CHAPTER 3: THREE POUNDS OF COURAGE
Amelia woke to the sound of a monitor.
For one terrifying second, she did not know where she was.
Then she remembered.
The elevator.
The blood.
The operating room.
Her hands flew toward her stomach.
It was flat.
“No!”
Mara immediately rose from the chair beside the bed.
“Amelia, you’re safe.”
“My baby!”
“He’s alive.”
Amelia stopped struggling.
“Where is he?”
“In the neonatal intensive care unit.”
“Why isn’t he here?”
“He needs help breathing.”
Tears filled Amelia’s eyes.
“Is he going to survive?”
Mara took her hand.
“The doctors don’t know yet.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
She had spent seven hours promising her unborn child that Ethan would save them.
Now her baby was fighting for life behind a glass wall because Ethan had chosen someone else first.
“What time was he born?”
“Three fourteen in the morning.”
“How much did he weigh?”
“Three pounds, seven ounces.”
Amelia looked toward the window.
“Does Ethan know?”
“Yes.”
“Did he see the baby?”
“No. You are the only parent currently authorized to visit.”
A nurse entered with a wheelchair.
“Mrs. Carter, the NICU team says you may see your son for a few minutes.”
Amelia tried to sit up.
Pain shot through her body.
Mara supported her.
When they reached the NICU, Amelia saw a tiny baby beneath clear plastic.
Tubes covered his face.
His chest rose and fell with the machine.
Amelia pressed one trembling hand against the glass.
“He’s so small.”
The nurse smiled gently.
“But he’s fighting.”
Amelia looked at her son.
For months, Ethan had wanted to name him after Ethan’s father.
William Carter.
Amelia had agreed because she believed their child would enter a loving family.
Now everything had changed.
“What is his name?” the nurse asked.
Amelia watched the baby curl his tiny fingers.
“Theodore.”
“Theodore Carter?”
Amelia hesitated.
Then she shook her head.
“Theodore Bennett.”
Mara looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
Amelia touched the empty place on her ring finger.
“Yes.”
Outside the NICU doors, Ethan heard every word.
May you like
And for the first time, he understood that Amelia had not merely removed her ring.
She had removed his name from their son.
