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?”

“You know what? I’ve been way too easy on you. This kid is my blood too—what difference does it make who gave birth? I just borrowed her womb for a while, and here you are acting all outdated and narrow-minded. Honestly, Trish? I’m disappointed in you."

He was standing behind me, snapping. Then, before he stormed off, he said, “I don’t want to have a fight with you. Think it over and calm down.”

The door slammed, and he went out, and I let out a cold laugh.

First time in my life I’d seen someone spin shamelessness into something that sounded almost noble.

Honestly, this was on me. Back when we went on a blind date, he seemed decent enough, and with my family nagging me to settle down, I went along with it.

River didn’t come home that night. The next morning, I saw Aubrey's new post on Insta.

The picture? Her belly, with a shiny gold pendant resting on it.

The caption? [Every baby deserves a dad's love. We can’t wait to meet you!]

The post was from the middle of the night, so there were already plenty of comments by the time I saw it. All from River’s buddies.

[@johnny_25: Bro, I thought you were joking about this. Didn’t think you’d actually do it! Damn!]

[@itsyoboyzach: Damn, my guy moves fast! Did it start that Truth or Dare night?]

[@chasethechaos: Congrats, congrats! So do we start calling her the second sister-in-law now? Haha!]

And, of course, River's comment was right there too.

[@catchtheriver: Shut up, boys. She’s just helping me out. If my wife sees this and divorces me, it’ll be on you!]

I liked the post. A few minutes later, the whole comment thread was gone.

Then my phone started buzzing. It was him: “Trish, they were just joking around. Don’t take it seriously—

But I cut him off. “River, let’s get a divorce.”

There was silence for a moment, then he snapped. “You’re seriously divorcing me over this?! Can you stop being so petty, Trish?!"

I just said, “I’ll send you the papers soon.”

No point wasting breath on someone like him. I hung up and went straight to work.

"Hey, can I cancel that transfer request I submitted to move off fieldwork?”

My editor looked confused. “I thought you were planning to take it easy and try for a baby?”

“Well," I explained, "I changed my mind.”

I pulled my transfer request out and shredded it right there.

Two years of marriage, and honestly, life with River had been fine. He took good care of me, and we didn’t fight much. The whole no-kids thing was just because of my job—I’m a field journalist, and it’s tough to manage both. I figured I’d switch roles, then start trying.

But now, if someone else was willing to have his kid, why should I be the one giving up my career?

I pulled out my phone and made a quick call “Find someone for me. ASAP.”

Later that day, I had an interview at the mall with one of the executives. I got there early, so I wandered around to kill some time.

As I came down the escalator, guess who I ran into? My husband, walking out of a baby store. His arms were loaded with bags of baby stuff, and he was carefully holding onto my best friend with his other hand.

He looked startled to see me, but his surprise quickly turned into mockery.

“What’s this? Having second thoughts? Following me around now?"

Before I could say a word, Aubrey clung to River's arm, putting on this fake apologetic smile.

“Trish, are you divorcing him because of me? I’m so sorry! River and I just didn’t want you to go through the pain of pregnancy, that’s all. We thought this would be easier for you. I swear I never meant to ruin your marriage!”

I yanked her hand off.

“No, it’s because you two are perfect for each other. Best wishes—may you and your dog live happily ever after."

I raised my hand to slap her, but River grabbed my wrist mid-air.

“Trish! What the hell's wrong with you? When did you become so nasty? Trying to hit people now? You’re acting like a total psycho! Apologize to her. Right now!”

He yanked my hand away so hard I stumbled. Just then, a kid walked by holding an empty skewer from a candied fruit snack.

The sharp stick scraped across my arm, leaving a gash, and blood started dripping instantly.

For a moment, River froze, clearly panicking.

“Trish, I didn’t mean to… Let's go. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Before I could even respond, the mall’s fire alarm went off. The loud screeching was followed by an announcement telling everyone to evacuate.

It was packed—weekend crowds everywhere. People started panicking, shoving their way toward the exits.

River grabbed my hand, then Aubrey’s, and pulled us along. I wasn’t about to argue. This wasn’t the time to act stubborn—safety first.

But Aubrey suddenly winced and clutched her belly.

