Sunlight and Solace

ht it was Chloe, his fiancée, checking in from her bachelorette weekend. They were one month away from the wedding, and every little

ilver ring he' d given her, was holding a positive pregnancy test. The background was a

a dad. Or, stepdad

c memory. Ethan' s hands started to shake, the phone feeling heavy and cold. He stared at the picture, at the two pink lines th

the door, tanned and laughing about her trip, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He stood in the living room th

hloe?" His voice

moment before it hardened into something cold and unfamiliar. She didn' t deny it,

aid, tossing her purse onto a c

was pounding against his rib

She looked him up and down, a mocking smirk playing on her lips. "I only agreed to marry you to make him jealous. He said he w

ulated strike designed to inflict maximum pain. He felt stupid, nai

ged to ask, his voice cr

"Unless you want to back out. But if you want to stay with me, you' ll be a father to this baby. Y

. He had taken off his jacket and wrapped it around her, and she had looked up at him with eyes that he thought were full of love. She had whispered, "You always take such good ca

need for expensive gifts, her disinterest in his work, her impatience when he was sick. It wasn' t just a one-sided rela

id, the word

ows shot

over to the stack of pristine white invitations on the table, picked one up, and tore it cleanly in half. The sound was loud in the sudden silence of t