Under the Same Sky

Under the Same Sky NICHOLE GREENE Copyright © 2023 by Nichole Greene All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover by TRC Designs Model Miguel Garcy Created with Vellum Contents A letter from the author Prologue Part I Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Part II Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 21. Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Epilogue If you liked Under the Same Sky Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Nichole Greene A letter from the author Dear reader, Thank you so much for picking up Under the Same Sky. I hope you fall as deeply in love with this story and these characters as I did. I didn’t set out to write a story that would end up being so deeply personal to me but that is exactly what it evolved into. This book touches on some heavy topics. Emotional abuse, manipulation, coercion (sexual acts), attempted rape, and infidelity are included within the female main character’s story arc (none at the hands of the hero of the story). Sometimes relationships can be a battleground for a war you didn’t know you were fighting. As always, your mental health is more important than my books so if anything I listed above is a deal breaker for you, no hard feelings. Prologue * * * The rubber soles of my shoes echo along the hospital corridor I’m walking through to find her. My late husband’s mistress. The mother of the child I wouldn’t give him. The muted cries of newborn babies mix with the scent of antiseptic. The last time I walked halls like these was after a twenty-seven-hour flight home from the high desert of Mongolia. I was away on assignment while he was out celebrating the news of his future baby. Celebrating until a semi blew a tire and caused the freak accident that would end his life. Five people lost their lives that day, and, by some miracle, his mistress and their baby survived. I’ve struggled with so many mixed emotions over the past seven months. He wasn’t a good husband, and I was an absentee wife. It doesn’t make it easier, in fact, I think it makes it harder. I stop at her closed door, my fingers running over the smooth paper of the check that’s burning a hole in my pocket. My fist shakes as I knock on the door. “Come in,” a quiet voice says from behind the wooden barrier. I push the door open, my eyes falling on the beautiful woman holding a baby Part One Chapter One FIA TEN YEARS EARLIER * * * “Fia,” my mom calls from just inside the house. “I need you.” “Coming,” I yell from where I’m sitting in our backyard pool. I haul myself out of the cool water and into the oppressive August heat. My skin is already pink after only an hour and applying the heaviest duty sunscreen. Life as a redhead. “We have four hours until we’re picking up a foreign exchange student from the airport,” my mom says as I step inside wrapped in a towel. “What? I thought we weren’t hosting this year.” I don’t care either way, even though my parents thought my senior year should be all about me. “Amy called me asking if we could be temporary hosts. Apparently, this student’s host family backed out last minute.” She’s already writing down a list of everything we need to do in the next few hours. “Okay, let me shower really fast and then I’ll be ready to do whatever you need.” “Thank you, baby.” She looks up and smiles warmly at me, love beaming from her blue eyes. I run upstairs to my room, grabbing a change of clothes on the way to my bathroom. I catch sight of myself