Chapter 16

Rowan's pupils constricted sharply. His entire body trembled as if the words had torn through him. He couldn't find anything to say. Hattie broke into a strange, unhinged laugh. But as she laughed, tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. She had loved Rowan for years. Two years ago, she nearly died for him. It had come that close. Just a little more, and her life would have ended right there. Joanna would never go that far for him. She couldn't, and she wouldn't. All Hattie did was have someone rough Joanna up, just enough to make her realize who truly belonged next to Rowan. She was the one who was meant to stand beside him, the one who deserved to be called his wife. But Rowan had chosen Joanna. He had kicked the child she was carrying to death. Watching him suffer should have broken her, yet it filled her with a twisted satisfaction. He had thrown her away like she meant nothing, like their baby had meant nothing. She wanted to tear him apart. Even in her f