18: Ivona and Rayce

When, after fourteen happy years, Ivona told Rayce she was pregnant, he'd asked her to terminate it. "Think of your health," he'd pleaded. "I don't want to lose you."

But Ivona always wanted to be normal, and he'd always given her whatever she wanted. So he shepherded her through the pregnancy, when she barely left her bed. He defended her choice against her family's incomprehension. This was her decision, and void the costs.

"It's a girl," said the midwife. But Rayce wasn't looking at his daughter. He was looking at the iron ring that had slipped off Ivona's cold hand.