Chapter 2 – This Changes Everything
OLIVIA
I couldn't stop hearing the Nurse's voice in my head.
It didn't feel real.
I sat in the back of a taxi, one hand pressed lightly against my stomach. I wasn't showing—of course but suddenly, it felt like I was carrying the weight of the world. A tiny heartbeat growing inside me.
I stared out the window as the city blurred past. I should've been crying. Or screaming. Or curled up in that hospital bed begging the universe to start over.
But instead, I felt…. Empty.
Ethan always said he wanted a family. He told me once—half drunk and lying on my chest—that his biggest fear was becoming like his father. That he wanted to be better. That one day, he'd give his child everything he never had.
So maybe this baby would change everything.
Maybe this was the thing that would wake him up. Remind him of who we were. Of who I was to him.
I held onto that tiny shred of hope the whole ride home.
When I walked into the house, something felt wrong. The air was… off.
I stopped in the middle of the hallway.
My heart started to pound.
I kicked off my shoes and walked quietly up the stairs.
As I reached the bedroom, I heard a sound—laughter.
A woman's.
The door was cracked open.
Ethan. Shirt unbuttoned. Sitting on the edge of our bed like it was just another night.
And Caroline. Draped over him.
Her hand sliding up his chest. Her lips brushing his neck.
Tears burned behind my eyes, but I forced them back.
I raised my hand and knocked once on the door. My fingers were shaking.
They both turned, startled.
Ethan's face changed the moment he saw me.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he snapped.
I opened my mouth, then shut it. My voice came out small, but steady. "I live here. Or… did you forget?"
Caroline smiled like she was enjoying every second of this. "You're interrupting, Olivia. Don't you have somewhere else to be?"
I ignored her completely. I looked at Ethan.
"You left me in the hospital? You couldn't even wait for me to wake up?" I asked him as a tear dropped off my eyes.
"You should be lucky I didn't let you die." He replied me with pure hate.
"I need to talk to you. Alone." I said to him as I wiped the tear off my face.
Ethan sighed like I was a problem. "Whatever it is, it can wait. Can't you see I'm busy?"
I stared at him. And then at her.
Holding onto my man like she belonged there.
"Busy?" I repeated, a bitter laugh escaping. "Is this what you call busy? Letting her play house in my home?"
Caroline leaned closer to him. "Our home?" she said with fake surprise. Then she turned to Ethan, like I wasn't even worth talking to. "Is this poor thing still clinging to you? That's so… pitiful."
My hands curled into fists.
I turned to her slowly, my voice filled with rage.
"This is between me and Ethan. Stay out of it."
Caroline opened her mouth, probably to throw another insult my way, but Ethan raised his hand like I wasn't even worth her breath.
"No, let her talk," he said, his eyes still locked on mine. "What is it now, Olivia? You here to cry again? Beg me to come back?" He leaned forward a little, smirking. "Or is this another one of your little tantrums?"
My throat burned, but I swallowed hard and kept my head up.
"I came to tell you something important," I said, forcing the words out. "Something that changes everything."
He sighed dramatically and folded his arms, like I was wasting his precious time. "Spit it out, then."
My hand dropped to my stomach before I could stop it.
"I'm pregnant, Ethan."
He immediately burst into laughter.
A cruel sound.
"Pregnant?" he said, dragging out the word like it tasted bad in his mouth. "That's rich. Convenient timing, don't you think?"
I blinked. "What?"
"You actually expect me to believe it's mine?" he said, laughing again. "Please, Olivia. Don't embarrass yourself."
My chest tightened. "You know I've only ever been with you," I whispered. "You know that."
He shrugged. "Do I? You've been desperate lately. Who knows who you've been running to when I wasn't around?"
"I loved you," I said. My voice was shaking now. "I stayed quiet for you. I gave you everything."
"Yeah. And I never asked you to." He stepped closer. "You gave me what you wanted, not what I needed. And now you're trying to throw some fake pregnancy at me just to stay in my life?"
"I'm not lying," I snapped. My voice cracked.
"This is your baby. Whether you believe it or not. You don't have to want me, Ethan. But that baby—our baby—deserves better than this."
"Don't talk to me about what I deserve!" he shouted suddenly, his face twisting. "You were a distraction. A side piece. Something I used to pass time. Now you're just another bitter ex with a made-up sob story."
I blinked, stunned. "You… used me?"
Caroline stood now, arms crossed, her expression smug.
"Oh, come on, Olivia," she said, rolling her eyes. "Did you really think you were ever anything more than an easy lay? Look at you. Clingy. Delusional. Desperate. Pathetic."
I turned toward her, my heart thudding painfully against my ribs. "This is none of your business."
"I am his fiancée," she snapped. "Everything about him is my business. Including keeping trash like you away from him."
My fists clenched at my sides. "You don't get to call me trash. You don't even know me."
"I know enough. And I know what you're doing—using a fake pregnancy to cling onto a man who doesn't want you. That's disgusting."
Before I could react, she stepped forward and slapped me—hard.
My face burned. I stumbled back, gasping, holding my cheek. What hurt worse was how Ethan didn't even move.
I turned to him, blinking back tears. "You're just going to let her hit me? Ethan, say something!"
He didn't. He just looked at me with that same flat, hateful expression.
Then he turned to her, not me. "Don't waste your energy on her, sweetheart. She's not worth it."
"You're not worth the drama, Olivia," he said, stepping closer again. His voice was quiet now. "And don't you dare bring up this fake pregnancy again."
"It's not fake," I whispered.
He leaned in, his mouth close to my ear. "You bring this up again, and I promise—you'll regret it."
I pulled back, shaking. "Ethan, you're going to regret this. One day—"
"You don't get to threaten me," he snapped. "Because let me make something clear—the only woman carrying my child is my wife-to-be."
He turned to Caroline then, taking her hand gently.
"She's pregnant for me."