At seven months pregnant with twins, my husband’s boss sent me a photo of Eric in her bed. Their final betrayal came hours later: he was leaving me for her, and she wanted one of my babies for housing. My plans, however, were unknown to them.
When my life fell apart, I was heavily pregnant with twins.
I was folding tiny onesies and thinking about baby names when my phone buzzed.
It was a text from Veronica, my husband’s boss, and my pulse quickened. I thought Eric had been hurt at work, but it was far worse.
Expecting bad news, I opened the message to find Eric shirtless in an unfamiliar bed, grinning at the camera.
The caption read: “It’s time you knew. He’s mine.”
A chill spread through me. Inside, the babies kicked, sensing my pain. Eric had cheated on me with his boss.
I tried calling Eric immediately, but his phone went to voicemail. No calls went through.
By now, the twins were trampolineing my bladder. I sank onto the couch, placing my hand on my belly.
“Easy, babies,” I whispered. “Mama’s got you, no matter what. Even if Eric betrayed me, he won’t abandon you.”
I never imagined how wrong I was.
When Eric came home that night, he brought Veronica with him.
She strutted in like she owned the place, tall and confident, dressed in clothes that probably cost more than my rent. She was the type of woman who could command attention with just a breath.
“Eric… what is this?” I stood in the living room, trying to muster strength while feeling weak inside.
Eric sighed. “Lauren, it’s simple. I love Veronica, so I’m leaving you. Let’s not argue, okay?”
His words shook me to my core. Every sentence hit where it hurt most.
“You can’t be serious,” I whispered. “We’re having twins in two months.”
“Life happens,” he shrugged. A shrug! Like we were discussing dinner plans, not him abandoning his pregnant wife.
When Veronica crossed her arms, her polished nails clicked against her expensive blazer.
“And since this is Eric’s apartment, you’ll need to move out by the end of the week.”
My blood boiled. “Are you two insane? I have nowhere to go! I’m carrying HIS children!”
“Twins, right?” she said, eyeing my belly with a cold stare. “You look bloated, actually. Are there triplets? I might have a solution.”
Her smile seemed forced. “I’ll rent you a house and cover your expenses, but I want one of your babies.”
My blood ran cold. “What?!”
“I want a child, but there’s no way I’m doing that to my body,” she said, gesturing toward my belly. “You’ll never manage raising twins alone, so this is a win-win for everyone.”
She sounded like she was talking about adopting a pet, not a child!
“I’ll raise the child myself,” she continued. “They’ll have the best nannies and attend top schools. You’ll have a roof over your head. A fair deal.”
Eric nodded along as she spoke, like trading a baby was something perfectly reasonable.
I couldn’t breathe. How dare they use my children as leverage? I wanted to scream, but they cornered me. I had no family, no close friends.
I needed a plan.
“I have nowhere else to go,” I said, tears welling up in my eyes. “I’ll agree to your deal, but I have one condition.”
Veronica grinned. “Smart girl. What’s the condition?”
“I want to choose which baby you take,” I sniffled, avoiding her gaze. “Just give me some time with them to decide which one will have a better life with you.”
She exchanged a glance with Eric, and I saw the satisfaction in their eyes—they thought they had won.
“Fine,” Veronica said. “But don’t take too long. Once they’re born, we’ll take the unwanted one.”
I nodded, wiping away a fake tear. “And one more thing.”
Veronica sighed dramatically. “What now?”
“You’ll buy me a house, not rent it,” I said firmly. “I need security. If you disagree, I’ll walk and you’ll never see the babies.”
Eric scoffed, but Veronica raised her hand.
“You’re pushy, but I’ll agree. It saves me time and effort finding another solution. But you’d better keep your word.”
I nodded, trying to look like the broken woman they expected. But inside? I was smiling, because they had no idea what was coming.
The next few months took patience.
Veronica arranged a modest three-bedroom house for me. She and Eric didn’t see the place or meet the agent until we signed the papers.
When we left the realtor’s office, I exhaled with relief. Step one was complete, and they were clueless.
I kept up appearances, telling Veronica about doctor’s appointments, letting her feel my belly, and making her fawn over “her” baby. I pretended to be unsure which baby to keep.
I was buying time while preparing my final move.
My labor started Tuesday night. When I left for the hospital, I texted Veronica but instructed the nurses not to let her or Eric in the delivery room.
They complained outside, but the contractions were too intense for me to care.
Six hours later, my babies arrived—two perfect girls with dark hair and strong cries.
The nurse smiled. “Would you like me to tell your husband and your… friend?”
“Tell them the babies are fine, but I need three days,” I said, clutching my girls close.
I named them Lily and Emma, memorizing their tiny faces, their cries, their little fingers wrapped around mine.
I had everything in place.
On day two, I took the babies home. On day three, I called Veronica.
“I’m ready to talk.”
An hour later, she and Eric arrived. Veronica was practically humming with excitement.
“So,” she cooed, looking around the house. “Which one is mine?”
I inhaled, holding one baby in each arm. “Neither.”
Her smile faltered. “Excuse me?”
I stood slowly, my body aching, but my voice strong.
“Veronica, I’m not giving you my child. Neither of them.”
Eric groaned. “Don’t start with this dramatic nonsense—”
I glared at them. “You two think you can just buy my baby? You think I’m desperate? No, I’m not.”
“Then I’ll kick you out of this house,” Veronica snapped. “You can live on the street for all I care!”
I grinned. “You can’t do that. I own this house.”
Veronica’s face drained of color. “What? No way! Eric, tell her!”
Eric looked just as confused. “We signed the papers together!”
“Yeah,” I replied, “but you both gave me full ownership. You were too smug to notice. My name is the only one on the deed.”
Veronica staggered back, like I’d slapped her.
“You conniving little—”
“Oh, and one more thing,” I said, rocking Lily as she fussed. “I went ahead and told a few people how Eric cheated on his pregnant wife and how he and his mistress tried to buy his child.”
I nodded to the coffee table where my phone rested.
“Check social media. I posted everything last night—texts, images, the deal to buy my infant. Everything. I tagged your company and investors, and the charity boards you sit on.”
Veronica lunged for my phone, her face going gray as she scrolled through the posts.
“As you can see,” I said calmly, “they find your behavior very interesting.”
Veronica screamed in rage, and Eric snatched the phone from her, his face pale.
“You—You ruined us!” he cried.
“No,” I replied. “You ruined yourselves.”
Eric was fired. Selling a baby went against his company’s “family values” branding. Veronica was sacked, her scandal made front-page news, and she was blackballed from her professional circles.
And me? I cuddled my daughters to sleep each night in our beautiful home, knowing I didn’t just get revenge.
I won.