Jeremy knew he could not hide from her anymore. Even so, he did not nod. On the contrary, he explained softly, “Linnie, it’s not as bad as you think. It’s just that…”

“What?”

“You’re having symptoms of a relapse.” Jeremy found those words extremely difficult to say.

A relapse?

Madeline remembered how she got sick when she had Jackson.

The pain still felt fresh now that she thought about it.

She touched her stomach gently and finally understood why Jeremy had been insisting on having her ab