The elevator doors opened directly into the penthouse foyer.

I carried a heavy tote bag in one hand and rested my other hand on my seven-month pregnant belly.

My lower back ached from the thirty-minute drive from the clinic.

I set my keys on the marble console table in the entry.

The air inside the apartment smelled thick and chemical.

It was the sharp, unmistakable scent of fresh oil-based paint.

The silence of the penthouse felt heavy, broken only by the hum of the central air conditioning.

I walked down the hallway, my boots clicking softly on the herringbone oak floors.

The door to the nursery was wide open.

I stopped on the threshold, my breath catching in my throat.

The soft, warm peach color I had chosen for my daughter’s room was gone.

In its place, the walls were painted a cold, dark charcoal gray.

The bright, cheerful room I had spent weeks planning had been neutralized.

The masking tape along the baseboards was still fresh, its blue edges peeling slightly.

My grandmother’s antique white crib had been pushed into the corner and covered with a plastic drop cloth.

On the changing table sat a sleek brass tray holding a pair of heavy fabric shears and a leather-bound lookbook.

The gold embossed lettering on the cover read *Sloane Vale Designs*.

“Do you like it?”

Nathan’s voice came from behind me.

I turned to find my husband leaning against the doorframe, a glass of scotch in his hand.

He looked relaxed, his collar unbuttoned, his face devoid of any guilt.

“What is this, Nathan?” I asked, keeping my voice steady despite the tightness in my chest.

“You’re home early,” Nathan said, taking a step closer. “The appointment was short.”

“Why did you do this?” I asked, pointing to the dark walls.

“It’s a gift,” he said. “Sloane felt the original color was too childish.”

“It is a nursery, Nathan,” I said. “It is supposed to be for a child.”

He smiled, a thin, patronizing stretch of his lips.

“You are too close to this,” he said. “You’re stressed. Let the professionals handle the aesthetic decisions.”