I was the canary in his palm, sheltered yet trapped. For four years, I bled for him, killed for him, lived for him. Everyone called me his future wife—until the night he threw me in front of a blade to save another woman. The knife tore into me, and with it, our unborn child. He knelt in my blood, swearing he loved me. But how could I believe him—when the only man I truly loved had died under his gun?
Chapter 1
I'm the woman Hector Ramirez kept and pampered.
For four years, I've stood by his side—shielding him from knives, swallowing medicine for his sake, tying my very life to his whims.
Everyone calls me Mrs. Ramirez, and it's taken for granted that I'm destined to be his future wife.
That was true until his unforgettable love, Gianna Joyner, became the target of a hit. With a single, ruthless motion, Hector shoved me forward, and I took the fatal blow meant for her.
He didn't know I was carrying his child.
That day, the cold blade cut my stomach, blood soaking through my white dress.
For the first time, that cold, merciless man lost his composure.
He held me, kneeling in a pool of blood, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Kimberly, please... don't close your eyes!"
He said he loved me.
How laughable.
The man I truly loved was a cop.
Five years ago, the night before our engagement party.
That man, Edwin Dedrick, fell beneath Hector's gun.
***
In the fourth year of
