The day I found out I was pregnant, Ella Henson posted on Instagram. The photo showed two positive pregnancy tests sitting on hotel bedsheets:
"Not only did he finish the job at home, he managed to plant a seed in me on the same day. What a stud!"
She even replied to her own post in the comments:
"Honestly, Mr. Gilbert's stamina is no joke. Didn't miss a single drop, and somehow knocked us both up on the exact same day!"
Our circle was full of trust-fund kids who never shied away from dirty jokes. Everyone played along, and I assumed she was just riding the coincidence of us getting pregnant at the same time, name-dropping my husband for laughs. I even liked the post.
Then my water broke, and Ella and I were wheeled into the delivery ward at the same time.
Born on the same month, the same day. When I looked at the two babies side by side, a chill crept through my entire body.
The other infant had a face that looked just like my son's.
And on the medical chart clipped to the front of her bassinet,
in the emergency contact signature line, there it was: Rodney Gilbert's name, scrawled in that unmistakable hand.
...
I stood in the hallway for a long time.
One hand braced against the wall, knuckles white, the blood seeping from my stitches staining a small patch of the hospital gown.
Rodney Gilbert.
I'd been reading those letters for eight years. I could recognize them with my eyes closed.
The handwriting on my chart was his. The handwriting on Ella's chart was his too.
My room.
Hers.
Three rooms apart. That was the distance between a wife and a mistress.
I dragged my still-bleeding postpartum body back toward my room.
Every step felt unsteady, like the floor wasn't really there beneath my feet.
The moment I climbed back into bed, my phone screen lit up.
Ella's Instagram.
The photo was a selfie from her hospital bed. Fresh lipstick, the corners of her mouth curled upward.
Caption:
"Natural delivery, 7 lbs 2 oz bouncing baby boy! VIP suite + 24-hour private nurse + flowers and gifts, the full package~ My sugar daddy really knows how to spoil a girl~ Stay jealous~"
The comments were already blowing up.
Rachel Walker replied: Girl, stop making things up. You have a baby and suddenly there's a sugar daddy? Who's the father, for real?
Ella fired back instantly: Not telling~ Go ahead and guess~ All I'll say is he's a hundred times richer than YOUR husband~
Bianca Lawrence piled on: Ella, I swear, nine and a half out of every ten things you say are complete BS.
Ella: Sure sure sure, you're all right, I made it all up~ Believe what you want~
I used to be right there in the comments with them, laughing along.
"There you go again, talking out of your ass."
"Ella, the day you actually land a sugar daddy is the day I eat my shoe."
Because from the very first day I met Ella Henson in college, the girl had never once told the truth.
She'd order a chicken rice bowl and claim a private chef made it for her.
She'd buy cheap earrings with free shipping and swear they were designer custom pieces.
She'd add some random guy on WhatsApp and brag that a corporate heir was chasing her.
Everyone knew Ella was full of it.
Nobody ever took a word she said seriously.
Neither did I.
So the day she'd posted that thing about getting knocked up at the same time, I figured she was just piggybacking on the coincidence for content. I laughed and hit like.
The door swung open.
Rodney Gilbert walked in carrying a bowl of soup, a stain still on his apron.
He set the bowl down, leaned over, and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"You're awake?"
"The doctor said your bleeding was a little heavier than normal. You need to rest and stay in bed. I started this soup two hours ago. Drink it while it's hot."
He pulled a chair up beside the bed, took my hand in his, and his eyes were rimmed with red.
"I just went to see our boy. Six pounds, eight ounces. The nurse said his eyes look just like yours."
I looked at his face.
