I was seven months pregnant with twins when my entire world shattered.<\/p>\n
That evening, I was folding tiny onesies, smiling to myself as I imagined what my babies would look like. Would they have my eyes? Eric\u2019s dimples? My phone buzzed, interrupting my daydream. When I saw the name on the screen, my heart skipped a beat.<\/p>\n
Veronica. Eric\u2019s boss.<\/p>\n
My first thought was that something terrible had happened to Eric at work. My hands trembled as I unlocked my phone, fearing an accident or bad news.<\/p>\n
But what I saw was worse than I could have ever imagined.<\/p>\n
It was a photo of Eric. Shirtless. Lying in a bed I didn\u2019t recognize. Smirking at the camera.<\/p>\n
My stomach churned, and my hands turned ice-cold. My breath came in short, sharp gasps as I read the caption:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time you knew. He\u2019s mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
The babies kicked, sensing my distress. My mind spun. This had to be a mistake, a joke. Eric wouldn\u2019t do this to me. Not while I was carrying his children.<\/p>\n
I called him. Straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n
I tried again. And again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Tears blurred my vision as I lowered myself onto the couch, one hand cradling my belly. \u201cEasy, babies,\u201d I whispered. \u201cMama\u2019s here. No matter what happens, I won\u2019t let anything happen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no idea how wrong I was.<\/p>\n
That evening, Eric finally came home. But he wasn\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n
Veronica walked in beside him, her heels clicking against the floor like she owned the place. Tall, poised, wrapped in an expensive designer outfit, she oozed confidence. Her presence was suffocating.<\/p>\n
Eric looked at me, his face unreadable.<\/p>\n
\u201cEric,\u201d I said, my voice shaking. \u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
He exhaled, as if already exhausted by the conversation. \u201cIt\u2019s simple, Lauren. I\u2019m in love with Veronica. I\u2019m leaving you. Let\u2019s be adults about this and not make a scene, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
A scene? He wanted to avoid a scene?!<\/p>\n
I was carrying his children, and he was talking like we were discussing dinner plans!<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t be serious,\u201d I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath. \u201cWe\u2019re having babies in two months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric shrugged. \u201cLife happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Veronica smirked and crossed her arms. \u201cSince this is Eric\u2019s apartment, you\u2019ll need to move out by the end of the week.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked. My head was spinning.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re insane,\u201d I snapped. \u201cI have nowhere to go! I\u2019m pregnant with HIS children!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwins, right?\u201d Veronica tilted her head, her eyes scanning my belly like I was a livestock auction. \u201cOr triplets? You are rather\u2026 swollen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her lips curled into a smirk. \u201cI think I have a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
A chill ran down my spine. \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll buy you a house and cover all your expenses, but I want one of the babies.\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood turned to ice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to ruin my body with pregnancy, but I\u2019d love to have a baby. You\u2019re carrying two, so why not let me have one? It\u2019s a win-win.\u201d<\/p>\n
She reached out and stroked Eric\u2019s chest. \u201cYou\u2019ll never be able to raise twins alone. This is a good deal for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric nodded, like this was a reasonable conversation. Like I was a walking womb they could barter with.<\/p>\n
I felt like throwing up.<\/p>\n
But then an idea formed in my mind.<\/p>\n
I let my shoulders slump. I let my voice break. \u201cI\u2026 I have nowhere else to go,\u201d I whispered. \u201cI\u2019ll agree to your deal, but I have one condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veronica smirked, victorious. \u201cSmart girl. What\u2019s the condition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get to choose which baby you take. And I need time.\u201d I sniffled, looking down, feigning shame. \u201cI just want to make sure I choose the right one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric and Veronica exchanged a glance. I could see it in their eyes\u2014they thought they\u2019d won.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d Veronica agreed. \u201cBut don\u2019t take too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded, wiping a fake tear. \u201cAnd one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veronica sighed. \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll buy me a house. Not rent it.\u201d My voice hardened. \u201cI need security. No deal otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric scoffed, but Veronica held up a hand. \u201cFine. But you better keep your word.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh, I would. Just not in the way they thought.<\/p>\n
For months, I played along.<\/p>\n
Veronica bought me a beautiful three-bedroom house. She never even looked at the paperwork\u2014too busy celebrating her \u2018future baby.\u2019 I let her feel my belly. I told her I was agonizing over the choice. All lies.<\/p>\n
Then the babies came. Two perfect girls.<\/p>\n
The moment I held them, I knew\u2014I would never let those monsters take them from me.<\/p>\n
On the third day, I called Veronica.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ready to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
She arrived within the hour, practically vibrating with excitement. Eric followed, smug as ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d she cooed, stepping inside. \u201cWhich one is mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath, holding my daughters close. \u201cNeither.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her smile froze. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood, my body weak but my voice strong. \u201cYou\u2019re not taking my babies. Either of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eric groaned. \u201cOh, don\u2019t start this dramatic nonsense\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought you could buy my child like some expensive handbag?\u201d I spat. \u201cYou\u2019re<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I was seven months pregnant with twins when my entire world shattered. That evening, I was folding tiny onesies, smiling to myself as I imagined what my babies would look like. Would they have my eyes? Eric\u2019s dimples? My phone buzzed, interrupting my daydream. When I saw the name on the screen, my heart skipped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27603"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27604,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27603\/revisions\/27604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}