Carving My Heart Without You

On the night of their seventh anniversary, Chelsea ladles a bowl of chicken broth for Jesse, then slides a contract across the kitchen island: a gallery of his own, opening next month. In the same breath she reveals that the million-dollar debt that shaped their years of struggle was never real—she is the sole heiress to the Whitmore estate, and the hardship was a test he passed. The catch: the role of Whitmore son-in-law must go to Oliver, his closest friend, who is expecting her child.

Jesse carries a folded neurologist's diagnosis in his coat pocket—permanent, irreversible nerve damage in his right hand. When he asks what she felt during those seven years, Chelsea insists her heart belongs only to him, that Oliver is fragile and cannot be left alone, and that Jesse should spend a few weeks setting up the gallery. Her family demands the first Whitmore grandchild be born in wedlock. Then a call about Oliver's heart sends her out the door, leaving Jesse with the cold broth, the deed, and the report.