For a year, I believed I was building a future with the perfect man. I didn’t realize I was sharing him until one unexpected night forced the truth into the open.
My name is Lucy, and if you’d asked me a year before all of this happened, I would’ve told you I was the lucky sister.
Kathy is my younger sister by two years. She was bold and fearless in a way I never was.
I was the planner, the cautious one.
I was also the first one to get a serious boyfriend.
Nick walked into my life as if he’d rehearsed it.
He was charming, handsome, funny, and confident.
He worked in corporate sales, made good money, and treated me like a queen. When he looked at me, I felt chosen.
He’d cup my face and whisper, “You’re my future wife.”
I believed him.
By the time our first anniversary approached, I’d memorized the way he ordered his coffee, how he checked his phone when he thought I wasn’t looking, and the way he always avoided talking about past relationships.
“I hate drama,” he’d say. “I don’t bring baggage into something good.”
I thought that meant maturity.
I hadn’t realized it meant secrecy.
***
On Valentine’s Day, I had something planned that would change everything.
I reserved a table at our favorite little restaurant downtown. I carried a small envelope in my purse.
Inside was a pregnancy test with two pink lines and a tiny card that read, “Hi, Daddy.”
I’d stared at those pink lines for hours the week before. I hadn’t told anyone, not even Kathy.
I was terrified but also hopeful and already dreaming about our wedding.
But just a few minutes before our date, Nick texted me.
“SORRY, I CAN’T COME.
LET’S MEET ANOTHER TIME.”
For a moment, I thought I’d misread it.
I called him immediately.
It rang once and went to voicemail.
“Nick, what’s going on?” I said into the phone. “I’ve already reserved the table.”
No response.
I felt the sting behind my eyes but refused to cry. Not wanting to waste money, I went anyway.
I told myself to at least eat the dessert I’d been saving for us.
But when I stepped into the restaurant, I froze.
Kathy was sitting near the back, twisting her straw between her fingers.
She looked up and smiled as I approached.
“Lucy? What are you doing here?”
“I had plans,” I said slowly. “You?”
She let out a short laugh.
“Oh my gosh, sweetie, you won’t believe this. I invited the guy I’ve been seeing on a date, and he canceled at the last second. Literally minutes before!”
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