The Pregnant Wife

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It had been three years since I had my vasectomy.

Today, I found a pregnancy report in my wife's designer bag.

Three years of marriage and six years of being together turned into a cruel joke in an instant.

I stood in the shadows, listening to Nora Shepherd talking to her best friend.

It must have happened that time at the hot springs, Nora whispered.

"Honestly, I really want to have Austin's baby."

"Leo? I'm obviously not going to tell him," she continued.

Nora glanced at me while I was lying on the bed, her voice filled with indifference.

"He is scheduled for a reversal surgery in two days anyway. He will never find out."

I reached up and unlinked the necklace I had worn for years.

This marriage was over.

On our third wedding anniversary, I bought my wife a brand-new sports car.

I planned to slip the keys into her bag to give her a massive surprise.

But instead of keys, my fingers brushed against a piece of paper.

It was an ultrasound report.

I stared at the paper, my entire world tilting on its axis.

Nora was pregnant.

But I had undergone a vasectomy right after we got married.

I had been sterile for three years.

I read the report over and over, hoping I had the wrong name.

Patient Name: Nora Shepherd.

Results: Five weeks pregnant, normal fetal heartbeat.

The date was from two days ago.

The hospital was a private clinic in another state.

I remembered that an old friend of mine had just transferred to that exact clinic.

Hoping against hope that this was some kind of sick prank, I sent him a message.

I asked him to check the records for a patient named Nora Shepherd.

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with a confirmation.

She had indeed visited the OB-GYN department two days ago.

I stared at the screen, my hand trembling so hard I nearly dropped the phone.

I didn't want to believe it was real.

Nora and I had been a couple for six years.

After we got married, she said she wasn't ready for kids, so I stepped up and got the procedure.

Then, last month, she suddenly said she wanted to start a family.

She asked me to get a reversal surgery.

The appointment was set for the day after tomorrow, our anniversary.

Now, she was already pregnant. Who the hell was the father?

My head was spinning with a million questions.

I heard footsteps approaching the bedroom door.

I quickly shoved the report back into her bag and took a deep breath.

I tried to look natural, like I hadn't just discovered my life was a lie.

"Leo, why are you just sitting there in the dark?"

Nora had just come back from the resort's heated pool.

Her face was flushed from the warmth, and her swimsuit showed off her perfect curves.

She dried her hair with a towel and gave me a playful smirk.

"Are you finally mesmerized by your wife's beauty?"

"I know it's hard, but you have to stay patient for a bit longer."

"Once your surgery is over, I'll make it up to you properly."

She leaned down, kissed me on the cheek, and headed for the bathroom.

"That's your reward for being a good boy. I'm going to shower now."

I forced a smile and managed a weak, "Okay."

I listened to the sound of the running water and picked up Nora's phone.

Her passcode was just her birthday, and her messages looked normal at first.

Then, I scrolled through her social media feed.

I saw a post from her first love, Austin Brooks.

He had posted a series of photos at a hot spring resort.

The background looked exactly like the place we were staying at right now.

A sickening thought crept into my mind. Is the baby his?

I checked the timeline on the ultrasound report again.

Austin had returned to the country about a month ago.

Back then, he had posted a photo of the same hot springs.

"Six years later, I've finally found my way back to you," the caption read.

The photo showed two hands interlocked together.

Austin was wearing a necklace that was identical to mine.

And the hand he was holding was wearing a wedding ring I knew all too well.

Nora had been at this same resort for a team-building event a month ago.

The knot in my stomach tightened into a ball of lead.

I put her phone back and hurried out of the room.

I went straight to the front desk to check the guest list.

Sure enough, Austin Brooks had been here a month ago, and he was here again today.

When I returned to the room, Nora and her bag were gone.

I followed the damp footprints on the floor to a secluded outdoor pool.

The thick leaves of the tropical plants hid me from view.

I saw two people locked in a passionate, desperate kiss.

It was Nora and Austin.

In that moment, it felt like the blood in my veins had turned to ice.

The sound of their heavy breathing shattered what was left of my heart.

I stumbled back to the room and curled up on the bed.

I couldn't erase the image of them together from my mind.

I remembered Nora telling me how excited she was to have a baby with me.

The irony was so sharp it felt like a physical wound.

