I sat across from her, shaking. "Then why didn't you come home?"
She pressed her fingers to her lips. "Because the night of our wedding, my father told me something he should have told me long before. He owed money. Not a little, Jasper. A dangerous amount. He had used my name on documents, forged signatures, and made promises to men who did not forgive."
I stared at her.
"They came to the hotel," she continued. "Before dawn. One of them was waiting near the ice machine when I stepped out because I couldn't sleep. He knew your name. He knew where your parents lived. He said if I stayed, they would collect through you."
"My God, Nina."
"I thought if I disappeared, they would stop looking at you. I thought I could fix it, or at least keep the danger away from you."
"You were pregnant?"
Her chin trembled. "I found out a few days later. I wanted to call you. I picked up the phones and put them down. I even wrote letters. Then Evan was born, and every choice became about keeping him breathing."
