He entered the kitchen, loosening his tie, already irritated, until something made his pulse race. On the marble countertop lay Madison’s diamond earrings.
The ones he had given her on their second anniversary. The ones she never took off, not even to sleep. Beside them was a folded note, written in her firm and elegant handwriting.
For a second, the room seemed to warp. Time stretched. Her throat closed, something raw emerging from a place she’d ignored for years. She reached for the note, and then she noticed something else.
Madison’s suitcase was gone. So was her coat. The soft leather flats she wore to her doctor’s appointments had disappeared.
The refrigerator door was ajar. Inside, the prenatal vitamins were gone. So was the ultrasound image she kept attached to a glass jar.
Reality hit him harder than any financial crisis. Madison didn’t leave out of anger. He left intentionally. With determination. With knowledge.
Her fingers trembled as she opened the letter. Each breath was short and sharp. She expected fury. Recriminations. Tears.