I stayed there in the dark until I heard her creeping back into the room.

Nora smelled like steam and expensive perfume as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Honey, are you asleep?" she whispered.

She noticed my body was shaking and reached out to touch my forehead.

I pretended to be having a nightmare and rolled over to avoid her hand.

Hearing my steady breathing, Nora assumed I was dead to the world.

She didn't suspect a thing. She adjusted the AC and walked out to the balcony.

I opened my eyes and listened as she called her best friend.

Before we left for the trip, Nora had left her dog with Lily Sterling.

She called every night to check in and see the dog via video chat.

Lily was currently playing with her own kid and the dog.

Nora watched the screen with a strange, soft look on her face.

"Lily, I'm pregnant," she said suddenly.

Lily gasped, her voice loud even through the phone.

"Oh my god! Congratulations! That was fast!"

But then, Lily's voice shifted as she realized the timeline.

"Wait, your husband hasn't even had his surgery yet. How are you pregnant?"

"Stop joking around, Nora. You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Nora's voice was dead serious. "I'm not joking. It's been a month."

The screen on the other end went dark for a few seconds.

Lily must have run into the bathroom for privacy. "Who is the father?"

Nora remained calm, her expression almost serene.

"It's Austin's. He came to see me the moment he got back last month."

"You know I never really got over him all these years."

"I love him. I really want to have a child that belongs to him."

Every word felt like a jagged blade carving into my chest.

Nora, you love Austin? You want his baby?

Then what am I? Just some reliable backup plan?

Lily stayed silent for a long time. "What about Leo? Aren't you afraid he'll find out?"

Nora's face twisted with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm obviously not going to let Leo know."

"Besides, vasectomies fail sometimes. People get pregnant anyway."

Lily sounded horrified. "Nora, this is too much, even for you."

"If he finds out, how are you going to explain the baby?"

Nora looked back at me on the bed with total indifference.

"He's getting the reversal in two days. He won't suspect a thing."

"And even if he does find out later, I'll just make it up to him."

"He loves me so much. He'll forgive me for anything."

The room was cold, but I felt a different kind of chill down my spine.

Her voice seemed to echo in the silence of the night.

I covered my ears, letting the grief swallow me whole.

I knew then that our marriage was dead.

I had spent my whole life in Austin Brooks' shadow.

His father was my father's boss, and I was raised to be his loyal sidekick.

Nora and Austin were childhood sweethearts. I was just the third wheel.

Austin was handsome, rich, and always the center of attention.

Every girl in school wanted him, and he knew it.

The first time I met Nora, Austin was playing the hero.

We were fighting off a group of punks who were bothering her.

Austin walked away with a few scratches, while half my face was swollen.

Nora helped him with his wounds and bought me some ointment.

That was the first time anyone had noticed I was hurt too.

I kept that half-empty bottle of medicine for years.

That was the moment my heart started beating for her.

From then on, I became the guardian of their relationship.

I watched them fall in love, fight, and make up a hundred times.

When Austin's father got into legal trouble, his family sent him abroad.

Nora's parents forced them to break up and locked her in the house.

I climbed up to her third-story window just so she could video call him.

They both cried their eyes out through the screen.

Austin promised he would come back and marry her once he was rich again.

Nora held onto that promise for years, believing they were still together.

I never had the heart to tell her that Austin found a new girlfriend within months.

One summer, Nora lied to her parents and flew to the UK to surprise him.

She found his campus, only to see him proposing to his fiance.

Austin didn't even look guilty. He just introduced Nora as an old friend.

That was when she realized he had moved on a long time ago.

Nora ran away, heartbroken and lost in a foreign country.

When she called me, I dropped everything and booked the first flight out.

I found her in a train station, her phone almost dead.

She spent two hours crying and cursing Austin's name.

By the time we got to the airport to head home, she seemed different.

While we were waiting for our flight, she turned to me.

"Leo, you've always liked me, haven't you?"

I was exhausted, but my heart started racing like crazy.

I couldn't help myself. I nodded.

She gave me a knowing look and handed me a small box.

"Leo, this is our promise. Let's be together when we get home."

Inside was a necklace with her initials engraved on it.

I thought I was the luckiest man alive.

After ten years of waiting, she had finally chosen me.

We dated for three years and were married for another three.

