My Best Friend Is Having My Fiancé's Baby Chapter 1

The night before I was supposed to get engaged to Leo, my best friend Chloe and I were tangled in my duvet, whispering secrets like we had since we were kids.

That’s when she told me hers. A secret that cracked my world open.

She was four weeks pregnant. The father was a man she’d never introduced me to.

Chloe’s face was a mess of conflict in the dim lamplight. “Ava,” she whispered, her voice tight, “what do I do? Do I choose the baby’s father, or do I choose the London job?”

The promotion to the London office was the culmination of five years of brutal, relentless work.

But I could see it in her eyes. She couldn’t bear to let go of this man.

My answer was instant, a gut reaction. “Go to London. A career is a hell of a lot more reliable than a man.”

With tears shimmering in her eyes, she pulled out her phone and typed out a five-thousand-word farewell manifesto to him.

Later that night, I found that same manifesto on Leo’s phone.

* * *

Leo was in the shower, and his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing on the nightstand.

I figured it was just colleagues, early congratulations on the engagement.

I picked it up. Pinned to the top of his messages was a name: Chloe.

My Chloe. The girl I’d shared everything with for twenty-six years, since we were toddlers running naked through sprinklers. Ten minutes ago, we were hugging in my bed.

What could she possibly have to say to Leo that required five consecutive messages?

Leo, you and Ava are getting engaged tomorrow. I guess this is where it ends for us. ~♡

As long as you’re happy, what do my tears matter? I’ll be there tomorrow to watch your sacred moment, and then I’m heading to the London office. Goodbye. ~♡

I read the messages again and again. It was her, no doubt. The little tilde she always used. The heart emoji at the end of every serious thought.

My hand shook, the phone suddenly heavy. A roaring filled my ears, drowning out the sound of the shower. I couldn’t connect the two images in my head: Leo, the man who adored me, and Chloe, my soulmate, my sister.

So, the baby Chloe was carrying… it was Leo’s.

A crushing weight settled on my chest, hot tears stinging my eyes.

The bathroom door clicked open. I shoved the phone back onto the nightstand, my movements jerky and unnatural.

Leo smiled, his hair damp, his face warm and open. “Have a good chat with Chloe? I bet you two have enough to talk about for three days and three nights, with you changing your status on her.”

The words were a stone in my throat. I couldn’t force the accusation out.

He plugged in the hairdryer. “So, my beautiful fiancée-to-be, are you still willing to do the honors tonight?”

Usually, I loved drying his hair. It was our ritual.

But the thought of his hands, of their shared intimacy, sent a wave of nausea through me.

“My throat’s a little scratchy,” I managed, my voice raspy. “I think I’m just going to sleep, if that’s okay.”

He was all concern, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me to the bedroom.

He tucked me in before glancing at his phone. I watched as his posture stiffened, the muscles in his neck cording.

“Babe, I’m just gonna run out and grab some gum,” he said, his voice strained.

The moment the door closed, I was out of bed, pulling on a pair of sneakers, my heart pounding as I followed him out into the night.

My desperate, silent prayers went unanswered.

Down the block, under the weak glow of a streetlight, I saw them. The world tilted on its axis as Leo pulled Chloe into his arms.

I bit down on my knuckles, the only thing stopping a scream from tearing out of my throat.

Leo’s large hand rested gently on Chloe’s stomach, his voice trembling even from a distance. “Why didn’t you tell me? It’s my baby, too.”

“And what good would that do?” Chloe’s voice was thick with tears. “There’s no future for us. Tomorrow, you’re promising your life to Ava.”

“Are you serious about London?”

“Yes. And I’m not keeping the baby.”

Chloe’s chin was set in a stubborn line, pushing against his chest even as her body betrayed her, leaning into his warmth.

Leo wouldn’t let go, his thumb stroking her cheek, wiping away a tear. “What about me? You’re just going to leave, just throw me away like that? Did you even think about how that would feel?”

“You have Ava. That’s enough. We never should have let this happen.”

“But I love you, Chloe,” he choked out. “You can’t be this cruel. If you leave, you’ll gut me.”

That broke her. A sob escaped Chloe’s lips, and she melted against him, their bodies fitting together perfectly.

They clung to each other, lost in their tragic romance, making me the villain in a story I never even knew I was in.