick up my suitcase and shove my phone charger and my clothes inside. “I want to go home. I’m leaving.”

“In the middle of the night?”

I feel my entire body tense. My back is turned to Adam. I curl my hands into fists, taking deep breaths in through my nose to control my temper. I spin on my heel to face him.

“I’ve spent too long letting you lead me on.”

“I never promised you anything, Laura.”

“Why do you keep finding reasons to keep me around? Why keep suggesting we sleep in the same room? Why turn a one-night-stand into a two-month nightmare? Am I supposed to turn a blind eye to the fact you’ve had a relationship with Alice? Hiding me in a bathroom is degrading, Adam. You’ve used me.”

“Laura—”

I hold up a hand to silence him. “You had a chance to break it off with her right now, and you didn’t. You never had any intention of leaving her.”

“That’s not true. It’s complicated.”

“It’s bullshit. You’ve said it a hundred times. What’s so complicated about fucking one woman at a time?”

Adam paces behind me, trying to get me to slow down. “Why are you so upset?”

I clench my jaw and fix him with a hard stare. “Isn’t it obvious? I put my life on hold to spend more time with you. You think that’s what someone does for any stranger they meet in a casino? I care about you. But I’m only the other woman. Tomorrow, you could have dropped me off and forgotten you ever knew me while you went back to her. It makes me feel dirty. I don’t want to be here with you for one more night.”

“How are you going to get back?”

“That’s not something you need to worry about.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“Something you need to learn, Adam, is that not everything is about you. Goodbye.”

I grab my case and laptop and storm out of the room. Once the door has slammed shut behind me, I take a second to catch my breath, breathing heavily. I hope he doesn’t follow me. I don’t think I’d have the reserve to argue with him anymore. I’ve said everything I want to say.

Except for the one thing I need to say.

I haven’t told Adam about the pregnancy, but after being ushered into the bathroom to hide from Alice, I didn’t want to bother. I’ve been disrespected, used, and made to feel small. I don’t want to mention the baby while I’m feeling hurt.

I wonder if I could really love a man who has treated me as second-best since day one. Could I trust him to put a child first? As stupid as it might be, I know the answer.

I still love him.

I call a ride and go to a local bar. Hannah agrees to pick me up right away. When she presses me for how the conversation with Adam went, I tell her I don’t want to talk about it.

We drive through the night in silence.