Ethan stood beside her in scrubs.

Not as her husband.

Not even as her ex-husband.

Just the surgeon about to help deliver their child.

The reality of it felt surreal.

“Look at me,” he said quietly while the anesthesiologist adjusted her IV.

She turned her head slightly.

His eyes were red.

“When were you going to tell me?”

Chloe stared at the ceiling.

“I found out two days after you left.”

Ethan looked physically ill.

“I didn’t leave you.”

She finally looked at him then.

“Really?”

The hurt in her voice nearly shattered him.

“You handed me papers and walked out because your mother threatened to cut you off.”

“That’s not what happened.”

“It’s exactly what happened.”

He opened his mouth—

then closed it.

Because deep down, they both knew she wasn’t entirely wrong.

The surgery prep continued around them.

Ethan spoke quietly.

“I came back that night.”

Chloe frowned faintly.

“What?”

“I came back to the apartment.” His voice cracked. “You were gone.”

Confusion flickered across her face.

“I stayed with my sister for three weeks.”

Ethan looked stunned.

“She told me you moved to Boston.”

Chloe went still.

Slowly, realization dawned between them.

Vivian.

Ethan looked like the floor had vanished beneath him.

“She told me you didn’t want to see me,” he whispered.

Chloe’s breathing faltered.

“She told me you were relieved the marriage was over.”

The silence that followed was horrifying.

Years.

Years stolen by lies.

Then suddenly—

pain exploded across Chloe’s abdomen.

The monitor screamed again.

“Fetal distress worsening,” a nurse warned.

Ethan snapped back instantly.

“We’re starting now.”

The curtain went up.

The room became a blur of motion.

Chloe’s heart pounded violently as pressure tugged across her body.

She couldn’t feel pain anymore—only terror.

Then—

nothing.

No cry.

No sound.

The room went frighteningly still.

“Why isn’t he crying?” Chloe whispered.

Nobody answered.

Ethan’s face tightened in panic as he lifted the baby.

“Come on,” he muttered.

Silence.

Chloe’s vision blurred with tears.

“Please,” she begged.

And then—

a cry split the room.

Sharp.

Strong.

Alive.

Chloe broke completely.

Ethan let out a breath that sounded almost like a sob.

“It’s a boy,” he whispered.

And for one suspended moment, every broken thing between them disappeared.

The first time Ethan placed the baby in Chloe’s arms, the entire world seemed to stop.

He was tiny.

Warm.

Perfect.

Dark hair already curling slightly at the edges.

And Ethan’s eyes.

God, he had Ethan’s eyes.

Chloe stared down at him through tears.

“Hi,” she whispered shakily.

The baby blinked sleepily against her chest.

Ethan stood beside the bed looking utterly destroyed by emotion.

“What’s his name?” Linda asked gently.

Chloe hesitated.

For nine months she’d believed she would do this alone.