“I… I can’t run anymore. River, you take Trish and go. Don’t worry about me and the baby. If we don’t make it… it just wasn’t meant to be. This child’s probably not lucky enough to have a dad like you.”

He hesitated for maybe two seconds before letting go of my hand. Then he picked Aubrey up like some kind of hero and pushed through the crowd.

“Don’t say things like that. The baby will be fine. Trish, keep up with me!”

I'm a petite woman, and with him holding me, I got shoved from all sides. Someone stepped on the back of my heel, and I nearly fell face-first.

Thankfully, this stocky middle-aged woman next to me grabbed my arm before I hit the ground.

“Careful, sweetheart! Here, hold onto my arm!"

“Thanks,” I muttered, still trying to catch my balance.

When we finally got outside, I saw River helping Aubrey into a cab. She turned to look at me, and I swear, the triumphant look on her face was infuriating.

A moment later, the mall announced it had all been a false alarm. Someone had accidentally triggered the fire alarm. Just a pointless scare.

The blood on my arm had already dried by then. After thanking again the woman who helped me, I took a ride to the hospital to get it cleaned up.

On the way there, a text came in from River. [Aubrey was scared because of the baby, so I took her home first. Don’t overthink it.]

I stared at my phone for a second, then got my wound treated. Afterward, I finally replied, [I booked a table for tomorrow night. Bring Aubrey. We need to talk about the baby.]

His reply came almost immediately.

[Glad to see you’ve finally calmed down. Clearly, you can’t manage without me.]

If he could see my face, he’d know my eyes just rolled all the way to the back of my head.

I hung up and started making some calls, inviting friends and family to tomorrow’s little “celebration.”

The next day, I got to the hotel early to set everything up.

I even hung a big, bold banner that read: [Congratulations to the Holland family on their precious addition! We have especially organized a baby shower for the youngest Holland!]

One by one, old high school classmates started showing up, all looking a little confused.

“Wait, Trish, are you pregnant?”

“Whoah, congrats! If I’d known, I would’ve brought a gift! I thought we were just having dinner.”

“Baby shower? Really? You guys are going all out—worried the kid won’t know their parents or something?”

I forced a smile.

“No gifts, don’t worry. I just wanted everyone to meet someone today.”

“Meet someone? Wait, did you already have the baby? No way—I saw you last month. You didn’t look pregnant!”

“Is this a godparent thing? Why didn’t you ask me? You promised in high school I’d be the godmother!”

Before I could respond, River’s parents walked in. They saw the banner, and their faces lit up.

“Trish! Are you pregnant?”

“You silly girl! Why didn’t you tell us? How far along are you?”

I hesitated for a second, then gave them a faint smile.

“Three months. Give or take.”

River’s parents were all smiles, telling me to sit down.

“Where’s River? You’re pregnant, and he’s letting you do all the work? Don’t worry, I’ll have a word with that man later!"

I checked the time. The very important guest should be arriving soon, so I invited everyone to sit down. “Let’s wait until River gets here. I’ll explain everything then.”

Not long after, River walked in with Aubrey by his side. He froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard by the crowd. “Trish, what’s all this about?”

I smiled at him. “It’s just a little gathering to make things official. Since there’s a baby involved, it’s only right to let everyone know. And, of course, we need witnesses.”

The others, noticing River and Aubrey arriving together, didn’t think too much of it. They even started teasing him.

“River, what’s the matter? This is good news! Or are you scared we'll make you broke?"

“Hey, Trish, don’t tell me Aubrey’s going to be the godmother? I always knew you two were close, even back in high school. You couldn’t go to the bathroom without each other!"

“Yeah, I totally forgot about Aubrey! Guess I’ll wait for the second baby to be the godmother instead.”

River looked completely lost. “What godmother?” he asked.

But Aubrey’s face changed. She realized what was happening and tried to make a run for it. “Oh, uh, I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll head out first—”

I grabbed her hand and gently pushed her back into her seat. “Since everyone’s here, let’s get straight to it.”

I looked around the room and said calmly, “So, the thing is, I’m not the one pregnant. I had planned to get pregnant, but River said he was worried it’d be too tough for me, and he didn’t want me to go through the pain of childbirth, so… he asked my best friend to carry the baby for me."