I knew exactly what Hedy and her mother, Eleanor, meant to Oscar.

When Oscar was young, his parents were Ivy League scholars who traveled the world, often leaving him in the care of their neighbor, Eleanor.

A single mother raising Hedy, Eleanor treated Oscar like her own son. Growing up, everyone saw Oscar and Hedy as the perfect pair, destined to walk down the aisle.

But the year Oscar started college, Eleanor moved to Europe with Hedy to chase a cross-continental romance. They were gone for eight years. It wasn't until three months ago that Hedy returned to Chicago, bringing with her an Eleanor who was now battling late-stage pancreatic cancer, and sought out Oscar.

From that moment on, Oscar was home less and less.

His excuse was always the same: "I'm at the hospital with them. Eleanor doesn't have much time." My trust in him, and my sympathy for his past, kept me from complaining. I believed our love was strong enough to withstand the return of a childhood friend.

At first, I even tried to pitch in, contacting specialists on their behalf. But my attempts to help gradually made both Oscar and Hedy uncomfortable. It got to the point where my very presence was enough to send Hedy into tears, as if I had deeply wronged her.

Finally, Oscar asked me to stop visiting the hospital.

I didn't understand what I'd done wrong. I never questioned him, never picked a fight. I was just patiently waiting for him to handle his obligations so we could return to our life.

But this surgery, and Oscar's dismissive "stop making a scene," shattered my last shred of self-delusion.

I pushed the thoughts away and sent Oscar a text, attaching a photo of my hospital discharge summary.

In that very same hospital, Oscar frowned at the message.

Hedy, perched beside him, sensed his shift in mood and leaned in. Before Oscar could react, her eyes reddened, and plump tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Oh, Oscar, I'm so sorry," she choked out. "I shouldn't have come back to you. I know Claire is terrified I'll steal you away... She's making up this story just to trick you into going home. My mom and I have ruined everything between you. I'm so, so sorry. I'll take Mom and leave tomorrow..."

Hearing this, a flicker of alarm shot through Oscar. But then he rationalized. He'd barely been home for three months. They hadn't been intimate. How could she possibly be pregnant? Besides, he knew I would never cheat on him.

This had to be another one of her clumsy, malicious ploys to get his attention—a desperate test of his love.

Oscar sighed and ruffled Hedy's hair, his voice impossibly gentle. "It's not your fault. I've spoiled her, that's all. It's made her so desperate she'd invent a vicious lie like an ectopic pregnancy."

"Thank you, Oscar. I don't know what I'd do without you," Hedy sobbed, throwing herself into his arms.

He patted her back, his touch comforting.

After calming Hedy, Oscar finally replied to my text.

The screen lit up with the judgment of the man I had loved for eight years: "Claire, Eleanor is fading. You know how much she means to me. Please, be mature and stop this charade. Lying about something so awful, about our future child... it's cruel. I promise I'll make it up to you when this is all over."

Disappointment pools drop by drop, and that last text was the one that broke the dam. For me, this was the flood.

Wiping away my tears, I sent him a single word: "Okay."

My decision was made.

Three days later, I was discharged. Oscar hadn't sent another message. I hadn't reached out.

Nurse Sarah gave me a kind parting warning. "Ms. Forrester, you're still very weak. You must rest when you get home. Eat well, sleep well, okay?"

I forced a smile, my heart a leaden weight. "Thank you, Sarah. I'll take care of myself."

After saying goodbye, I wrapped myself in a thick coat and started for the exit. I had only taken a few steps when a voice called my name.

"Claire? Oh my god, what are you doing here?!"

I turned to see my best friend, Olivia, her own belly swollen and ripe, clearly on the verge of giving birth.

Olivia’s eyes widened at my deathly pale face. "What are you doing here? You look terrible."

"I... I was pregnant," I said, my voice flat, as if discussing the weather.

Olivia's congratulations died on her lips as she registered the darkness in my tone.

I closed my eyes. "It was an ectopic pregnancy. I had surgery. I'm being discharged today."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Olivia's anger quickly melted into concern as she grabbed my hand. "Wait, where is that bastard Oscar? Where the hell is he?!"

To our friends, Oscar was the doting husband, famous for protecting me from the slightest harm. His absence was a jarring shock.

A bitter smile twisted my lips. "He's at a hospital. A different one. With Hedy's mother. Apparently, he's a little busy for me."

Olivia, who knew the bare bones of the situation, was about to explode. "Even if his own mother were on her deathbed, you just came back from the brink! He should be here! I'm calling him right now!"

I pressed her hand down, shaking my head gently. "Don't, Olivia. It doesn't matter anymore. Why are you here alone?"

"Final check-up. Mark went to pay the bill. Claire, you're coming home with me!"

Just as Olivia was about to drag me off, our Uber arrived.

But as we stepped out of the elevator, we saw them. Hedy, standing in the lobby, arm in arm with Oscar.

All four of us froze.

The next second, Oscar shoved Hedy's hand away, but his gaze on me was as hard as stone.

"Claire, I explained everything in my text. What's the point of following me here, of spying on me? When did you become this unreasonable?"

"Claire, please, stop pressuring Oscar!"

In the middle of the bustling hospital lobby, Hedy let out a piercing shriek before dropping to her knees in front of me, clinging to Oscar's leg and bursting into theatrical sobs.

"Hedy, get up! What are you doing?" Oscar frantically tried to pull her up.

"Don't stop me, Oscar! It's all my fault, and my mother's. We're the ones who hurt Claire. But Claire, my mother is dying. I'm begging you, have mercy! Just let me borrow Oscar for a little while! As soon as she's gone, I promise I'll give him right back to you!"

As she spoke, she made a gesture as if to kowtow.

Unable to move her, Oscar's distress curdled into anger, which he directed squarely at me. "How can you be so heartless? Coming here just to force a girl who's about to lose her mother to her knees? Where is your conscience, Claire? You disgust me."