Where the Wind Lost Its Shore

Everyone said Colton Jones loved Whitney Thompson more than life itself. He had spent ten years pursuing her and cherishing her. If she furrowed her brow, he would worry over it for hours.

Yet this same Colton betrayed her three times.

The first time, he was drugged by a business rival at a corporate gala and spent the night with a female college student.

The day Whitney asked for a divorce, he arranged for the young woman to be sent overseas overnight. Then he stood outside Whitney's apartment building in the pouring rain for three days and three nights.

"I was wrong, Whitney," he said. "Please, forgive me just this once."

Whitney looked at his pale face, and her heart softened.

The second time, Whitney Thompson was in the hospital, where she ran into Colton Jones and Janice Moore, the college student who was there for a prenatal checkup.

Colton's eyes were bloodshot as he spilled his guts. "Whitney, I was overseas on business half a month ago when I got into a wreck. Janice pulled me from the wreckage, saving my life, even though the car could've blown up any second.

"Later, we found out she was pregnant. My grandmother threatened to take her own life if I refused to keep the child. "

He wrapped Whitney up in a desperate hug, his voice shaking like a leaf. "Please don't leave me. I swear, once the baby's born, I'll send her packing, and the kid will be dropped off at the family estate. They'll be out of your hair for good."

She took his word for it.

The third time, they were at an auction, both eyeing her late mother's treasured sapphire necklace.

That necklace was Whitney's mother's pride and joy, the only thing she had left of her.

However, Colton was relentless, upping the ante with each bid until he finally went all out, gifting the necklace to Janice.

Whitney stormed the auction room, demanding answers. Colton just rubbed his temples, worn out. "She's been down in the dumps with baby blues and set her heart on this necklace. Can you cut her some slack, Whitney?"

That was when Whitney cracked a smile, though it was one that brought tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What if I won't?"

He frowned and replied, "Come on, Whitney, cut it out. Janice is due any day now, and once the baby's here, we can get back to normal."

Whitney stared at him, her heart shattered. "Back to normal?"

What was their normal? Was it when he only had eyes for her? Was it when he would drive through a tempest for hours just to get her a slice of strawberry cake?

'Does he even remember those days?' she questioned silently.

"Mr. Jones..."

Janice's gasp echoed from behind. Clutching her stomach, she slumped against the wall, her face ghostly pale. "My ankle... It hurts so much..."

Colton's face went white as a sheet. In a heartbeat, he shoved Whitney aside and scooped