I went to the car to grab the contract documents.
That's when I spotted a folder by the center console that wasn't mine.
I picked it up. The label read: [Induced Abortion Consent Form.]
The patient's signature belonged to my best friend of twelve years—Naomi Butler.
My heart lurched. I scanned further down to the family member signature line.
Alex Mason.
——
My hand trembled. The form slipped onto the seat.
Before I could process anything, my phone rang. Alex's voice came through, warm and coaxing.
"Stella. I'm already at the restaurant." A smile crept into his tone, that familiar boyish whine. "I've been waiting forever. Hurry up and come keep me company."
Seven years together, and Alex still clung to me like this. Texts, calls, video chats—whenever he had a free moment, he had to reach out.
I used to tease him. "Alex, aren't you worried people will call you whipped?"
He never cared. Just grinned with that smug look. "I'm not whipped. I'm Stella-brained."
The memories flickered through my mind like a slideshow. My chest ached, tight and suffocating, but Alex kept talking.
"Oh, and Stella—your best friend." His tone shifted to its usual disdain. "I posted the restaurant to my feed, and she immediately latched on saying she wanted to join."
"I didn't want to agree, but you know what she said? That I had to, whether I liked it or not. If I didn't, she'd make things difficult."
"Honestly, if it weren't for you, I'd have blocked her ages ago."
My eyes burned. My throat tightened. I thought about every date Alex and I had gone on—how Naomi always showed up, clinging to my arm, pouting.
"Bestie, you can't ditch your girls just because you have a man. I won't let you choose a guy over your friends."
Every single time she pulled that, even when I wanted Alex to myself, I caved. And Alex had gone from resisting her presence to just... accepting it.
I never noticed anything was off.
His voice pulled me back. I knew what he was waiting for—for me to laugh it off like always. To say, "Naomi's just childish. Don't take it personally." Or, "She's my best friend. Just humor her."
My throat closed up. Getting words out felt impossible.
He asked again.
I finally spoke.
"Alex. Do you like Naomi?"
Silence on the other end.
Brief, but there.
Then his voice came back, dripping with disbelief. "Who did you say? Naomi? Stella, don't be ridiculous. You know how much I've hated her from the start. She's always stealing your time, demanding your attention more than I do. She crashes every single date. If it weren't for you—"
"Alex." I cut him off, forcing down the grief clawing at my chest. "Would you ever betray me?"
I stared at the consent form.
Three months pregnant.
Which meant before this, Naomi and Alex had already slept together. Maybe even longer than that—maybe they'd been together for a while. How long, exactly?
I needed to know.
"Stella, did someone tell you some kind of rumor?"
