Blood on the Ice, The Cost of Your Betrayal

Seven months pregnant, and Christian still had me climbing up and down a step stool in the living room, hanging Christmas decorations.

All to welcome his childhood best friend, Chloe, who had just returned from living abroad.

His excuse? "She needs to feel at home."

At the welcome party, Chloe smiled sweetly and handed me a glass of red wine.

"Valerie, a little red wine actually improves your circulation. Pregnant women abroad drink it all the time."

The other guests chimed in, urging me to take the glass. I kept my face cold, shaking my head in refusal.