Until today, I thought we were happy.

But it was all a lie.

I looked at Nora sleeping beside me in the dim light.

I touched the necklace around my neck.

Near the initials Z.N.R., I noticed three tiny letters: A.B.P.

Austin Brooks. It had always been for him.

The next morning, Nora already had her bags packed.

She skipped over to me, asking which dress she should wear.

The bed was covered in pink dressesDAustin's favorite color.

Normally, I would have showered her with compliments.

But after seeing Austin's post about wanting to see her in pink, I felt sick.

"None of them. You don't look good in pink," I said coldly.

Nora pouted and rolled her eyes. "You're such a typical man!"

She tried to tease me. "Honey, you've changed!"

"You used to say I looked like an angel in pink."

I didn't respond. I didn't even look at her.

Nora finally noticed my mood and sat down next to me.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

She tried to hug me. "You were shaking last night."

"Are you getting sick? Do we need to see a doctor?"

She sounded so concerned, but I just felt disgusted by the performance.

I pushed her away and kept packing my own things.

Suddenly, Nora's eyes locked onto my bare neck.

"Where is your necklace?" she shrieked.

"That's our special promise! Why aren't you wearing it?"

I thought about that pathetic piece of jewelry and swallowed my rage.

"It was old. I think it fell off in one of the pools last night."

"I have to go find it!" She scrambled out of the room.

She went to search for a necklace that I had already tossed in the trash.

She checked every pool in the resort, but came back empty-handed.

"Leo, it's really gone," she said, looking devastated.

"It's just a chain. I'll buy a new one," I replied.

Nora stood in the doorway, crossing her arms and glaring at me.

"What is wrong with you? That necklace represented our love!"

"If you care so little about it, you clearly don't care about us!"

She slammed the door and stormed out in a fit of rage.

If this was before, I would have chased after her.

But now I knew she was just upset because it was her link to Austin.

I remembered how I had treated that necklace like a holy relic.

I never took it off once in six years.

I never realized that every time she looked at it, she was thinking of him.

That necklace was a leash, and I was finally free of it.

By the time Nora came back, she had calmed down.

She promised to get me a custom-made replacement soon.

I wanted to sit her down and talk about the divorce right then.

But she cut me off, saying she had a girls' night with Lily.

I dropped her off at the restaurant and drove home alone.

As soon as I parked, my phone lit up with a text.

It was from Austin: "Leo, I'm having a welcome-back party tonight. You better be there."

The old group chat was buzzing with plans for the event.

I didn't want to go, but everyone was pressuring me.

Austin even hinted that he had a major announcement to make.

I decided to go. I wanted to see exactly how far he would push this.

I walked into the private lounge at the club.

Austin looked like the same arrogant jerk he had always been.

He looked me up and down with a sneer.

"Is that really you, Leo? You almost look like a real person now."

The others laughed along with him. "Leo's all grown up!"

"He doesn't look like Austin's little gopher anymore."

I shrugged. "Money helps. I can afford a decent tailor now."

I saw a flash of annoyance in Austin's eyes.

"You haven't changed much," I countered. "How was life abroad?"

Everyone knew his family had lost their fortune.

His face darkened, but he forced a fake smile.

"It was great. Opportunities are much better over there."

He was clearly lying.

Austin started messing with a large cake on the table.

The topper was a cartoon of a family of three.

He caught me looking and smirked.

"Leo, I'm going to be a father."

"I heard you're finally trying for a kid too?"

He was taunting me, daring me to react.

I felt a wave of nausea, but I kept my face blank.

"We're still thinking about it," I said coldly.

I tried to excuse myself to the bathroom so I could leave.

But Austin grabbed my shoulder and forced a drink into my hand.

"Don't go yet! I haven't even introduced the mother!"

He swirled his drink and gave me a wicked grin.

Someone shouted, "When is the lucky lady getting here?"

"Who finally tamed the great Austin Brooks?"

I watched Austin carefully. He was so blatant about it.

"Yeah, I didn't even know you were seeing someone," I added.

"How did you get her pregnant so fast? Unless..."

Austin stiffened but kept his smug expression.

"You all know her. She'll be here any second."

The door opened, and a familiar figure walked in.

"Honey? What are you doing here?" I asked.

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