Chapter 1: The First Leak
Jennie stood at the kitchen island under the single pendant light, the rest of the house dark and quiet except for the soft mechanical hum of the breast pump. Six weeks postpartum and her body still felt foreign—breasts swollen to the point of pain, heavy and hot, veins faintly blue under pale skin. She’d already soaked through two nursing pads that day; the third pair was failing now. The flanges were attached, bottles slowly filling with warm milk that dripped in steady rhythm. Her loose cotton maternity tank was rucked up under her chin, exposing the full, veined curves. She stared at the white liquid swirling in the bottles, cheeks flushed from embarrassment and exhaustion.
The baby was finally asleep upstairs. Mark had been gone eleven days—three-week busin
