So the moon hung high in the heavens, and I was nothing but a mayfly—brief, insignificant, drawn to a light that would never be mine.
I choked back the pain crushing my chest.
"Can you even tell the difference between responsibility and love anymore? Don't you see how cruel this is to me?"
A flicker of guilt crossed Graham's face. His voice softened.
"I'm sorry, Cecilia. I should have discussed it with you first. It won't happen again."
"But look—I helped Lila fulfill her wish, that's all. They won't bother you. They won't threaten your position as Mrs. Sanchez." He spread his hands, as if the solution were obvious. "Why can't you just let this go?"
I laughed—a hollow, brittle sound.
"Graham. So when she wanted a child, you made it happen. Just like that." My voice cracked. "Do you even know what my wish was?"
I snatched up one of the plush dolls from the shelf and hurled it at him. Then another. And another.
How many nights had I fallen asleep clutching these things? Imagining that someday I'd hold a real baby instead. Our baby.
I knew Graham had his reasons—his hang-ups, his fears. I never pushed. I swallowed my longing year after year, telling myself it was enough just to be with him.
While I was busy being understanding, he was out there giving another woman the one thing I'd dreamed of.
Graham's jaw tightened. He didn't defend himself this time—just turned and ushered the remaining relatives out of the room.
"Cecilia." His voice was flat. "I know you're angry. That's fine. Take your time... processing this. But I can't abandon Lila. I won't."
The door clicked shut behind him.
I crumpled to the floor, tears streaming through my fingers.
Graham meant what he said. He didn't come home for days.
I tortured myself scrolling through Lila's social media updates.
Graham had taken her shopping for baby supplies. There they were, posing in front of an elegant white crib, her hand resting on her bump.
Graham was building the largest amusement park in Harbor City—a gift for the unborn baby.
The groundbreaking ceremony photos showed them side by side, all smiles, scissors poised over a ribbon. The golden couple.
Graham washing her feet. Graham reading bedtime stories to her belly.
My hands trembled as I scrolled through every single post. I couldn't stop. It was self-destruction, and I leaned into it.
Once the affair went public, Chloe stopped pretending altogether. No more calling me her "lucky charm."
Now she visited Starlight Garden eight times a day, arms laden with sea cucumber and bird's nest soup. So much chicken broth that even Lila's dog got sick of it.
The photos showed a perfect family of three—Chloe beaming, Graham attentive, and Lila glowing with maternal grace. The serene tenderness of a woman about to become a mother.
I couldn't help myself. I left a comment under Lila's latest post:
"Stolen goods, and yet you wear them so comfortably."
Within minutes, Chloe's voice message arrived. Sixty seconds of venom.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, commenting nonsense on Lila's page? Who's stolen anything?"
"I thought you had some sense in you. I thought you could keep Graham interested, give the Sanchez family an heir. But no—ten years and you couldn't even lay a single egg."
"Girls from nowhere families really are useless. Lila's been back three months and already convinced Graham to have a child. What right do you have to be jealous?"
Then Graham's call came through.
"Cecilia." His voice was ice and fury. "When did you become this petty? Delete that comment. Now. Lila saw it and she's—" He exhaled sharply. "She cried until she fainted. She's locked herself in her room and won't let me or my mother in. You're going to come here right now, apologize to her face, and tell her it was a typo."
I'd thought I had no tears left after these past few days.
I was wrong.
How could people change so completely? The mother-in-law who'd treated me like her own daughter. The husband I'd stood beside for ten years. Now they screamed at me like I was the villain in their story.
I was still sobbing when Graham stormed in, fury radiating off him in waves.
He seized my arm, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise.
"Lila's locked herself in her room. God knows what state she's in. You're coming with me. Now. You're going to apologize."
