Fake Pregnancy, Real Betrayal

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning with a sense of dread I couldn't shake. Something felt wrong in our house, though I couldn't put my finger on it. Sullivan was still asleep beside me, his breathing deep and even. I slipped out of bed quietly, pulling on my robe as I headed to the master bathroom.

The marble countertop felt cold beneath my fingertips as I began my morning routine. Ten years of marriage had taught me to move silently when Sullivan was sleeping—he valued his rest above almost anything else. As I reached for my toothbrush, my eyes caught something in the wastebasket that made my heart skip a beat.

A pregnancy test. Positive.

My hands trembled as I reached down and picked it up. The plastic stick felt heavy in my palm, like it carried the weight of my entire world. I stared at the two pink lines, my mind racing through possibilities, none of them good.

"Sullivan," I whispered, but he didn't stir.

I knew it wasn't mine. We'd been careful since our last discussion about children—Sullivan had made it clear he wasn't ready to start a family yet. I'd respected that, even though it meant putting my own dreams on hold.

The housekeeper had Thursdays off, so it couldn't have been hers either.

---

By afternoon, the turkey was roasting in the oven, filling our kitchen with the scent of herbs and butter. I moved mechanically through the preparations, my mind still consumed by the discovery. The dining room table was set with our finest china—the set Sullivan's mother had given us as a wedding gift.

"Flora?" Sullivan appeared in the doorway, wiping his hands on a towel. "Everything smells amazing."

I turned to face him, the pregnancy test clutched in my hand. "What's this?"

His face went pale, almost instantly. "Where did you find that?"

"In our bathroom wastebasket." My voice remained steady, though my insides were crumbling. "It's not mine."

Sullivan ran a hand through his hair, a gesture I'd once found endearing. Now it just looked like a practiced move to buy time for his lies.

"I don't know how that got there," he said, his voice faltering. "Maybe the housekeeper left it?"

"On her day off?" I raised an eyebrow. "Try again."

---

That evening, after forcing down a few bites of dinner, Sullivan excused himself to take a business call. I sat alone at our meticulously set table, pushing food around my plate while the silence of our large house pressed in around me.

The sound of his voice drifted from his study—urgent, hushed tones that sent a chill down my spine.

I reached for my phone and opened Instagram, needing a distraction from the growing knot in my stomach. That's when I saw it—Violette's post. My childhood friend, smiling radiantly in a hospital gown, holding up a sonogram image.

"Blessed and grateful for this little miracle. Some dreams do come true."

The timestamp showed it was posted just two hours