My best friend Aubrey Madeleine disappeared for two months until one day, she posted an Instagram update—a photo of her bulging belly with hands cradling it.
Her caption read: [Three months along. My bestie’s scared of the pain, so I’m having the baby for her! I must be the best friend in the world!]
The hands resting on her belly were adorned with a wedding ring—one... that matched mine.
My finger slipped, accidentally clicking the heart button, and before I realized it, I already left a comment.
[That’s really thoughtful of you.]
Before I could process what I'd just seen, the post had been deleted. And then, not even a minute later, my husband River Holland called me.
"If you hadn’t said you were scared of giving birth, do you think I'd ask her to get pregnant with my child? The plan's so simple: she carries the baby, the kid’s born, and you get to be a mom without experiencing the pain of childbirth! Isn’t that better for everyone?"
I let out a scoff and ended the call, realizing I’d been too kind to both of them for too long.
A few months ago, Aubrey moved to Canada after her husband passed away. She had nowhere else to go, so I offered her a place to stay at one of my other apartments.
One time, I invited her to dinner with my husband. While we were reminiscing about school days, she teased me about how I used to cry over the smallest scrape during PE class.
"You’re still scared of pain, huh? Don’t tell me that’s why you haven’t had kids yet."
I didn’t think much of it at the time. Thought it was just casual banter between friends.
I was about to mention that we were actually already planning for kids when River wrapped an arm around my shoulders and chimed in.
“Well, my wife's my princess. She’s scared of pain, so I’d never make her go through that. If anyone wants to have a baby for her, they’re welcome to it."
Aubrey gave us a teasing look and rolled her eyes.
“Alright, you two, enough already! It’s just having a baby. Don't make it too romantic!"
Looking back, River’s “sweet” words carried a whole other meaning.
He always acted like the steady, nurturing type, but it turns out he didn’t mind letting his “waters” flow into someone else’s garden.
After that dinner, I noticed my necklace was missing, so I asked the restaurant to check their surveillance cameras.
I didn’t find my necklace, but I did see something else—under the table, Aubrey’s foot was rubbing against my husband's leg.
I remember sitting there, smiling like a fool despite what I saw.
When we got home, I confronted River, and we had a massive fight, but he swore that nothing was going on.
“I didn’t say anything because I knew you wouldn’t believe me! I knew you would think I was trying to mess with your friendship!"
Aubrey also played innocent, saying she hadn’t noticed anything—that she thought it was the corner of the table.
“Trish, it’s fine if you misunderstand me, but I really hope this doesn’t affect your marriage with River.”
After that, she moved out of the apartment, and we stopped talking.
I kept an eye on River for a while but didn’t find anything suspicious.
He acted as loving as ever, so I let it go.
Until now. Aubrey had been away for two months, and she was three months pregnant?! Oh wow.
Since they gave me such a big surprise, I thought I’d return the favor.
When River came home that night, I had just finished showering.
My hair was still wet when he walked in and, out of habit, he grabbed the blow dryer.
“You’re gonna get sick if you don’t dry it."
I stepped away from him, ignoring his outstretched hand, and walked straight to the bedroom.
He followed me, wrapping his arms around me from behind and burying his face in the crook of my neck.
“Trish, nothing happened between us. It was… artificial insemination. We went to the hospital—”
I pried his hands off my waist without turning around. “Don't bother explaining.”
'Cause the more he talked, the more disgusted I felt.
Sensing my mood, his tone shifted instantly.
“I’m giving you a way to save face, and you’re not taking it? You’re the one too scared to have a baby! Now that someone else is willing to do it for you, why are you acting like this?”
