After five years of heartbreak, Carol finally falls pregnant — but she keeps it a secret until she’s sure.
At her ultrasound, joy turns to ice when she spots her husband, Ronald, tenderly embracing a pregnant woman.
Who is she?
Carol follows them… and uncovers a truth she never expected.
My hands shook as I set the pregnancy test on the bathroom counter. The past half-decade had been an endless cycle of disappointment, but this morning felt different. I watched, barely breathing, as two pink lines appeared.
I wanted to tell Ronald immediately.
He’d been my rock through everything: the treatments, the tears, the midnight breakdowns when my period arrived yet again.
But after so many false starts and heartbreaks, I needed to be sure. One more disappointment might break us both.
So I made an appointment for an ultrasound and told him I had a dental cleaning. The lie felt bitter on my tongue, but I convinced myself it would be worth it when I could give him real, concrete news.
At the hospital, the technician’s wand glided over my belly.
“There,” she said, pointing.
“See that flutter?”
I squinted at the screen, and then I saw it. A tiny, rapid pulse. A heartbeat.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
Joy bloomed in my chest, pure and perfect.
After five years of trying, I was finally going to be a mom!
I floated out of the examination room, my hand resting on my still-flat stomach. Already, I was planning how to tell Ronald. Maybe I’d wrap up the ultrasound picture as a gift, or—
The thought shattered as I rounded the corner.
Down the hall, near the obstetrics waiting room, stood Ronald. My Ronald. But he wasn’t alone.
His arms were wrapped around a young, very pregnant woman.
His hands rested protectively on her swollen belly, and his expression… I knew that expression. It was the same tender look he gave me when I was upset or afraid.
This wasn’t just a casual hug between acquaintances. This was intimate.
Familiar.
I ducked behind a vending machine before they could see me, my pulse pounding so hard I could barely hear anything else. Who was she? Why was Ronald here instead of at his office, where he’d said he’d be?
The woman said something I couldn’t hear, and Ronald laughed.
It was his real laugh too, not the polite one he used with clients. My stomach churned.
They started walking toward the exit. I had to know what was going on, so I did something I never thought I’d do.
I pulled out my phone and ordered an Uber as I followed them down the hall.
I was determined to find out where they were going.
In the parking lot, Ronald helped the woman into his car with such gentleness that I felt physically ill. When my Uber arrived, I slipped into the backseat, my hands trembling as I clutched my purse.
“Follow that blue sedan,” I told the driver, feeling like I’d stepped into some bizarre movie. “Please.”
The driver nodded, and we set off.
My stomach churned as Ronald pulled into the driveway of a small, unfamiliar house.
The morning light caught the woman’s profile as she smiled up at him, and my nausea intensified.
“Stop here,” I told the driver, my fingers trembling as I reached for my purse. “I can walk from this point.”
I climbed out and watched Ronald help the woman out of the car, his hand lingering on her lower back as they walked to the front door. The gesture was so intimate, so familiar, it made my chest ache.
Taking a deep breath that did nothing to calm my racing heart, I marched up the driveway.
When I reached the door, I knocked before I could lose my nerve.
The door swung open, and there stood Ronald, his face draining of color faster than I’d ever seen.
“Carol?” His voice cracked. “What are you doing here?”
“I think that’s my line,” I said, pushing past him into the house.
The pregnant woman stood in the living room, one hand protectively cradling her belly. She was young, maybe early twenties, with clear skin and bright eyes that widened when she saw me.
She was beautiful in that effortless way that made my forty years feel like a lifetime.
“I just came from my ultrasound appointment,” I announced, my voice trembling.
“You know, because I’m pregnant, too.”
Ronald’s mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. But the young woman? She did something completely unexpected.
She laughed.
“You’re Carol!?”
Before I could process what was happening, she crossed the room and pulled me into a hug. I stood there, stiff as a board, my mind unable to compute this reaction.
“What on earth are you doing?” I demanded, stepping back. The room suddenly felt too small, too warm.
Ronald rubbed a hand over his face, a gesture so familiar it made my heart ache.
“Carol, please. Let me explain.”
“You’re pregnant?” the young woman asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She bounced slightly on her toes, reminding me of an eager puppy.
I nodded, still completely lost in this bizarre situation.
“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed.
“That means our kids will grow up together like real siblings!”
My breath caught in my throat. “What?”
“Not siblings, but still family.” Ronald’s voice was thick with emotion when he spoke. “She’s my daughter, Carol.”
I looked at the young woman again, really looked at her this time.
The same warm brown eyes as Ronald. The same slight dimple in her left cheek when she smiled. How had I not seen it before?
“I’m Anna,” she said softly, reaching for my hand.
Her fingers were warm and slightly calloused.
“I never told you because I didn’t know until recently,” Ronald explained, moving closer to us.
His shoulders were tense, but his eyes held a mixture of relief and fear. “Anna’s mother and I dated before I met you. She never told me she was pregnant.”
Anna’s voice was gentle when she added, “Mom passed away a few months ago.
Breast cancer.” She swallowed hard. “I found Dad’s name on my birth certificate while going through her things. I didn’t have anyone else.”
“So all those times you said you were working late…” I started, remembering the missed dinners and the distracted phone calls.
“I was trying to build a relationship with my daughter,” Ronald finished.
“And now I’m about to become a grandfather. And a father.” He laughed, but it sounded more like a sob.
I sank onto the nearest chair, my legs suddenly weak. The cushion exhaled softly beneath me, and I noticed absently that the fabric was covered in paint splatters.
“I thought… I was so sure…”
“That he was having an affair?” Anna asked, sitting next to me. Her presence was oddly comforting now. “God, no.
He talks about you constantly. Carol this, Carol that. It’s actually kind of annoying, considering that I’ve been nagging him about meeting you for ages.”
A laugh bubbled up from my chest, surprising even me.
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