He couldn’t think about it much because Ciara dragged him to her mother’s house for a meeting with the wedding planner. Yes, they were engaged, and things were moving fast. He didn’t care. He just wanted his parents to shut up about it.

The whole situation was insane. He had no idea why he was there when Ciara and her mother were picking up everything. When his new fiancée took a break, Mrs. Geoffrey focused on him. She talked a bit about the wedding, the future, how she always knew this day would come, etc.

But suddenly, she said, “Oh, my god, and the babies you two will have. Precious!”

“Life’s too short for grudges.”

“Babies? Mrs. Geoffrey, I’m infertile. You should know that. I got tested at your husband’s clinic, and everyone knows,” Chris explained, frowning.

“What? No, that was just our plan,” Mrs. Geoffrey chuckled, waving her hand.

“Plan?” Chris asked, his voice turning to ice.

Mrs. Geoffrey seemed only to realize then what she had said. Her face turned white, and her hand flew to her mouth. “I mean…. Ehhh, no. Those things have errors… I think IVF can work…” she stuttered through her words.

And Chris knew everything right away.

Ciara walked back. “OK, let’s continue,” she said, not reading the room.

“Darling, I’m glad you tricked me, and I get to marry you now,” he said unexpectedly. Ciara’s head turned to him quickly.

“You know about that?” she asked, starting to smile.

“Ciara, no!” her mother whispered.

Chris rose from the couch. “Goodbye. I hope you two rot in hell.”

***

Chris got the entire story from his mother, who was on the phone while he drove to Amanda’s apartment. Luckily, she had never moved out of their shared place, and he still had a copy of the key.

“Chris, you don’t understand!” she wailed, and he didn’t care. He demanded the truth.

His results were indeed a plan. A ruse. A scheme. A betrayal. It was all designed so he would dump Amanda and go to Ciara. Somehow, his mother had discovered how much Amanda wanted to have children. They thought they would separate from the news.

But their plan went even better after Amanda’s pregnancy announcement. Mrs. Castillo mustered her best acting and put on that show. Everyone knew. His parents, Ciara’s parents, and the technician they had paid off and fired later to give the erroneous results. His doctor had even been deceived because he had only seen the fake labs and images.

“You will never see me again,” he told his mother and hung up.

He knocked, realized Amanda was not home, and decided to go in. He entered the second room and saw the beautiful space she had built for their son. It was blue. There were clouds painted on the walls and toys lying around.

Chris also walked into their bedroom and saw that everything was mostly the same. He sat down on her side of the bed and wanted to break down in tears. But he had to contain himself and think hard. How am I going to win her back and apologize for everything? Will she believe me? he pondered, but the tears showed up, and they wouldn’t stop.

Eventually, he fell asleep.

***

“AAAAH!” Amanda yelled after turning on the light in her room. “Get out of here! I’m calling the police!”

“Amanda!” Chris rushed out of the bed. “Amanda! Amanda! It’s me!”

“Chris! Hell! How could you just walk in here? Are you insane? I was about to grab a knife!” Amanda yelled and hit his shoulder slightly; then she saw his tear-streaked face. “Why are you here in the first place?”

“We need to talk…” he looked down, wetting his parched lips.

***

“I guess… I’m not surprised, but it’s… still… so unbelievable,” she said after telling her the entire story.

“Yeah,” Chris nodded. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve believed you. I should’ve asked for more tests. I was shocked by the news, and I didn’t know if you would leave me because you always wanted a family. I was an idiot.”

“Yeah, you were,” Amanda agreed. “But I guess it finally makes sense. Like… everything fits. I’m not saying it’s right. But I get it.”

“Is there any way you can forgive me?”

“Life’s too short for grudges.”

“And is there any way I can be in his life?”

“That I don’t know,” Amanda looked down. “It’s been… hard. It’s been lonely. It’s not what we planned together. I don’t know if there’s any going back.”

She had held back tears until now, as the moisture ran slowly down her face as she remembered all that had happened in almost two years. Chris cried with her.

“I know it’ll take me forever, but I will make this up to you. No matter what happens… even if you and I can’t pick up where we left off, you and him are my family. My only family,” he swore, and Amanda looked into his aching, puffy eyes and knew that he was determined.

Chris laughed and cried at the same time. She was her cheerful self despite everything, and as usual, she was right. He needed a lawyer.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always get a second opinion. There can always be false results in the medical field, so you should always check with someone else when a diagnosis seems too drastic.
• Give your partner the benefit of the doubt and let them explain. Chris could’ve saved himself so much pain if he had allowed Amanda to speak. The scheme might’ve been discovered immediately.

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